August Blom
Encyclopedia
August Blom was a Danish
film director
, production leader and pioneer of silent films during the "golden age
" of Danish filmmaking from 1910 to 1914.
, and was employed as a company actor for the Folketeatret from 1907 to 1910. During that period, Blom also began performing in films for the Nordisk Film Kompangni
. He debuted there as a director in 1910 with his film Livets Storme (Storms of Life). That same year he was made the Head of Production for Nordisk Film
and given the title of Director. Blom was a prolific filmmmaker and during the golden age
of Danish silent films, 1910 to 1914, he directed 78 movies. Before he retired from Nordisk Film and filmmaking in 1925, Blom directed more than 100 titles. Blom's volume of work is the largest of any Danish film director.
Blom is credited as a pioneer in silent filmmaking. In 1911, Blom was instrumental in the development of the erotic melodrama with his film Ved Faengslets Port, the story of a young man in debt to a moneylender while in love with the moneylender's daughter. Blom refined this genre during the following years, and this became the most profitable trademark for Nordisk company films. Blom also is credited with developing the use of cross-cutting as well as using mirrors to expand the drama. In 1913, Blom made his most ambitious effort: the film Atlantis
based on the 1912 novel by Gerhart Hauptmann
. The film, which depicted the sinking of an ocean liner only one year after the sinking the RMS Titanic, drew an enormous public response. With a complicated plot and several main characters, Atlantis became the first multi-reel feature film from Denmark. Harald Engberg of the Politiken newspaper later wrote in an obituary that Blom "knew that he wasn't some directorial genius, but he proved that he was the cleverest and most tasteful scene creator of his day."
Blom retired from filmmaking in 1924. He opened the Kinografen movie theater (later renamed the Bristol Theater) and managed the theater from 1934 to 1947.
, Denmark
.
Blom was first married at the age of 39 in 1908 to Agnete von Prangen. After they divorced, he married a second time in 1917 to the actress Johanne Fritz-Petersen, the widow of Theater Director Fritz Petersen. He died on 10 January 1947, aged 77.
Livets Storme (Storms of Life); Robinson Crusoe; Den hvide Slavehandel (The White Slave); Spinonen fra Tokio (The Red Light); Den skaebnesvangre Opfindelse (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); Jagten paa Gentlemanrøveren; Singaree; Hamlet
; Spøgelset i Gravkaelderen (The Ghost of the Variety); Den dø des Halsbaand (The Necklace of the Dead)
1911
Den hvide Slavehandel II (In the Hands of Impostors); Den farlige Alder (The Price of Beauty); Ved Faengslets Port (Temptations of a Great City); Vildledt Elskov (The Bank Book); Potifars Hustru (The Victim of a Character); Politimesteren (Convicts No. 10 and No. 13); Den blaa Natviol (The Daughter of the Fortune Teller); Damernes Blad (The Ladies' Journal); Balletdanserinden (The Ballet Dancer); Jernbanens Datter (The Daughter of the Railway); Den naadige Frøken (Lady Mary's Love); En Lektion (Aviatikeren og Journalistens Hustru; The Aviator and the Journalist's Wife); Ekspeditricen (Ungdom og Letsind; In the Prime of Life); Desdemona; En Opfinders Skaebne (The Aeroplane Inventor); Fader og Søn (Onkel og Nevø; A Poisonous Love); Dødsdrømmen (A Dream of Death); Min første Monocle (His First Monocle); Fru Potifar (Den skaebnesvangre Løgn; A Fatal Lie); Kaerlighedens Styrke (The Power of Love); Mormonens offer (A Victim of the Mormons
); Haevnet (Det bødes der for; Vengeance); Det mørke Punkt (Mamie Rose; Annie Bell); Eventyr paa Fodrejsen (Den udbrudte Slave; The Two Convicts); Ungdommens Ret (The Right of Youth); Tropisk Kaerlighed (Love in the Tropics); Vampyrdanserinden (The Vampire Dancer); Det gamle Købmandshus (Midsommer; Midsummer-Time); Dødens Brud Gadeoriginalen (A Bride of Death)
1912
Brillantstjernen (For Her Sister's Sake); Guvernørens Datter (The Governor's Daughter); Kaerlighed gør blind (Love Is Blind); Dyrekøbt Venskab (Dearly Purchased Friendship); Den sorte Kansler (The Black Chancellor); Hjertets Guld (Et Hjerte af Guld; Faithful unto Death); Direktørens Datter (Caught in His Own Trap); Det første Honorar (Hans første Honorar; His First Patient); Elskovs Magt (Gøgleren; Man's Great Adversary); Historien om en Moder (En Moders Kaerlighed; The Life of a Mother); De tre Kammerater (The Three Comrades); Operabranden (Bedstemoders Vuggevise) The Song Which Grandmother Sang; Den første Kaerlighed (Her First Love Affair); Hjerternes Kamp (A High Stake); Hans vanskeligste Rolle (His Most Difficult Part); Den tredie Magt (The Secret Treaty); Fodselsdagsgaven (Gaven; The Birthday Gift); En Hofintrige (A Court Intrigue); Den sande Kaerlighed (Flugten gennem Skyerne; The Fugitives); Hvem var Forbryderen? (Samvittighedsnag; At the Eleventh Hour); Alt paa ét Kort (Guldmønten; Gold from the Gutter)
1913
Pressens Magt (Et Bankrun; A Harvest of Tears); Troløs (Gøglerblod, Artists); Højt Spil (Et forfejlet Spring; A Dash for Liberty); Naar Fruen gaar paa Eventyr (Pompadourtasken; The Lost Bag); Bristet Lykke (A Paradise Lost); Fem Kopier (Five Copies); Atlantis
; En farlig Forbryder (Knivstikkeren; A Modern Jack the Ripper); Af Elskovs Naade (Acquitted); Elskovsleg (Love's Devotee); Vasens Hemmelighed (Den kinesiske Vase; The Chinese Vase)
1914
Sønnen (Her Son); Den store Middag (The Guestless Dinner Party); Tugthusfange No. 97 (En Gaest fra en anden Verden; The Outcast's Return); Faedrenes Synd (Nemesis); Aegteskab og Pigesjov (Mr. King paa Eventyr; A Surprise Packet); Aeventyrersken (Exiled); En ensom Kvinde (Hvem er han?; The Doctor's Legacy); Revolutionsbryllup (A Revolution Marriage); Et Laereaar (The Reformation); Den lille Chauffør (The Little Chauffeur); Den største Kaerlighed (En Moders Kaerlighed; "Escaped the Law, But . . . "); Pro Patria; Kaerligheds-Vaeddemaalet (The Wager)
1915
Du skal elske din Naeste (For de Andre; The Samaritan); Giftpilen (The Poisonous Arrow); Hjertestorme; Kaerligheds Laengsel (Den Pukkelryggede; The Cripple Girl); Lotteriseddel No. 22152 (Den blinde Skaebne; Blind Fate); Rovedderkoppen (Den røde Enke); Syndens Datter (Nobody's Daughter); Syndig Kaerlighed (Eremitten; The Hermit); Truet Lykke (Et Skud i Mørket; The Evil Genius); (Flammesvaerdet; The Flaming Sword); For sit Lands Aere (For His Country's Honor)
1916
Den mystiske Selskabsdame (The Mysterious Companion); Gillekop; Verdens Undergang
(The End of the World)
1918
Grevindens Aere (Kniplinger; Lace); Maharadjaens Yndlingshustru II (The Favorite Wife of the Maharaja II; A Daughter of Brahma); Via Crucis
1919
Prometheus (Bonds of Hate)
1920
Hans gode Genius (His Guardian Angel); Praesten i Vejlby
(The Vicar of Vejlby
)
1924
Det store Hjerte (Lights from Circus Life; Side Lights of the Sawdust Ring); Den store Magt
1925
Hendes Naade; Dragonen
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, production leader and pioneer of silent films during the "golden age
Cinema of Denmark
Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical...
" of Danish filmmaking from 1910 to 1914.
Career
Blom began his acting career in 1893 in KoldingKolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
, and was employed as a company actor for the Folketeatret from 1907 to 1910. During that period, Blom also began performing in films for the Nordisk Film Kompangni
Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film , established in Denmark in 1906 by Danish filmmaker Ole Olsen, is the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world. Olsen started his company in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby under the name "Ole Olsen's Film Factory" but soon changed it to the Nordisk Film Kompagni...
. He debuted there as a director in 1910 with his film Livets Storme (Storms of Life). That same year he was made the Head of Production for Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film , established in Denmark in 1906 by Danish filmmaker Ole Olsen, is the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world. Olsen started his company in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby under the name "Ole Olsen's Film Factory" but soon changed it to the Nordisk Film Kompagni...
and given the title of Director. Blom was a prolific filmmmaker and during the golden age
Cinema of Denmark
Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical...
of Danish silent films, 1910 to 1914, he directed 78 movies. Before he retired from Nordisk Film and filmmaking in 1925, Blom directed more than 100 titles. Blom's volume of work is the largest of any Danish film director.
Blom is credited as a pioneer in silent filmmaking. In 1911, Blom was instrumental in the development of the erotic melodrama with his film Ved Faengslets Port, the story of a young man in debt to a moneylender while in love with the moneylender's daughter. Blom refined this genre during the following years, and this became the most profitable trademark for Nordisk company films. Blom also is credited with developing the use of cross-cutting as well as using mirrors to expand the drama. In 1913, Blom made his most ambitious effort: the film Atlantis
Atlantis (1913 film)
Atlantis is a 1913 Danish silent film directed by August Blom, the head of production at the Nordisk Film company, and was based upon the 1912 novel by Gerhart Hauptmann. It starred an international cast headlined by Danish matinee actor Olaf Fønss and Austrian opera diva Ida Orloff. The film was...
based on the 1912 novel by Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Life and work:...
. The film, which depicted the sinking of an ocean liner only one year after the sinking the RMS Titanic, drew an enormous public response. With a complicated plot and several main characters, Atlantis became the first multi-reel feature film from Denmark. Harald Engberg of the Politiken newspaper later wrote in an obituary that Blom "knew that he wasn't some directorial genius, but he proved that he was the cleverest and most tasteful scene creator of his day."
Blom retired from filmmaking in 1924. He opened the Kinografen movie theater (later renamed the Bristol Theater) and managed the theater from 1934 to 1947.
Personal life
August Blom was born on 26 December 1869 in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Blom was first married at the age of 39 in 1908 to Agnete von Prangen. After they divorced, he married a second time in 1917 to the actress Johanne Fritz-Petersen, the widow of Theater Director Fritz Petersen. He died on 10 January 1947, aged 77.
Filmography
1910Livets Storme (Storms of Life); Robinson Crusoe; Den hvide Slavehandel (The White Slave); Spinonen fra Tokio (The Red Light); Den skaebnesvangre Opfindelse (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); Jagten paa Gentlemanrøveren; Singaree; Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
; Spøgelset i Gravkaelderen (The Ghost of the Variety); Den dø des Halsbaand (The Necklace of the Dead)
1911
Den hvide Slavehandel II (In the Hands of Impostors); Den farlige Alder (The Price of Beauty); Ved Faengslets Port (Temptations of a Great City); Vildledt Elskov (The Bank Book); Potifars Hustru (The Victim of a Character); Politimesteren (Convicts No. 10 and No. 13); Den blaa Natviol (The Daughter of the Fortune Teller); Damernes Blad (The Ladies' Journal); Balletdanserinden (The Ballet Dancer); Jernbanens Datter (The Daughter of the Railway); Den naadige Frøken (Lady Mary's Love); En Lektion (Aviatikeren og Journalistens Hustru; The Aviator and the Journalist's Wife); Ekspeditricen (Ungdom og Letsind; In the Prime of Life); Desdemona; En Opfinders Skaebne (The Aeroplane Inventor); Fader og Søn (Onkel og Nevø; A Poisonous Love); Dødsdrømmen (A Dream of Death); Min første Monocle (His First Monocle); Fru Potifar (Den skaebnesvangre Løgn; A Fatal Lie); Kaerlighedens Styrke (The Power of Love); Mormonens offer (A Victim of the Mormons
A Victim of the Mormons
A Victim of the Mormons is a 1911 Danish silent film directed by August Blom. The film was controversial for demonizing the Mormon religion, and its box-office success is cited for initiating a decade of anti-Mormon propaganda films in America...
); Haevnet (Det bødes der for; Vengeance); Det mørke Punkt (Mamie Rose; Annie Bell); Eventyr paa Fodrejsen (Den udbrudte Slave; The Two Convicts); Ungdommens Ret (The Right of Youth); Tropisk Kaerlighed (Love in the Tropics); Vampyrdanserinden (The Vampire Dancer); Det gamle Købmandshus (Midsommer; Midsummer-Time); Dødens Brud Gadeoriginalen (A Bride of Death)
1912
Brillantstjernen (For Her Sister's Sake); Guvernørens Datter (The Governor's Daughter); Kaerlighed gør blind (Love Is Blind); Dyrekøbt Venskab (Dearly Purchased Friendship); Den sorte Kansler (The Black Chancellor); Hjertets Guld (Et Hjerte af Guld; Faithful unto Death); Direktørens Datter (Caught in His Own Trap); Det første Honorar (Hans første Honorar; His First Patient); Elskovs Magt (Gøgleren; Man's Great Adversary); Historien om en Moder (En Moders Kaerlighed; The Life of a Mother); De tre Kammerater (The Three Comrades); Operabranden (Bedstemoders Vuggevise) The Song Which Grandmother Sang; Den første Kaerlighed (Her First Love Affair); Hjerternes Kamp (A High Stake); Hans vanskeligste Rolle (His Most Difficult Part); Den tredie Magt (The Secret Treaty); Fodselsdagsgaven (Gaven; The Birthday Gift); En Hofintrige (A Court Intrigue); Den sande Kaerlighed (Flugten gennem Skyerne; The Fugitives); Hvem var Forbryderen? (Samvittighedsnag; At the Eleventh Hour); Alt paa ét Kort (Guldmønten; Gold from the Gutter)
1913
Pressens Magt (Et Bankrun; A Harvest of Tears); Troløs (Gøglerblod, Artists); Højt Spil (Et forfejlet Spring; A Dash for Liberty); Naar Fruen gaar paa Eventyr (Pompadourtasken; The Lost Bag); Bristet Lykke (A Paradise Lost); Fem Kopier (Five Copies); Atlantis
Atlantis (1913 film)
Atlantis is a 1913 Danish silent film directed by August Blom, the head of production at the Nordisk Film company, and was based upon the 1912 novel by Gerhart Hauptmann. It starred an international cast headlined by Danish matinee actor Olaf Fønss and Austrian opera diva Ida Orloff. The film was...
; En farlig Forbryder (Knivstikkeren; A Modern Jack the Ripper); Af Elskovs Naade (Acquitted); Elskovsleg (Love's Devotee); Vasens Hemmelighed (Den kinesiske Vase; The Chinese Vase)
1914
Sønnen (Her Son); Den store Middag (The Guestless Dinner Party); Tugthusfange No. 97 (En Gaest fra en anden Verden; The Outcast's Return); Faedrenes Synd (Nemesis); Aegteskab og Pigesjov (Mr. King paa Eventyr; A Surprise Packet); Aeventyrersken (Exiled); En ensom Kvinde (Hvem er han?; The Doctor's Legacy); Revolutionsbryllup (A Revolution Marriage); Et Laereaar (The Reformation); Den lille Chauffør (The Little Chauffeur); Den største Kaerlighed (En Moders Kaerlighed; "Escaped the Law, But . . . "); Pro Patria; Kaerligheds-Vaeddemaalet (The Wager)
1915
Du skal elske din Naeste (For de Andre; The Samaritan); Giftpilen (The Poisonous Arrow); Hjertestorme; Kaerligheds Laengsel (Den Pukkelryggede; The Cripple Girl); Lotteriseddel No. 22152 (Den blinde Skaebne; Blind Fate); Rovedderkoppen (Den røde Enke); Syndens Datter (Nobody's Daughter); Syndig Kaerlighed (Eremitten; The Hermit); Truet Lykke (Et Skud i Mørket; The Evil Genius); (Flammesvaerdet; The Flaming Sword); For sit Lands Aere (For His Country's Honor)
1916
Den mystiske Selskabsdame (The Mysterious Companion); Gillekop; Verdens Undergang
Verdens Undergang
The End of the World is a 1916 Danish science fiction drama film directed by August Blom and written by Otto Rung, starring Olaf Fønss and Ebba Thomsen. The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant comet passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest...
(The End of the World)
1918
Grevindens Aere (Kniplinger; Lace); Maharadjaens Yndlingshustru II (The Favorite Wife of the Maharaja II; A Daughter of Brahma); Via Crucis
1919
Prometheus (Bonds of Hate)
1920
Hans gode Genius (His Guardian Angel); Praesten i Vejlby
Praesten i Vejlby (1922 film)
The Vicar of Vejlby is a 1922 Danish crime mystery film directed by August Blom. It is also known as The Hand of Fate. The silent film is based on a novella by Steen Steensen Blicher about a true murder case from 1626. The story was adapted later by George Schnéevoigt The Vicar of Vejlby is a...
(The Vicar of Vejlby
Praesten i Vejlby (1922 film)
The Vicar of Vejlby is a 1922 Danish crime mystery film directed by August Blom. It is also known as The Hand of Fate. The silent film is based on a novella by Steen Steensen Blicher about a true murder case from 1626. The story was adapted later by George Schnéevoigt The Vicar of Vejlby is a...
)
1924
Det store Hjerte (Lights from Circus Life; Side Lights of the Sawdust Ring); Den store Magt
1925
Hendes Naade; Dragonen