Nils Chrisander

Swedish actor and film director Nils Chrisander (1884-1947) made his first screen appearances in German and Swedish silent films in the mid-1910s. In 1916, he was the first Phantom of the Opera on the screen. Later, he moved to Hollywood, where he also directed a few films.


German postcard by NPG, no. G 1056.


German postcard by NPG, no. 427. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 3125.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 7159.

The first phantom of the opera

Nils Chrisander or Nils Olaf Chrisander was born Nils Olaf Waldemar Chrisander in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1884. According to Chrisander himself, his uncle was the composer Nils Chrisander, and his great-aunt was the opera singer Jenny Lind. He claimed to have attended various secondary schools in Stockholm, Vienna, Paris and London. After graduating from school, he is said to have begun studying art history and philosophy at the beginning of the 20th century. He then tried his hand at painting. Chrisander took acting lessons at the Dramaten theatre school in Stockholm and then began acting in plays such as August Strindberg's 'Karl XII'. Through the actor and director Bjørn Bjørnson, Chrisander came into contact with cinematography in 1913.

Chrisander probably made his film debut in a supporting role in the Danish production Et Gensyn / A Reunion (N.N., 1914) for the Dania Biofilm Kompagni. He then moved to the film capital Berlin, where he mainly played leading roles. His first German film was probably the silent drama Die Flammentänzerin / The Flame Dancer (Georg Jacoby, 1914) opposite Norwegian actress Aud Egede-Nissen. In the following years, he played in the films Die Wellen schweigen / The Silent Waves (Rudolf Biebrach, 1915) with Henny Porten, and Um ein Weib / Because of a Woman (Carl Schönfeld, 1915) again opposite Aud Egede-Nissen.

As an actor, Chrisander is possibly best recalled for starring as Erik the Phantom in Das Phantom der Oper (Ernst Matray, 1916), the now-lost German adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Matray's version is the first film adaptation of Leroux's 1909-1910 serialised novel. Aud Egede-Nissen co-starred as Christine, and director Ernst Matray played The Persian.

That same year, Chrisander also appeared in such Swedish silent films as Svärmor på vift / Mother-in-law on the Loose (Georg af Klercker, 1916), Fången på Karlstens fästning / Prisoner of Karl's Fortress (Georg af Klercker, 1916) and Revelj / Reveille (Georg af Klercker, 1917) with Mary Johnson.

Back in Germany, Chrisander appeared in Nicht lange täuschte mich das Glück / Happiness did not deceive me for long (Kurt Matull, 1917) opposite Olga Engl and the popular Polish film actress Pola Negri in her first role in a German production. He also played leading roles in the melodramas Die Vergangenheit rächt sich / The Past Takes Revenge (Urban Gad, 1917) with Albert Paulig, Küsse, die man im Dunkeln stiehlt / Kisses That You Steal In The Dark (Kurt Matull, 1918) with Pola Negri and Ernst Hofmann, and Die neue Daliah / The New Daliah (Urban Gad, 1918) featuring Maria Widal.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 7460. Photo: Gerlach, Berlin.


German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 7642. Photo: Gerlach.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1641. Photo: Nicola Perscheid, Berlin.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1642. Photo: Nicola Perscheid, Berlin.

The Golem

Nils Chrisander repeatedly returned to his native Stockholm for film engagements. In 1918, he made his last Swedish appearance there in the leading role of surgeon Dr Henry Arel in Nobelpristagaren / Nobel Prize winners (1918). Like most of his Swedish films, the film was directed by Georg af Klercker. Chrisander played Dr. Henry Arel, who with his fiancee, Violet Starford (Mary Johnson), joins the war as paramedics. During a flight attack, Violet is badly hurt. The doctor makes a very bold intervention in the hope that Violet will survive.

In 1919, Nils Chrisander started to direct silent films for the Deutsche Bioscop GmbH. His first films were Olaf Bernadotte (1918) with Carl de Vogt, and Chrysanthéme / Chrysanthemum (1918) featuring Carola Toelle.

He co-directed the German silent film Alraune und der Golem / Alraune and the Golem with actor and director Paul Wegener. J Zsalsberg at IMDb: “No prints of the film are known to have survived. Nor have they any photographs, reviews, or even a decent credit listing. Poster artwork does exist, but German censorship/release records do not. Consequently, it is, indeed, possible that the film was never made at all, with the poster artwork having been created to advertise a 'possible' production. In any event, the story is alleged to be based on the novel 'Isabella of Egypt' by Ludwig Achim von Arnim, in which the 'Alraune' character is male, and the golem is female!”

That year, he played his favourite role in Germany, that of Prince Hochwald in his own production Die weißen Rosen von Ravensberg / The White Roses of Ravensberg (Nils Chrisander, 1919) with Uschi Elleot, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay. After performing in the film serial Die Jagd nach dem Tode / The Hunt for the Death (Karl Gerhardt, 1920) opposite actress Lil Dagover, Nils Chrisander continued his career in Germany as a director. In total, he directed three films in Germany. At the beginning of the 1920s, Chrisander temporarily left the film business and went travelling, including to ‘secret studies in Egypt and Asia’, as he wrote vaguely. Back in Germany, he was documented as residing in Berlin-Friedenau until 1926, then in the same year Chrisander followed a call to Hollywood.

In Hollywood, he directed two dramatic, little-noticed films: Fighting Love (1927), starring Jetta Goudal, Victor Varconi and Henry B. Walthall for Cecil B. DeMille Pictures, and that same year, The Heart Thief (1927), starring Joseph Schildkraut and Lya De Putti. Although no further offers followed, Chrisander remained in Los Angeles. By 1930, he was living at S. Gramercy Place in Los Angeles, California. He later returned to his native Sweden, where he settled in Skivarp, a village near Skurup in the far south of the country. Nils Chrisander died there in 1947. He was 63.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 274/2, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin / Deutsche Bioscop.


German postcard by Verlag Ross, Berlin, no. 274/3, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin / Deutsche Bioscop.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 274/4, 1919-1924. Photo: Becker & Maass, Berlin / Deutsche Bioscop.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3495/1, 1928-1929. Photo: LPG. Lya de Putti and Joseph Schildkraut in The Heart Thief (Nils Olaf Chrisander, 1927).

Sources: Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.