European Film Star Postcards: Ellen Aggerholm

09 December 2021

Ellen Aggerholm

Ellen Aggerholm (1882-1963) was a Danish stage and screen actress, who had a very long career on the stage, from 1901 to 1947, in Denmark, Norway, and, before World War I in England. She also played some 20 leading parts at the Danish film company Nordisk in the 1910s. Married to actor Svend Aggerholm, she was often his stage partner until his death in 1940.

German postcard by Verlag Hermann Leiser, Berlin, no. 5298.

Danish postcard by Vincents Kunstforlag, Eneret, no. 1018. Ellen and Svend Aggerholm.

A transitional period for the art of acting

Ellen Aggerholm was born Ellen Abrahams in 1882 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ellen was the daughter of architect Charles Abrahams. She was raised in a theatre milieu. Aggerholm's mother was the sister of the father of stage and screen actor Poul Reumert. Ellen was also a niece of theatre director Severin Abrahams

She made her stage debut on 22 September 1901 at the Folketeatret after taking lessons from the actors Emmanuel Larsen and Johannes Nielsen. This was during a transitional period when the art of acting was still characterised by the old style's insistence on the beautiful form, while the naturalists were making increasing demands for greater reality in the play.

Abrahams' breakthrough came in 1903 as Käthie in the play 'Hans Højhed' (His Highness), which was performed over 100 times in the period 1903-1906. Abrahams married the actor Svend Aggerholm in Holstebro in 1903 and then played for a few years at the Folketeatret and Frederiksberg Teater until 1908. In the period 1908-1910, she was at the New Theatre.

With her husband, she moved to London, where she managed to establish herself in English theatre in the period 1910-1914. Already in 1910, she appeared at the Waly Theatre in London, and in the same year, she was a guest at Fahlstrøms Theater in Norway. In 1911 she appeared as Puck in 'Midsummer Night's Dream' at His Majesty's Theatre; one of London's most distinguished stages.

Before travelling to London and in-between her stage performances there Ellen Aggerholm appeared in Danish silent films, first in a two-minute documentary (1907) on her by Peter Elfelt. Her first fiction film was the Regia Kunstfilms production Et Gensyn/A reunion (N.N., 1910), but already her second film was at the Nordisk Film Kompagni.

Danish postcard by A. Gieses Forlag, mailed 1905. Ellen and Svend Aggerholm at home.

Danish postcard by Alex. Vincents Kunstforlag, no. 1221.

Mastery of the beautiful form

Ellen Aggerholm made her first appearance at Nordisk in Spionen fra Tokio/The Red Light (August Blom, 1910), in which she acted with Alwin Neuss as the Russian spy in Japan, her husband Sven Aggerholm, and Carl Alstrup. After an absence of at least more than a year, Aggerholm returned to Nordisk in 1912 for two more films, Dødsangstens Maskespil/A drama on the ocean (Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen, 1912) with Valdemar Psilander, and De Tre Kammerater/The three comrades (August Blom, 1912) with Svend Aggerholm.

In 1913-1914, she was most active at Nordisk, with five films each year. These included Dramaet i den gamle Mølle/The drama at the old mill (Robert Dinesen, 1913), the comedy Nellys Forlovelse/Dina's Decision (Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen, 1913), Højt Spil/A dash for liberty (August Blom, 1913), and Fra Mørke til Lys/Darkness and dawn (Hjalmar Davidsen, 1914) - all three with Valdemar Psilander. She also appeared in Skyldig? - ikke skyldig?/Guilty? Not guilty? (Karl Ludwig Schröder, 1914) and as a rich boy in Millionærdrengen/The adventures of the millionaire's son (Holger-Madsen, 1914).

The First World War ended Aggerholm's English career. She returned with her husband to Denmark in 1914. Apart from two more films at Nordisk, Nattens Gaade/The lost bride (Hjalmar Davidsen, 1915) and I Stjernerne staar det skrevet/The new star (Robert Davidsen, 1915), in which she was the star, Aggerholm mostly focused on the stage now. She toured the provinces and Oslo in 1914-1917 with the theatre company of which her husband was director, and when he became director of Odense Teater in 1917, she followed suit and became the theatre's leading female force. She remained so until 1921 when she was employed by various Copenhagen theatres; Casino, Dagmarteatret, and again Folketeatret and Det ny Teater.

On the 1924-1925 tour of theatre director Thorvald Larsen, she had considerable success as Margarete in Goethe's 'Faust'. Critics particularly praised her youthful appearance and vocal effects in a performance that made much of the form. She was then employed at the Casino in Copenhagen. Here she performed a number of leading roles, including in Alexandre Dumas jr.'s 'The Lady of the Camellias', and in the symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck's 'Maria Magdalena', she performed a role that could not have been created without this mastery of the beautiful form. In the 1935-1936 season, she was again attached to Odense Teater.

Ellen Aggerholm only once appeared in a sound film. She had a small part in the Danish film musical Champagnegaloppen/The Champagne Cup (George Schnéevoigt, 1938). Her career ended in 1947 after a number of years at Frederiksberg Teater. She passed away in 1963 in Roskilde, Denmark, at the age of 81. Her husband, Svend Aggerholm (1875-1940) was a cousin of stage and screen actor Poul Reumert.

Danish postcard by Alex Vincent's Kunstforlag, Neret, no. 1022. Ellen Aggerholm as Käthi in the stage play 'Hans Højhed' (His Highness), mailed Flensburg, 10-11-1905. Her partner in the play, playing the Highness of the title, was her husband Svend Aggerholm.