Jessie Wessel

Jessie Wessel (1894-1948) was a Swedish actress, who starred in Swedish silent cinema in the 1920s, in films such as Gyurkovicsarna and Thora van Deken, both directed by John Brunius in 1920 and starring Pauline Brunius.


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1200. Photo: Ferd. Flodin, Stockholm.


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/8. Photo: Skandia Film. Jessie Wessel in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).

Dark, difficult and with an aura of both supernatural and subterranean origins

Jessie Nilsina Wessel was born in 1894 in Linköping, Sweden. She was the daughter of Maria Osberg and Nils Wessel.

After graduating from high school in Stockholm in 1914, Wessel studied at the Dramatic School of Education from 1914 to 1916 and made her debut on the stage of the Royal Dramatic Theatre as Bertha in 'Fadren' (The Father) by August Strindberg.

In 1918, she was described in the magazine Hela världen as 'the new ingenue of the Royal Dramatic Theatre' and as the person who in time 'should be able to take up the mantle that was hung aside when Miss Anna Flygare became Mrs Stenhammar'.

Jessie Wessel was a member of the Dramatic Theatre's ensemble from 1916 to 1929. She was honoured for her role as Titania in William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at a guest performance at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna in 1925.

In his book 'Filmen i Sverige' (Film in Sweden), Leif Furhammar described Wessel as "dark, difficult and with an aura of both supernatural and subterranean origins". Wessel married director and art collector Fritz H. Eriksson in 1928.


Swedish postcard by Verlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/5. Photo: Skandia Film. Gösta Ekman and Jessie Wessel in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).


Swedish postcard by Verlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/6. Photo: Skandia Film.Jessie Wessel and Gösta Ekman in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).


Swedish postcard by Verlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/7. Photo: Skandia Film. Pauline Brunius and Jessie Wessel in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).

Madonna

In 1920 Jessie Wessel made her film debut in the drama Thora van Deken/A Mother's Fight (John Brunius, 1920). She played the daughter of a mother (Pauline Brunius) who goes very far in securing her daughter's future, even falsifying her ex-husband's testament.

After another film with the two Brunius, the comedy Gyurkovicsarna/Lieutenant Tophat (John Brunius, 1920), Wessel worked with director Rune Carlsten for his film Högre ändamål/Let No Man Put Asunder (Rune Carlsten, 1921), based on an August Strindberg novel.

Wessel played the Madonna in Vallfarten till Kevlaar/The Pilgrimage to Kevlaar (Ivan Hedqvist, 1921) after Heinrich Heine. She starred opposite Adolf Niska and William Larson in the rural drama Hälsingar (William Larson, 1923), filmed in Hälsingland, and in Flickan från Paradiset/The Girl from Paradise (1924), the debut of director Theodor Berthels. From Hälsingar, based on a play by Henning Ohlson, many of her films were scripted by Ohlson.

She played a supporting part in the period piece Två konungar/Two kings (Elis Ellis, 1925), on King Gustav III and musician Carl Michael Bellman, and filmed on location at Stockholm Castle, Drottningholm Castle, and Gripsholm Castle. After a supporting part Stormens barn/Child of the Storm (Adolf Niska, 1928), she had the romantic female lead opposite Eric Laurent in Berthels' Ådalens poesi/The Poetry of Ådalen (Theodor Berthels, 1928), in which future star Alf Sjöberg had one of his first parts.

Jessie Wessel had a last part in the early sound film Hjärtats röst (Rune Carlsten, 1930), the Swedish version of Sarah and Son (Dorothy Arzner, 1930) with Ruth Chatterton. The film was shot at the Paramount Studios in Paris. Jessie Wessel died in 1948. She and her husband Fritz H. Eriksson are buried in Bromma Cemetery in Stockholm County.


Swedish postcard by Verlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/9. Photo: Skandia Film. Pauline Brunius, Gösta Ekman, Jessie Wessel and Oscar Johansson in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).


Swedish postcard by Verlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1095/10. Photo: Skandia Film. Pauline Brunius and Jessie Wessel in Thora van Deken (John W. Brunius, 1920).


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1096/4. Photo: Skandia Film. Pauline Brunius and Jessie Wessel in the comedy Gyurkovicsarna/Lieutenant Tophat (John W. Brunius, 1920).

Sources: Wikipedia (English and Swedish) and IMDb.