Lilly Jacobsson

Lilly Jacobsson (1893-1979), aka Lilly Jacobson, was a Swedish actress who starred in Swedish and Danish silent films by Eric Malmberg, Mauritz Stiller and Holger-Madsen. She was the star of the popular Danish film Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (1917).


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm. Photo: Nordisk Films Kompagni, Copenhagen. Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3007. Photo: Nordisk Film.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2147. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, in Himmelskibet / Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3009. Photo: Nordisk Film.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, Berlin, no. 644/6. Photo: Art-Film / Asta Nielsen-Film. Asta Nielsen as Hamlet and Lilly Jacobsson as Ophelia in Hamlet (Svend Gade, Heinz Schall, 1921).

The Lusitania and the Titanic

Lilly Jacobsson (also written as Jacobson) was born in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1893. She made her film debut at AB Svenska Biografteatern in 1911 and collaborated with various Swedish filmmakers until 1914. First, she played in films by Eric Malmberg, with him often in the male lead. Her first film was Opiumhålan / The Opium Den (Eric Malmberg, 1911). It was shot in various Swedish cities such as her native town Göteborg, but also in Paris, Monte Carlo and aboard the SS Lusitania, going to New York.

Her next film, Bränningar eller Stulen lycka / Burnings or Stolen Luck (Eric Malmberg, 1912) repeated the pick of locations, again including a transatlantic trip with the Lusitania. The third film of Jacobsson and Malberg, Det gröna halsbandet / The Green Necklace (Eric Malmberg, 1912) was completely filmed in Göteborg.

Jacobsson then played the female lead in a film by Georg af Klercker: Musikens makt / The Power of Music (1912), again partly shot in Göteborg. Next came the farce Kolingens galoscher / Kolingen’s Boots (Eric Malmberg, 1912), in which Jacobsson played a millionaire's daughter.

It was then time for another transatlantic trip, resulting in Samhällets dom / The Judgment of Society (1912), aboard the Lusitania to New York. The trip also resulted in a short documentary Med Lusitania till Amerika / Med 2.300 Passagerare ofver Atlanten. Samhällets dom was released in February 1912, two months before the sinking of the SS Titanic.

The documentary was released one week after the naval disaster. Malmberg and Jacobsson then exploited their ocean trip for Tva svenska emigranters äfventyr i Amerika / The Adventures of Two Swedish Emigrants in America (1912), which also included shots made in New York and at Niagara Falls.


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1006. Photo: Nordisk Films Kompagni, Copenhagen. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1007. Photo: Nordisk Films Kompagni, Copenhagen. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


Swedish postcard by Förlag Nordisk Konst, Stockholm, no. 1008. Photo: Nordisk Films Kompagni, Copenhagen. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen/ Svend Gade, 1917). Collection: Geoffrey Donaldson Institute.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K 2028. Photo: Union-Film / Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson (Lilly Jacobsson) in Testamentets Hemmelighed / The Secret of the Testament (Holger-Madsen, 1918). The German film title was Das trennende Band.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K 2029. Photo: Union-Film / Nordisk Film. Hugo Bruun (also Hugo Brunn) and Lilly Jacobson (Lilly Jacobsson) in Testamentets Hemmelighed / The Secret of the Testament (Holger-Madsen, 1918).

Tell from the war dogs school

Back in Sweden, Lilly Jacobsson played the female lead as the daughter opposite Anna Norrie as the mother, in Mauritz Stiller’s debut as a film director: Mor och dotter/Mother and Daughter (1912). Next came Stiller’s När larmklockan ljuder/When the Alarm Bell Rings (Mauritz Stiller, 1913). The film was partly shot in and around the Swedish town of Sollefteå. Officers and soldiers of the local regiment, Kungl Västernorrlands, collaborated as extras, while the Airedale terrier Tell from the war dogs school also had a part in the film.

Stiller and Jacobsson worked together for a third time at Gränsfolken/Brother Against Brother (Mauritz Stiller, 1913), based on Emile Zola’s 'Le débacle' (The Debacle). The film had a huge international release. For a long time, Gränsfolken / Brother Against Brother was considered lost until a print was found in Poland in 2009.

Stiller and Jacobsson then did När svärmor regerar / When the Mother-in-Law Reigns (Mauritz Stiller, 1914). It was based on a Finnish play which Stiller had directed on stage. In their next film, För sin kärleks skull / Because of her love (Mauritz Stiller, 1914), Jacobsson had a secondary role – the female lead was for Lilly Bech (or Beck) - while the male lead was for Victor Sjöström.

Jacobsson then acted in another Af Klercker film: För fäderneslandet / For the Fatherland (Georg af Klercker, 1914), shot in Svenska Bio’s film studio in Stockholm, and in a studio in Copenhagen, while exteriors were filmed in Sollefteå.

Jacobsson returned to Stiller for Stormfågeln / Stormy Petrel (Mauritz Stiller, 1914), with Bech again in the female lead. It was shot both in Stockholm and in and around the train station of Åre. Lilly Jacobsson’s penultimate Swedish film was Strejken / Strike (Mauritz Stiller, 1915), again with Victor Sjöström in the lead, while the last one was directed by Sjöström himself: En av de många / One of the Many (Victor Sjöström, 1915), which starred Gunnar Tolnaes and Lili Bech.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2150. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, and Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros in Himmelskibet/400 Million Miles from Earth (Holger-Madsen, 1918). The German title was Das Himmelschiff.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2151. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, and Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros in Himmelskibet/400 Million Miles from Earth (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2152. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson and Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet / 400 Million Miles from Earth (Holger Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2153. Photo: Nordisk Film. Still from Himmelskibet / 400 Million Miles from Earth (Holger Madsen, 1918).

The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife

In 1916, the Danish company Nordisk was looking for a new star. Lilly Jacobsson was chosen from hundreds of competitors and became the leading actress in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917), in which she performed as Elly, who enters the harem of an Indian maharaja, played by Gunnar Tolnaes.

The film was such a success that Nordisk Film made a sequel: Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).

In between, Jacobsson played in various Danish films, mostly directed by Holger-Madsen. These films included the Science fiction film Himmelskibet/400 Million Miles From Earth (Holger-Madsen, 1918) starring Gunnar Tolnaes, Folkets ven/Friend of the People (Holger-Madsen, 1918), and Mod Lyset/Towards the Light (Holger-Madsen, 1918) starring Asta Nielsen. Nielsen plays a cold, partying woman who neglects religion, but later on, repents and becomes the wife of a preacher man (Alf Blütecher) who takes care of the poor.

In 1919, Lilly Jacobsson married director Corbett Edwards in Odense (Denmark), which ended her film career. Only her former colleague, Asta Nielsen, could persuade her to play Ophelia in Asta’s famous German production of Hamlet (Svend Gade, Heinz Schall, 1921), in which Nielsen played the title role herself.

Lilly Jacobsson died in 1979 in Odense, Denmark, at the age of 86. She is interred at the Assistenskirkegården in Odense.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1475. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917)


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1976. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru / The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2992. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II / The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2996. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II / The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3008. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II / The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3010. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobsson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II / The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).

Sources: Wikipedia (Danish and Swedish), and IMDb.

Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru (1917) and Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II (1919)

Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917) was a Danish orientalist melodrama produced by the Nordisk Film Kompagni. The stars were Gunnar Tolnaes as an Indian prince, and Lilly Jacobson as his love interest, the Danish Elly von Langen. The film was so popular that Nordisk produced a sequel. In Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919), Tolnaes and Jacobson returned. Photochemie in Berlin published postcards for both films. A German sequel followed in 1921 and a Danish remake in 1926, both with Tolnaes but without Jacobson who had left the film industry.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1475. Photo: Nordisk. Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1917. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1919. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 1976. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917).

Gunnar Tolnaes

Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917) was based on a script by Sven Gade. The film begins at a European seaside resort. Beautiful officer's daughter Elly von Langen (Lilly Jacobson) meets and falls in love with an elegant Indian maharajah (Gunnar Tolnaes). She has just turned down a marriage proposal from her cousin, Lieutenant Kuno von Falkenberg (Carlo Wieth). She secretly flees with the Maharajah to India.

There, to her regret, Elly is incorporated into his harem, and although she is given the status of favourite wife, she does not have her freedom. Some time later, von Falkenberg's ship arrives in India and the naval officers are invited to the maharajah's palace. When Elly recognizes her cousin, she first begs him to be freed. However, when the Maharajah allows her to choose and indirectly gives her proof of his great love, she decides at the last minute to stay with him.

In the 1910s, the Danish film industry was an international superpower and the productions of the Nordisk Film Kompagni were the most successful - especially in Germany. The studio heads at Nordisk hoped that Norwegian-born actor silent film star Gunnar Tolnaes would become as popular as their biggest star, Valdemar Psilander.

In 1913, Tolnaes started his film career for the Swedish company Svenska Biografteatern AB in Stockholm and worked there with legendary director Victor Sjöström. They made the silent dramas Halvblod/Half Breed (Victor Sjöström, 1913) with Karin Molander, Gatans barn/Children of the Streets (Victor Sjöström, 1914) starring Lili Beck, and En av de många/One of the Many (Victor Sjöström, 1915). He also worked with the other great director of the silent Swedish cinema, Mauritz Stiller.

Then Tolnaes moved to Copenhagen, where he was offered a contract at the Nordisk studio. He had an impressive career in Denmark. Immediately, Tolnaes was successful with Doktor X/Doctor X (1915) directed by Robert Dinesen. Tolnaes had his most famous performance for Nordisk in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, 1917). Bedecked with jewels and military decorations in his Maharajah attire, gained immense popularity and the tale-telling nickname ‘The Women’s Favorite Maharajah’.

Tolnaes continued in such Nordisk productions as the Science-Fiction film Himmelskibet/400 Million Miles From Earth (Holger-Madsen, 1918). Another major success was the sequel of Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917), Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919), in which he reunited with Lilly Jacobson.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2992. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2993. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2994. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2995. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).

Lilly Jacobson

In 1916 Nordisk was looking for a new female star. Swedish actress Lilly Jacobson (also written as Lilly Jacobsson) was chosen from hundreds of competitors and became the leading actress in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife (Robert Dinesen, Svend Gade, 1917). Jacobson had already starred in Swedish and Danish silent films by such directors as Eric Malmberg, Mauritz Stiller and Holger-Madsen.

In Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru, she played Elly von Langen who enters the harem of an Indian Maharaja. The film was a box office success in many countries. In Austria, Paimann’s Filmlisten warmly recommended cinema owners to book the film: "The story is gripping and highly dramatic; the acting and photography are excellent, the sets lavish and the harem scenes first-rate."

Jacobsson played in various Danish films, mostly directed by Holger-Madsen. These films include the Science-Fiction-film Himmelskibet/400 Million Miles From Earth (Holger-Madsen, 1918), Folkets ven/Friend of the People (Holger-Madsen, 1918), and Mod Lyset/Towards the Light (Holger-Madsen, 1918) starring Asta Nielsen.

Nielsen plays a cold, partying woman who neglects religion, but later on repents and becomes the wife of a preacher (Alf Blütecher) who cares for the poor. The film eventually resulted in Jacobson playing Ophelia in Asta Nielsen’s famous production of Hamlet (Svend Gade, Heinz Schall, 1921), in which Nielsen played the title role herself.

Hamlet was Lilly Jacobson's final film. She married Corbett Edwards, the manager of Odense Gasværk and director of Danske Gaskompagni and retired from acting. Jacobson then withdrew from the public eye and lived with her husband in Odense, Denmark, until his death in 1977.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2996. Photo: Nordisk. Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3002. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919)..


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3003. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3004. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).

Part 3 and another part 3

Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru/The Maharaja’s Favourite Wife was such a success that Nordisk made a sequel, Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919), again starring Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobson.

It featured a different set of characters. In part II, the Maharaja of Baghalpur (Gunnar Tolnaes) has conquered a European woman, Gul (Lilly Jacobson), who has become his very dear sweetheart. The young finance advisor Armine Robert (Carl Worm) is anxious to know all about the romance and Gul.

In 1921 the German studio PAGU produced another sequel Die Lieblingsfrau des Maharadschas - 3. Teil/The Maharajah's Favourite Wife III (Max Mack, 1921) in which Aud Egede Nissen replaced Jacobson. Die Lieblingsfrau des Maharadscha was Tolnaes' first German film.

Gunnar Tolnaes then alternated acting in German films with Danish productions, until the end of the silent era. Most of his Danish films in the 1920s were directed by A.W. Sandberg.

Finally, Nordisk Film released a new film in the series, Maharadjahens yndlingshustru III//The Maharajah's Favourite Wife III (A.W. Sandberg, 1926). Sandberg's film was a slightly modified remake of Dinesen's original version. The film was made to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of Nordisk. Tolnaes returned as the Maharajah and now Karina Bell played his love Elly.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3006. Photo: Nordisk. Gunnar Tolnaes in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3008. Photo: Nordisk. Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3009. Photo: Nordisk.Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 3010. Photo: Nordisk. Lilly Jacobson in Maharadjahens Yndlingshustru II/The Maharaja's Favourite Wife II (August Blom, 1919).

Sources: Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato), Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish) TMDB, Wikipedia (German) and IMDb.

Himmelskibet (1918)

This week's film special is about a silent Danish Science Fiction film about a trip to Mars! On the German postcards by Photochemie in this post, the film is called Das Himmelschiff, but the original Danish title is Himmelskibet. This translates as 'the airship', but the English release titles are A Trip to Mars and 400 Million Miles from Earth. Himmelskibet was made in 1918 by Holger-Madsen for the successful Nordisk Films Kompagni. The stars were Gunnar Tolnaes as spaceship captain Avanti Planetaros, and Lilly Jacobson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2147. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2148. Photo: Nordisk Film. Publicity still for Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918) with Lilly Jacobson as Marya, Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros, and Alf Blütecher as his friend Dr. Krafft.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2149. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson and Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2150. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson and Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2151. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, and Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).

A trip to Mars

Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger Madsen, 1918) is one of the first Space Operas. The story was based on Sophus Michaëlis' novel 'Himmelskibet' and adapted by the author himself and Ole Olsen. Frederik Fuglsang and Louis Larsen were the cinematographers. The production designer was Carlo Jacobsen and the art director was Axel Bruun.

Himmelskibet concerns Captain Avanti Planetaros (Gunnar Tolnaes) and his trip with his space ship Excelsior to Mars. On Mars, Avanti finds a race of white-robed, mystic vegetarians, and he enlists the services of Marya (Lilly Jacobson), the daughter of the local High Priest and leader (Philip Bech).

Among the cast are also Zanny Petersen as Corona, Avanti's Sister, Nicolai Neiiendam as their father, the Astronomer Professor Planetaros, Alf Blütecher as Avanti's Friend Dr. Krafft, and Nils Asther in an uncredited bit part as a Martian. On Mars, Avanti converts to pacifism and returns to Earth to spread the message. Before long, peace breaks out all over the planet and a well-placed bolt of lightning quickly wipes out the only resistance to this creed.

Freeman Williams writes in his Bad Movie Report about the social context of the film, the First World War, in which the film was produced: "Himmelskibet was released in February of 1918, nine months before the cease-fire with Germany was signed, which meant that for its entire shooting schedule, one of the most horrific wars yet seen was raging on with no signs of letting up. (...)

Given that, the tenor of the story is perfectly understandable, and Himmelskibet works better perhaps as a parable than it does as a science fiction or cautionary tale." Bad Movie Report rates the film as: 'Teetering on the brink of greatness. A good time' and adds 'Sweet movie. And save us, Space Hippies!'


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2152. Photo: Nordisk Film. Still from Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger Madsen, 1918) with from left to right Alf Blütecher as Dr. Krafft, Zanny Petersen as Corona Planetaros, Lilly Jacobson as Marya, Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros, and Nicolai Neiiendam as professor Planetaros, father of Corona and Avanti.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2153. Photo: Nordisk Film. Lilly Jacobson and Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger Madsen, 1918) with .


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, No. K. 2155. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes and Lilly Jacobson in Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2156. Photo: Nordisk Film. Publicity still for the Science Fiction film Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918) with Gunnar Tolnaes, as captain Avanti Planetaros, Zanny Petersen as his sister Corona, and Nicolai Neiiendam as their father, the astronomer professor Planetaros.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, No. K. 2157. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918).

A true oddity

Rhys Hughes at VideoVista rates Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918) among the Top 10 of Early Fantasy Films: "A true oddity this and a film that initially seems ahead of its time in many ways. (...) Despite the flower power trappings, the beads and robes and the consumption of lentils, Himmelskibet is really a reaction to the outbreak of WWI rather than an accurate prediction of the 1960s' alternative culture. Less surprisingly, perhaps, it stands alone as an example of early Danish fantasy cinema."

After Himmelskibet (1918), Denmark did not make another Science Fiction film until Reptilicus (Sidney W. Pink, 1962) starring Bent Mejding and Ann Smyrner.

Himmelskibet was believed to be by and large a lost film for many years, until the Det Danske Filminstitut (Danish Film Institute) located a fairly complete copy and set to restoring it. In 2006, nearly ninety years after its initial appearance, Himmelskibet (1918) was re-released on DVD by the Danish Film Institute.

At IMDb, Mart Sander reviews the DVD: "This film is a total orgy of enjoyment. The double feature released by the Danish Film Institute (together with a disaster film from 1916, The End Of The World) boosts their usual superior quality. The Danes began storing and archiving their films very early, so you get a very clean second-generation copy from a period when most of the US films withdrawn from circulation went to the glue or comb factory.

It's a pity this film with so many different locations isn't color tinted. The rather uninspired piano accompaniment, another trade mark of the series from the DFI, tends to grow a bit tedious too. But nevertheless, a remarkable film and something you can show to your friends without being afraid that they'll think you're a weirdo."


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2158. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, No. K. 2159. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, No. K. 2160. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/A Trip to Mars (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2161. Photo: Nordisk Film. Publicity still for Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918) with Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros, Philip Bech as the Martian leader, Lilly Jacobson as Marya, the Martian leader's daughter, Alf Blütecher (kneeling) as Avanti Planetaros' friend Dr. Krafft and Nils Asther as the fallen Martian.


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2162. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes as Avanti Planetaros and Nicolai Neiiendam as his father, the astronomer professor Planetaros in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).


German postcard by Photochemie, Berlin, no. K. 2164. Photo: Nordisk Film. Gunnar Tolnaes in Himmelskibet/Das Himmelschiff (Holger-Madsen, 1918).

Sources: Mart Sander (IMDb), Rhys Hughes (VideoVista - now defunct), Freeman Williams (The Bad Movie Report), Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 24 February 2024.