On 4 September Frederick Albert Cook (1865-1940) arrived in Copenhagen on the ship ‘Hans Egede’. He received a hero’s welcome as the first man to set foot on the North Pole. He was greeted by the king, and given an honorary doctorate at the University of Copenhagen. Only a few days later, however, his endeavor was questioned, and in December the University rejected Cook’s documentation. Carl Th. Dreyer is seen as one of the journalists taking notes.
FRAGMENT | An apparition appears when the threat of foreclosure looms over the family estate. Solicitor Bang is a rich man with financial power over a dowager baroness and her estate. However, Bang also wants power over the baroness’ daughter Lucy, whose heart belongs to the family doctor Sperling. Bang threatens to foreclose the estate if Lucy doesn’t marry him. The night before the auction, a ghost appears to Doctor Sperling and leads him to a chest in the basement. But is it a coffer or coffin? (Stumfilm.dk)
Lieutenant Udo visits his family in the company of two good friends of his. One of them – Lieutenant Borch – immediately falls in love with Udo’s sister, Ebba, and she with him. While caught up in the rush of new love, he receives a letter from a loan shark to whom he owes money, demanding that he pay the debt immediately. Although his feelings for Ebba are genuine, he is now forced to plan a proposal in order to pledge Ebba’s dowry. When her father, the major, gives his blessing for the marriage but follows this up with the disheartening news that there will be no dowry, Borch finds it hard to hide his desperation. What he does not realise is that the major is simply out to test whether the suitor has noble intentions. (Stumfilm.dk)
The orphaned Eva flees from her harsh foster mother, who wants to marry her off to the suitor Berg. By pure chance, she ends up with the barber Kummersen, who has his own struggles to deal with: A Bolshevik apprentice with a large, dripping nose, an old intrusive housekeeper, and above all, a missing hundred kroner note for the rent. Nevertheless, he takes pity on Eva and accepts her as an apprentice, since the previous one had left in fury. To avoid upsetting the old housekeeper, Eva must disguise herself as a boy, and from here the story takes many unexpected twists and turns. (Stumfilm.dk)
The artistic cyclist Gaumont, his girlfriend Baptista, and their partner Rosa arrive in town with their travelling circus. Rosa is secretly in love with Gaumont, and to her great delight, she gets the opportunity to travel alone with him when Baptista gets injured and is bedridden. The two of them grow closer in secret, but the clown Pierre, who has set his sights on Baptista, gossips about the lovebirds for his own gain, thus igniting a fatal thirst for revenge in the betrayed. Stumfilm.dk
A footage of an orchestra at Frederiksberg Theater.
Young Elly lives in the fishing town of Whitley as the foster daughter of the greedy merchant Brown. When Brown suddenly raises gasoline prices, the local fishermen revolt. The events escalate to a huge gasoline fire, Brown’s death and poor Elly’s capture by pirates. Fortunately, John Elton heroically extinguishes the fire and, just in the nick of time, saves Elly, whom he has long admired. Will Elly and John finally find a peaceful life together after everything they’ve both been through? (stumfilm.dk)
A frivolous count disposes of his unwanted, newborn child in a first-class train compartment bound for Moscow. The train staff takes care of little Eva, but decide to send her to an orphanage so that she can have a formal education. At 18 years old, Eva must find a guardian before she’s thrown out onto the street. In a wicked twist of fate, Eva’s father, Count Iwan, seems unwittingly interested in the young beauty. Hopefully they realise their familiarly resemblances before it’s too late. (Stumfilm.dk)
Newlywed couple Adolf and Charlotte are heading home from a family visit and greatly hope for an undisturbed train journey. However, things turn out rather differently. Adolf is rude to the line’s traffic manager and is kicked off the train, while Charlotte is allowed to return to the capital. When the couple are finally reunited in their shared home, their family announces their arrival and pour through the door within a few hours. Will the couple ever find some time alone? Stumfilm.dk
Empress Dowager Dagmar's arrival in Copenhagen with several members of the Danish royal family present. Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar) maintained a close connection to Denmark throughout her life. She escaped the Russian revolution, which wiped out most of the czar’s family. In 1906 she bought the villa ‘Hvidøre’ north of Copenhagen, where she lived until her death in 1928.
Sir William's daughter Polly and the forest warden’s son George are best friends and quite inseparable. As they mature beyond the carefree days of childhood, their disparity in rank and status looms larger between them, and George puts aside his dreams of sharing the rest of his life with Polly. Instead, he meets a dancer, Stella, who moves with him when he himself is employed as a forest warden at Carlton Manor, the count’s estate. The solitude of the forest is a far cry from the bright lights and gaudy spectacle of the theatre, and when Stella meets some acquaintances from her old life, she is torn between who she really is and who her loved one thinks she should be. At the same time, Polly discovers that her feelings for George are more than friendly. (stumfilm.dk)
After the elections in 1929, where the Social Democrats are ahead, the work of rebuilding Danish society begins in earnest. A bold young man with faith in life, himself and the labor movement returns to the country, as legislation creates the opportunity to live abroad, where he feels at home. Ten years of struggle for work and democratic rule are experienced through living people. Stauning speaks before and after the film.
FRAGMENT | Every white hair on old Douglas Morland’s head can be attributed to his nephew, the scandalmonger Basil. The root of the family quarrel is Basil’s engagement to a simple showgirl, whom Uncle Douglas’s delicate sensibilities do not approve. So the two stubborn men have a duel with extravagant pranks as their weapon of choice. Which of them will get the last laugh? (Stumfilm.dk)
A beautiful but eccentric countess amuses herself by subjecting her numerous suitors to silly tests. Most men turn into frenzied dogs in the company of the countess, but there’s one who behaves differently in quite a lascivious way. Chas Burns isn’t easily ordered around and won’t hesitate to do anything to get his way. Not even when it turns out that a death ride on the rails is the only direct route to success and the countess’ cunning heart. (Stumfilm.dk)
Aage’s uncle wants him to drop out of law school to learn about farming on the family estate instead. At the same time, the uncle harbours a great desire for his nephew to fall in love with his daughter, Wilda. Aage has other plans, and besides, he is already in love with a young woman who attends the girls’ institute in the city. To get closer to her, he poses as a substitute teacher for the woman’s class. What he doesn’t know is that his dream woman and Wilda are one and the same person. Stumfilm.dk
War has been declared in the aptly named “Villa Pax”. The war-ladies, Mrs. Sørensen and Mrs. Hansen, spearhead the conflict between their floors, and constantly send their henpecked husbands to the front line. The poor men try their best to remain neutral, but a secret fraternity cannot stop any war. Fresh blood is required, so Mrs. Hansen’s son and Mrs. Sørensen’s niece plan a peace conference in the backyard. (Stumfilm.dk)
FRAGMENT | The ageing Miss Tillesen runs a boarding house, but her temper will soon run it to the ground. Tillesen’s young niece, Anna, decides to attract new boarders with a pretentious advertisement. Soon enough there’s bite from four would-be gentlemen, all of whom confuse Anna to be the boarding house’s landlady. A scuffle quickly ensues as to which of the gentlemen can woo the supposed landlady first. (Stumfilm.dk)
Peter Hansen, a parish clerk, is woken up in the middle of the night by a mysterious phone call. On the phone a woman screams for help, and when he hears shots shortly afterwards he knows that something is very wrong. He sets out to investigate the matter, and before he knows it he is embroiled in an actual murder mystery. (Stumfilm.dk)
Old Skipper Bims takes his daughter on a sailing trip and bitterly regrets it. Else falls head over heels for Helmsman Kik and Bims can’t stand that kind of romance! After the skipper has been hypnotised on land, he gets the idea that he might have hypnotic abilities himself, which could be used to separate Kik and his own daughter. The plan is put into action, but Bims has more regrets coming! It turns out that his newly discovered superpowers are even stronger than he himself had dared to hope. (Stumfilm.dk)
Director Jessen lives with his sons Fritz and Jørgen in a country house on the coast of Øresund. One day, Jessen announces that his boss is coming to visit from Australia, and that he will bring along his daughter, Alice. Jessen further proclaims that he wants one of his sons to marry Alice. Full of prejudice against Australians, Fritz and Jørgen end up drawing lots to determine who must accept this terrible fate. Upon arriving in Denmark, Alice decides to send her friend Elsie ahead to the country house to take the measure of the two fellows and report back to her. She pretends to be Alice, and to complicate things further, Fritz and Jørgen have in the meantime hired two strange vagabonds, Pat and Patachon, to pretend to be them, hoping that this will make her turn around and leave immediately. (Stumfilm. dk)
