Comet in Jutland… The End of the World (1916), Danish Film Institute Online

OK, it sounds crazy, but hear me out on this one. In 1946 Finnish writer, Tove Jansson published Comet in Moominland a story about the impending impact of a large comet with the potential to destroy much of Moomin civilisation, they hear about the astral threat from the local observatory and set off to warn others and find shelter deep in a cave. Jansson’s book, as so much of her writing, contained much subtext and hear she was providing solace to an audience of young readers who had just experienced another huge disruption and for whom the resilience of her characters would help show that life could carry on.

In August Blom’s film, inhabitants of a Danish town discover from their local scientist that a comet is on course to crash into Northern Europe which could spell the end of civilization and, whilst some hide in a mine, others take refuge in a cave… awaiting a fate that may or may not be catastrophic. Of course, Jansson was only two when the film was released and in a different country but she did study art in Sweden and Paris – it’s possible that she saw the film. If not, she almost certainly saw Abel Gance’s End of the World (1931) in Paris and this was based on the novel Omega: The Last Days of the World by Camille Flammarion which was published in 1894 and probably influenced Blom!

Destruction hanging over them

Whatever the connections, Blom’s film is quite extraordinary and probably made with similar purpose to Jansson’s at the height of a great European conflict in which his country was neutral. Verdens Undergang is a parable as much as it is science fantasy and is focused on the behaviour of those whose lives are under threat as much as the threat itself and its conclusion is not a particularly optimistic one for large parts of humanity even if, as always hope remains.

Blom had had huge success with his proto-disaster movie Atlantis, influenced by the Titanic sinking, and here the memories of a close encounter with Halley’s Comet in 1910 were still fresh along with the fears that Earth could have been caught by noxious tail gases. The utter destructiveness of events across the border were clearly on the minds of many and Verdens Undergang delivers powerfully in its depiction of impending doom as well as wide-spread devastation with the director flooding and burning not just models but full-scale buildings as doom approaches. Sparks fly and smoke fills the screen as his cast of thousands look up helplessly and try to escape and whilst the painted image of the comet grows bigger and bigger overhead, modern audiences may not be impressed but it looks rather good to me.

Is this really the end? You’ll have to find out for yourself and really that’s not the film’s main point as the director looks to the behaviours of mankind at the last chance saloon.

The human elements revolve around the West family headed by the local mine’s foreman (Carl Lauritzen) who is father to two daughters Dina (Ebba Thomsen) and Edith (Johanne Fritz-Petersen). Dina is in a relationship with mineworker Flint (Thorleif Lund) and Edith is sweet on ship’s mate Reymers (the ubiquitous Alf Blütecher). Flint is too earnest and Dina too easily distracted and when mine owner Frank Stoll (Olaf Fønss) offers to take her away from all this she agrees and meets him in the early morning as the deposed Flint arrives too late yet just in time for Stoll to knock him to the ground.

Faith and science play equal parts in the drama as a wandering preacher (Frederik Jacobsen) arrives before the drama unfolds and befriends the Wests whilst astronomer Professor Wissmann (K. Zimmerman) spots the oncoming comet which he calculates could hit Earth with enough force to destroy all that they know. Wissmann warnings go unheeded by some whilst others pray and Stoll preys on the markets.

Carl Lauritzen, Frederik Jacobsen and Johanne Fritz-Petersen

Stoll genuinely loves Dina but months into their marriage she’s bored and Stoll feels that only more money can buy him the love he needs. Tipped off by the editor of the newspaper about the comet’s threat, he buys stock as the market sells, keeping his head whilst all around are losing it, and then, following confirmation of likely disaster, gets his friend to write a contradictory headline so that he can sell as the relieved investors buy back into a recovery that will never come.

Blom clearly had a dim view of stock market speculators but Stoll’s bloodless cynicism is not only cruel but also potentially pointless unless he can survive the comet. He finds a route to the mine deep beneath his house and resolves to wait out the apocalypse and emerge as the ruler of the new world. He hosts a massive party on the eve of destruction and there’s food and dance aplenty with Dina on stage performing suggestively for Stoll’s chosen people.

The Dance of Death for the wealthy

The world may be ending but there’s still time for revenge and Flint rouses his fellow workers to storm Stoll’s house and take what property they can; class war clashes with cabaret as the West family pray and Reymers hopes that his ship will somehow still come in…

It’s dramatic stuff and whilst it may run unevenly for modern audiences it’s a very well-made film, proof of Nordisk’s high level of production values at a time when they were the equal of pretty much anything in Hollywood.

I watched the Danish Film Institute’s 2006 restoration which is available to stream for free on their a-mazing site and on DVD from Editionfilmuseum and other retailers.

There’s no accompaniment for the DFI streaming and so you can make your own musical choices; some Holst perhaps, some Hans Zimmer, Laurence Rosenthal’s score for Meteor (1979) or perhaps just REM’s It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) on repeat.

Happy New Year!

Doctor at sea… Atlantis (1913)

 

Olaf Fønss in Berlin

This is another pre-war Danish film that defies expectations in terms of technique and structure. The remaining print is also in exceptionally good quality – it really is hard to believe that it’s a century old.

Directed by August Blom, the story is based on Gerhart Hauptmann’s novel - a prescient tale of a tragic Atlantic crossing which pre-dated the Titanic tragedy by weeks. It feels very much like an adaptation with a lot of detail crammed into the two hours with a number of fleeting characters. This was Denmark’s first full-length feature film and maybe they thought the whole book needed to be told. Or maybe Herr Hauptmann exerted too much of an influence… he certainly helped chose one or two of the cast…

Broadway makes a surprise appearance

Abetted by cinematographer Johan Ankerstjerne, Blom directs with verve, shooting scenes from on-board lifeboats, strapped onto cars and on the side of snowy mountains. There are also some amazing shots of New York City – teeming with motorised traffic amongst the already sky-scraping skyline.  He cuts quickly to move the story at a pace as well as developing linear narrative in a very Griffiths-ian way (new word alert).

What I feared might be stodgy… remains an impressive film in spite of some story flaws and one really bad dancer…

The family of Dr. Friedrich von Kammacher

The tale starts with at the home of Dr. Friedrich von Kammacher (Olaf Fønss) and his family. The Doctor is a biological chemist with some “revolutionary” ideas he is hoping ot have endorsed by the University of Berlin.

He lives with his parents, his three children and his mentally-frail wife, Angele (Lily Frederiksen).
Life turns sour when the academics refuse to accept his ideas and then Angele attacks him with some scissors. Whilst she is sent away to a sanatorium, the exhausted Frederich is persuaded by his mother to tour Europe and recouperate.

Man about town

We are shown some wonderful views of pre-war Berlin as Frederich is driven around – a vivid window on a lost world: the “slow-glass” of film.

Frederich decides to view a theatrical matinee and the course of his life and the film is changed by a woman dancing round a flower.

The floral dance...

Having recently watched Sumurun with two professional dancers in the form of Pola Negri and Jenny Hasselqvist, it’s a bit painful to watch the dancing of Ida Orloff as Ingigerd Hahlstroem, “artistic dancer “. She too had worked professionally when as a lithe 16-year old cabaret performer she had had an affair with Herr Hauptmann – well over twenty years her senior.... As she was the inspiration for her book’s character, the author rather insisted she was cast in the film…

Olaf Fønss and Ida Orloff

Whilst some may complain about her acting, looks and prancing…it’s all in the eye of the beholder and tastes change. She’s certainly does a good enough job as a girl who can’t – almost – say no. Continually keeping her options open, she drive Friedrich mad and he all but gives up on his pursuit when he hears that she and her father are headed to her debut performance in New York.

He resolves to follow them and to continue his interest on board the passenger liner, Roland. Yet on-board, Ingigerd is as surrounded by admirers as on land and Friedrich struggles to keep her attention. Continually rebuffed by her mass of male companions he almost succumbs to the charms of an attractive Russian passenger(Alma Hinding)  sent to him for medical help.

Olaf Fønss and Alma Hinding

If you weren’t already a little unsure about the good Doctor, this betrayal of his patient’s trust seals the deal. He is indeed a peculiar kind of hero: leaving his sick wife for a tour of Europe and heading off the America in pursuit of another woman.

He always seems to be reacting to circumstances and not forging his own direction like heroes usually do… But maybe this is Hauptmann’s point? We don’t hate Friedrich we just wish he’d stick to something and someone....preferably his wife and children.

Submerged subconscious

The film flips into over-drive as the fog-shrouded ship hits a wreck and starts to ship water… Friederich is dreaming of being in the sunken city of  Atlantis, walking with his friend Dr. Schmidt (Carl Lauritzen). Maybe it’s a premonition or just the realisation that his feelings have been submerged? Either way he is rudely disturbed and told that the ship is sinking.

A large-scale model with 100s of extras were used for the sinking

Blom handles the sinking magnificently and cuts quickly from various vantage points to show the chaos and the fear as different elements play out their part from the stokers, bravely carrying on to the captain resolved to going down with his ship.

Apparently over 500 extras were involved in these scenes as the director cut from a large scale model to life-sized lifeboats full to the brim as they crash into the sea. The scenes in the lifeboats are particularly effective as desperate survivors try to climb aboard as the ship sinks in the background.

Stunning camerawork in the boats...

Frederich and Ingigerd are rescued but her father perishes. She finally falls into her hero’s arms as they head for the safety of New York.

As their rescue ship approaches dock, there are some jaw-dropping shots of Manhattan as it was… so many elegant sky-scrapers even in 1913. Worth the price of admission alone.

New York City, 1913

In New York Frederich stays with some artists who are friends of a friend. These include a friendly sculptress Eva Burns (Ebba Thomsen).

Meanwhile, Ingigerd reverts to type and loses interest in her rescuer. At the same time she is mired in misfortune as it turns out that her performing contract has some irregularities…

Dedicated location work!

An exasperated Frederich is urged to head out to the country to regain his focus and re-apply himself to study. He heads up to the frozen north to stay in a lonesome log cabin where, it is to be hoped, he finds some truth.

Frederich experiences waking dreams of his friends playing cards and his lost loves. When told that his wife has passed away he breaks down and becomes very ill.  But help is on hand and Eva Burns comes up from New York to nurse him back to health and happiness…

Ebba Thomsen and Olaf Fønss on ice

The ending feels rushed but Blom tries to pack in so much of the story that this is inevitable. The script could have done with some more editing but, heck, this is ground-breaking stuff!

There are good performances from most in the cast and Olaf Fønss is excellent as the directionless Frederich.

There’s trivia too as Hauptmann’s second choice of cast member was the amazing Charles Unthan who plays armless virtuoso Arthur Stoss. Unthan had also inspired a character in the book and having been born without arms developed an incredible dexterity of movement in his legs. The inspiration for Lon Chaney’s Unknown perhaps?

Blom also enlisted the help of an assistant director called Mihály Kertész, who found great fame in Hollywood as Michael Curtiz.

I watched the DFI 2005 restored edition DVD which includes a  two-minute alternative un-happy ending originally filmed for Russian audiences (the existence of which had to be kept secret form the author) as well as the surviving 15-minute fragment of August Blom’s and Holger-Madsen’s 1914 film Liebelei.

Available direct form the DFI where it is far cheaper than Amazon...