Einar Hanson
Encyclopedia
Einar Hanson also known as Einar Hansen, was a Swedish silent film
motion-picture actor.
by director Mauritz Stiller
, handsome and sophisticated, he was in 1927 ideally positioned to take over from the late Rudolph Valentino
as Hollywood's "great screen lover".
Upon his arrival in Hollywood in 1925, along with Stiller and the director's other protegée Greta Garbo
, Hansen starred opposite some of the era's leading ladies, including Pola Negri
and Corinne Griffith
.
Hanson was destined for even bigger and better things at Paramount Pictures
, who had bought his original five-year contract from Universal Studios
. He showed great progress opposite Clara Bow
and Esther Ralston
in Children of Divorce
, as well as The Woman on Trial and Barbed Wire both with Pola Negri
, and Fashions for Women (all 1927), directed by Dorothy Arzner
.
, in his 1995 biography Garbo says that Hanson met Garbo and Stiller at a party where Hanson became intoxicated and drove off on his own, leading to the fatal accident.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
motion-picture actor.
Career
Discovered at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic TheatreRoyal Dramatic Theatre
The Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's eight running stages....
by director Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller was a Finnish-Swedish actor, screenwriter and silent film director, who was mostly active in Sweden.-Life:...
, handsome and sophisticated, he was in 1927 ideally positioned to take over from the late Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
as Hollywood's "great screen lover".
Upon his arrival in Hollywood in 1925, along with Stiller and the director's other protegée Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Hansen starred opposite some of the era's leading ladies, including Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
and Corinne Griffith
Corinne Griffith
Corinne Mae Griffith was an American actress. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen", she was one of the most popular film actresses of the 1920s and widely considered the most beautiful actress of the silent screen...
.
Hanson was destined for even bigger and better things at Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, who had bought his original five-year contract from Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. He showed great progress opposite Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
and Esther Ralston
Esther Ralston
Esther Ralston was an American movie actress whose greatest popularity came during the silent era.-Early life and career:...
in Children of Divorce
Children of Divorce
Children of Divorce is a silent film, directed by Frank Lloyd from an adaptation of Owen Johnson's novel, written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.-Plot:...
, as well as The Woman on Trial and Barbed Wire both with Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
, and Fashions for Women (all 1927), directed by Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was an American film director. Her directorial career in feature films spanned from the late 1920s into the early 1940s, a time period in which there were very few—if any—other women working in the field.- Biography :Born in San Francisco, California, Arzner grew up in Los...
.
Death
On June 3, 1927, Hanson was on his way home from having dinner with Stiller and Garbo when his car apparently skidded off the road on the Pacific Coast Highway near Topanga Canyon and died on the way to the hospital. Barry ParisBarry Paris
Barry Paris is an author and journalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His best-known works include acclaimed biographies of film stars Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. He is a movie reviewer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and co-host of a weekly radio show on WQED-FM. Paris...
, in his 1995 biography Garbo says that Hanson met Garbo and Stiller at a party where Hanson became intoxicated and drove off on his own, leading to the fatal accident.
Filmography
- The Woman on Trial (1927)
- Barbed Wire (1927)
- Children of DivorceChildren of DivorceChildren of Divorce is a silent film, directed by Frank Lloyd from an adaptation of Owen Johnson's novel, written by Adela Rogers St. Johns, Hope Loring and Louis D. Lighton.-Plot:...
(1927) - Fashions for Women (1927)
- The Masked Woman (1927)
- The Lady in ErmineThe Lady in Ermine (1927 film)The Lady in Ermine is a silent film romance/drama directed by James Flood and produced by Corinne Griffith, and distributed by First National Pictures...
(1927) - Her Big Night (1926)
- Into Her Kingdom (1926)
- The Joyless Street (1925) directed by G. W. Pabst
- Takt, tone og tosser (1925)
- Skeppargatan 40 (1925)
- Lumpen und Seide (1925)
- Fra Piazza del Popolo (1925)
- Life in the Country (1924)
- 33.333 (1924)
- Johan Ulfstjerna (1923)
- The BlizzardThe Blizzard (1923 film)The Blizzard is a Swedish silent drama film directed by Mauritz Stiller and starring Einar Hanson, Mary Johnson, Pauline Brunius and Hugo Björne. The film's original Swedish title is Gunnar Hedes saga...
(1923) based on Selma LagerlofSelma LagerlöfSelma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a Swedish author. She was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and most widely known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige ....
novel Gunnar Hedes saga - Mälarpirater (1923)
- Hemsöborna (1919)