Valdemar Psilander
Encyclopedia
Valdemar Psilander was a Danish
silent film
actor, who was the highest paid performer of his period and received critical acclaim as the greatest male lead during the golden era
of Danish cinema.
, Denmark
on 9 May 1884. At the age of 15, he was employed as an apprentice actor at the Casino theater in Copenhagen
and performed at both the Frederiksberg and Dagmar Theaters through 1909. His stage performances were not particularly notable.
Ved Fængslets Port (At the Prison Gates). Psilander's charismatic performance earned him great praise and he quickly became Nordisk's highest paid actor. Within two years, he was named the most popular male actor in film magazine readership polls around the world. During the course of the next 6 years, Psilander made 83 films.
In 1911, Nordisk Film had a fine international reputation and a wide distribution network, but it was Psilander's films which spearheaded the company's sales. He was especially popular among German, Russian and Hungarian audiences. He appeared in such films as Evangeliemandens Liv (The Candle and the Moth) directed by Holger-Madsen
, and Klovnen directed by A.W. Sandberg, which was released after his death. Psilander's fees peaked in 1915, when he earned an annual salary of 100,000 DKK. (By comparison, the next highest paid star of the era, Olaf Fønss
, received 14,000 DKK).
Psilander seldom granted interviews. In a rare newspaper interview from 1913, he spoke about his acting method: "We so often see fine stage actors become nothing on film because they don't understand that it depends upon concentration. The interesting thing about film is that we play to all social classes and in all parts of the world. We must in our means of expression appear nearly primitively genuine, truly original. One can perhaps learn to become an actor but you can never learn to be filmed. Studied emotions on film become artificial and false. Film relentlessly demands truthfulness and sincerity."
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
silent film
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...
actor, who was the highest paid performer of his period and received critical acclaim as the greatest male lead during the golden era
Cinema of Denmark
Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical...
of Danish cinema.
Early life
Valdemar Einar Psilander was born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on 9 May 1884. At the age of 15, he was employed as an apprentice actor at the Casino theater in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and performed at both the Frederiksberg and Dagmar Theaters through 1909. His stage performances were not particularly notable.
Film career
Psilander debuted on screen in the fall of 1910 in The Portrait of Dorian Gray for a small film company, Regia Kunst Film. He was immediately hired away by Nordisk Film to perform in August Blom'sAugust Blom
August Blom was a Danish film director, production leader and pioneer of silent films during the "golden age" of Danish filmmaking from 1910 to 1914.-Career:...
Ved Fængslets Port (At the Prison Gates). Psilander's charismatic performance earned him great praise and he quickly became Nordisk's highest paid actor. Within two years, he was named the most popular male actor in film magazine readership polls around the world. During the course of the next 6 years, Psilander made 83 films.
In 1911, Nordisk Film had a fine international reputation and a wide distribution network, but it was Psilander's films which spearheaded the company's sales. He was especially popular among German, Russian and Hungarian audiences. He appeared in such films as Evangeliemandens Liv (The Candle and the Moth) directed by Holger-Madsen
Holger-Madsen
Holger-Madsen was a Danish film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 46 films between 1912 and 1936. He also appeared in 22 films between 1908 and 1935.He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and died in Denmark....
, and Klovnen directed by A.W. Sandberg, which was released after his death. Psilander's fees peaked in 1915, when he earned an annual salary of 100,000 DKK. (By comparison, the next highest paid star of the era, Olaf Fønss
Olaf Fønss
Olaf Fønss was a Danish actor, director, producer, film censor and one of Denmark and Germany's biggest stars of the silent film era.- Biography :...
, received 14,000 DKK).
Psilander seldom granted interviews. In a rare newspaper interview from 1913, he spoke about his acting method: "We so often see fine stage actors become nothing on film because they don't understand that it depends upon concentration. The interesting thing about film is that we play to all social classes and in all parts of the world. We must in our means of expression appear nearly primitively genuine, truly original. One can perhaps learn to become an actor but you can never learn to be filmed. Studied emotions on film become artificial and false. Film relentlessly demands truthfulness and sincerity."
Marriage and death
Psilander married the actress Edith Buemann. He committed suicide on 6 March 1917, aged 32.Selected filmography
- The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Axel Strøm, 1910)
- The Black Dream (Urban Gad, 1911) as Count Johan Waldberg
- At the Prison Gates (August Blom, 1911) as Aage Hellertz
- A Victim of the MormonsA Victim of the MormonsA Victim of the Mormons is a 1911 Danish silent film directed by August Blom. The film was controversial for demonizing the Mormon religion, and its box-office success is cited for initiating a decade of anti-Mormon propaganda films in America...
(August Blom, 1911) as Andrew Larson, Mormon Priest - The Great Circus Catastrophe (Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen, 1912) as Count Willy von Rosenörn
- Livets Baal (Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen, 1912) as Herbert Jyrtel Professor of Chemistry
- The Strike at the Old Factory (Robert Dinesen, 1913) as Hans
- The Evangelist's Life (Holger-Madsen, 1915) as John Redmond, Evangelist
- Poison Arrow (August Blom, 1916) as Edmond Vernon, Detective
- The Clown (A.W. Sandberg, 1917)as The Clown Joe Higgins)
Further reading
- Valdemar Psilander -- A World Star in Danish Film by Lisbeth Richter Larsen, (2004)
- Valdemar Psilander at Det Danske Filmistitut
- Valdemar Psilander -- a global star from Nordisk Film from Nordisk Film Press Release