''Sir Arne's Treasure'' () is a 1919 Swedish silent crime-drama film directed and co-written by

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 8 November 1928) was a Finnish film director of Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller was a pioneer of the Swedish film industry, writing ...

, starring

Richard Lund Richard Lund (9 July 1885 – 27 September 1960) was a Swedish film and theatre actor. He made his stage debut at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg in 1904 and later appeared in more than 70 films between 1912 and 1952, making his most important ...

Hjalmar Selander Hjalmar Selander (2 July 1859 – 10 August 1928) was a Swedish actor, stage director and theatre manager. Biography Selander was born in Mölndal Municipality in Västra Götaland, Sweden. He made his debut at the Stora teatern in Götebor ...

Concordia Selander Concordia Cornelia Johanna Selander, née ''Hård'' (Arboga, 2 June 1861 – 31 March 1935), was a Swedish actress and theatre manager. Her father was a music instrument maker. She first trained at the school of the Royal Swedish Ballet (1874� ...

and Mary Johnson. It is based on the novel '' The Treasure'' by

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

, the first woman to win the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

, originally published in 1903. The story takes place on the Swedish west coast during the 16th century, and revolves around a Scottish mercenary who murders a wealthy family for treasure, only to unwittingly begin a relationship with the surviving daughter of the family.

Plot

After discovering a conspiracy among his Scottish mercenaries, king

Johan III John III (; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Erik XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap bet ...

of Sweden orders them to leave the country and puts their commanders in jail. Sir Archie, Sir Filip and Sir Donald, three of the imprisoned commanders, escape and flee to

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histo ...

, then under Danish rule, in hope of being able to return to Scotland. Sir Arne of Solberga is introduced as a vicar and wealthy man who is said to be under a curse as his treasure - a chest full of silver coins - is said to have been looted from the monasteries during the

Protestant reform The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and, according to premonitions, will one day be his doom. While dining, Arne's wife has a premonition that three rogues are sharpening very long knives nearby, but is not taken seriously. At night, however, the three mercenaries enter the family's mansion, murder the family, steal Sir Arne's treasure chest and burn down the building. The only survivor is the daughter, Elsalill. Elsalill is taken care of by a travelling fishmonger who happens to be there and lets her live with him and his mother in Marstrand, where the Scottish officers have arrived and are waiting for the ice to break so they can sail away. Elsalill encounters Sir Archie, and they fall in love without recognising each other. Eventually however, Elsalill happens to overhear a conversation between the Scots, and understands who they are. She reports them to the town guard but the three repel the guard trying to arrest them as they are backed up by other mercenaries who are also waiting for the first ship to leave. Sir Archie seeks Elsahill to try to persuade her to come to Scotland and explains that he deeply regrets his crime but, as the town guard attack, Elsalill is fatally wounded when Sir Archie uses her as a human shield. Sir Archie escapes to the frozen-in ship with Elsalill's body. The ice still hasn't broken however, and according to sailor's lore it is because there are evildoers on board, a fact confirmed by the fishmonger seeking Elsahill. The three officers are identified and thrown off the ship. A long procession march over the ice ensues to fetch Elsalill's body and bring it back to land.

Cast

as Sir Archie * Mary Johnson as Elsalill *

as Sir Arne *

as Sir Arne's wife *

Wanda Rothgardt Wanda Rothgardt (12 March 1905 – 16 June 1950) was a Swedish stage and film actress.Soila p.84 Rothgardt was the daughter of the actress Edla Rothgardt. She married the actor Semmy Friedmann Semmy Friedmann (14 September 1891 – 13 Janu ...

as Berghild * Axel Nilsson as Torarin * Erik Stocklassa as Sir Filip * Bror Berger as Sir Donald *

Josua Bengtson Josua Bengtson (10 January 1882 – 15 December 1958) was a Swedish stage and film actor.Steene p.393 He appeared prolifically as a character actor in the theatre and in Swedish cinema following his debut during the silent era. Some of his final s ...

as Jailer

Production

The first plan for a film adaption of

's '' The Treasure'' at Svenska Biografteatern, the dominating production company in Sweden during the silent era, was in 1915, but fell through. In 1917 a stage adaptation of the story premiered at Deutsches Theater in Berlin, and an offer was received from a German film company which wanted to adapt it. After the play was staged in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

the following year, Svenska Biografteatern decided to go ahead and produce the film themselves. The screenplay by

and

Gustaf Molander Gustaf Harald August Molander (18 November 1888 – 19 June 1973) was a Swedish actor and film director. His parents were director Harald Molander, Sr. (1858–1900) and singer and actress Lydia Molander, ''née'' Wessler, and his brother was t ...

differs from the novel in that it tells the story in a more strictly chronological order, and incorporates some details which were introduced in the German play. Stiller also chose to tone down the story's supernatural elements. Filming took place from 12 February to 10 May 1919, in the studio area of Svenska Filmbiografen, later

AB Svensk Filmindustri SF Studios is Sweden’s largest film studio. It is involved in production, distribution, and movie theater market chains (both Swedish and international, including American) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen ...

, on

Lidingö Lidingö (), also known in its definite form Lidingön and as Lidingölandet, is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 48,162. It is the ...

, Stockholm, where the alleys of

had been reconstructed. Other exterior scenes were shot in the nearby area on Lidingö and

Lilla Värtan Lilla Värtan () or simply Värtan is a strait in Stockholm, Sweden. Separating mainland Stockholm from the island and municipality Lidingö, it stretches from Blockhusudden in the south to Stora Värtan in the north, and is joined by the Stocks ...

, as well as around Furusund in the

Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...

, where the ship had been left over the winter and frozen in. Some filming took place further north in

Skutskär Skutskär is a bimunicipal locality and the seat of Älvkarleby Municipality in Uppsala County, Sweden with 6,075 inhabitants in 2010. According to the census of 2000 6,003 people lived in Skutskär, most of them in Älvkarleby Municipality, but a ...

, and around

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. History The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. During this time the name ...

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from the ...

. The film featured handwritten

intertitle In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

s by Alva Lundin and was the first film to use her artistic title cards.

Other adaptations

Two other film adaptations of the story exist. In 1954

directed another Swedish version. A Czechoslovak animated short film directed by

Václav Bedřich Václav Bedřich (28 August 1918, Příbram – 7 March 2009) was a Czech animator, actor, and film director. He is best known for his children's TV animation.Hana Ročňáková, in CzechPříbramský rodák Václav Bedřich, autor celé řady več ...

was made in 1967.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1919 films 1910s historical drama films Swedish silent feature films Swedish historical drama films Swedish crime drama films 1919 crime drama films Films based on works by Selma Lagerlöf Films based on Swedish novels Films set in Västra Götaland County Films set in the 16th century Films directed by Mauritz Stiller Swedish black-and-white films Silent crime drama films