Valdemar Einar Psilander (9 May 1884 – 6 March 1917) was a Danish

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

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 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, reli ...

Biography

Early life

Valdemar Psilander was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

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 Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

and Dagmar Theaters through 1909. His stage performances were not particularly notable.''Valdemar Psilander''
Det Danske Filmistitut, retrieved 022-10-09/ref>

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 Nordisk Film A/S () is a Danish entertainment company involved in film production and distribution and a subsidiary of Egmont Group. The multimedia entertainment company is also involved in television production, cinemas, computer games and ...

to perform in August Blom's '' Ved Fængslets Port'' (''At the Prison Gates''). "Valdemar Psilander -- a global star from Nordisk Film"
Nordisk Film Press, 10 April 2006, retrieved 27 May 2008 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 a 2023 documentary about Psilander's life film historian Casper Tybjerg said that Valdemar Psilander was one of the world's first and biggest film stars. He often acted alongside Norwegian-Danish actress

Else Frölich Else Frölich (August 31, 1880 – September 15, 1960), was a Norwegian-Danish star of silent film. Biography She was born Eli Marie Thaulow to a Danish mother, Ingeborg Charlotte Gad (1852–1908), and a Norwegian father, the impressionist p ...

. 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 Forest Holger-Madsen (11 April 1878 – 30 November 1943) was a Danish film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed more than 40 films between 1912 and 1936. He also appeared in more than 20 films between 1908 and 1935. Selected filmo ...

, 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 Holger Axel Fønss (17 October 1882 – 11 March 1949) was a Denmark, Danish actor, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, film Censorship, censor and one of Denmark and Germany, Germany's biggest stars of the silent film era. ...

, received 14,000 DKK). Psilander seldom granted interviews.Larsen, Lisbeth Richter
"Valdemar Psilander -- A world Star in Danish Film"
, ''CINEGRAFIE #17'', 2004; retrieved 27 May 2008] 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 actress Edith Buemann. On 6 March 1917, Psilander was found dead at age 32 in his suite at the Hotel Bristol in Copenhagen. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest.Richter Larsen, Lisbeth. ''Valdemar Psilander - en Verdensstjerne I Dansk film''. Det Danske Filminstitut
/ref> However, rumors circulated that he had committed suicide. He was buried at the

Taarbæk Taarbæk is a neighbourhood in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality. The neighbourhood covers approximately 0.5 km2, located between Jægersborg Dyrehave and Øresund. The population is estimated to ca. 1700 residents. Traditionally, Taarbæk was a f ...

Kirkegård.

Selected filmography

*''

The Portrait of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Ma ...

'' (Axel Strøm, 1910) *''The Black Dream'' (

Urban Gad Peter Urban Bruun Gad (12 February 1879 – 26 December 1947) was a Denmark, Danish film director, stage actor, screenwriter, and author. He directed 40 films between 1910 and 1927. His wife Asta Nielsen starred in 30 of his films, also in his d� ...

, 1911) as Count Johan Waldberg *''At the Prison Gates'' (August Blom, 1911) as Aage Hellertz *''

A Victim of the Mormons ''A Victim of the Mormons'' () is a 1911 Danish silent drama 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 film ...

'' (

August Blom August Blom (26 December 1869 – 10 January 1947) was a Danish film director, producer, and pioneer of silent films during the "golden age" of Danish filmmaking from 1910 to 1914. Career Blom began his acting career in 1893 in Kolding, and was ...

, 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'' (

, 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 * '' The Secret of the Desert'' (1918)

Biography

Early life

Film career

Marriage and death

Selected filmography

References

Further reading