Arne Skouen (18 October 1913 – 24 May 2003) was a Norwegian journalist, author, film director and film producer.

Biography

Arne Skouen was born in Kristiania (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

), Norway. His parents were Peder Nikolai Skouen (1883-1978) and Jenny Emanuelson (1883-1975). He graduated at Hegdehaugen School in 1933. He had three distinct career careers: journalist, author and filmmaker, partly at the same time. He was a journalist at ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

'' from 1935 to 1941. From 1941 during World War II, Skouen was associated with the

Norwegian Resistance Movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

during the

occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

. From 1943 to 1945, Skouen worked at the press office in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After the liberation of Norway at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he returned to ''Dagbladet'' as a columnist, serving from 1946 to 1947. He then worked at ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' from 1947 to 1957. He later returned to ''Dagbladet'', where he worked from 1971 to 1995.

Literary career

Skouen debuted as an author with the youth novel ''Gymnasiast'' (1932), followed by the novel ''Ruth sett meg'' (1937). During the war he published the children's play ''Barn av solen'' (1941) and ''Tre små enaktere'' (1943). This was followed in the postwar years by his novels ''Fest i Port des Galets'' and ''Romanen Gategutter'' (1948). Late in life, he published his autobiography ''En journalists erindringer'' (1996).

Film career

After the war, Skouen began working in film. His first film ''Gategutter'' (''Street Boys'') was released in 1949. He received international fame for his 1957 film '' Ni Liv'', about

Jan Baalsrud Jan Sigurd Baalsrud, MBE (13 December 1917 – 30 December 1988) was a commando in the Norwegian resistance trained by the British during World War II. Biography Early life Jan Baalsrud was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway and moved wi ...

's survival following a failed a WWII commando raid in occupied Norway, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival. His 1959 film ''

The Master and His Servants ''The Master and His Servants'' ( no, Herren og hans tjenere) is a 1959 Norwegian drama film directed by Arne Skouen. The film is based on a 1955 play by Axel Kielland, who also plays a minor character in the film. The play and the film is base ...

'' was entered into the

9th Berlin International Film Festival The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and Françoi ...

. His 1962 film ''

Cold Tracks ''Cold Tracks'' ( no, Kalde spor) is a 1962 Norwegian drama film directed by Arne Skouen. The film was selected as the Norwegian entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Foreign Language Film at the 35th Academy Awards, b ...

'' was entered into the

3rd Moscow International Film Festival The 3rd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1963. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Italian film ''8½'' directed by Federico Fellini. Jury * Grigori Chukhrai (USSR - President of the Jury) * Shaken Ajmanov (USSR) * S ...

. In 1980, he received the

Narvesen Prize The Narvesen Prize was a Norwegian prize for those who excelled in journalism. It was established in 1954 by the company Narvesen, but the Norwegian Press Association was behind the selection of winners. It was discontinued in 1990. List of winne ...

(''Narvesenprisen''), in 1983 the Oslo City Culture Prize, in 1986 the Ibsen Prize (''Ibsenprisen'') and the Honorary Prize of the Amanda Prize (''Amandaprisen''), in 1988 the

Arts Council Norway Honorary Award The Arts Council Norway Honorary Award ( no, Norsk kulturråds ærespris) is awarded annually by the Arts Council Norway. The prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to Norwegian art and culture. The pri ...

(''Norsk kulturråds ærespris''), in 1993 the Oslo Byes Veles Prize and

Fritt Ord Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award ( no, Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt O ...

. He was an honorary member of the Norwegian Dramatic Society and Norwegian Film Association.

Personal life

He was married in 1946 to Kari Øksnevad (born 1926). Their daughter

Synne Skouen Synne Skouen (born 8 August 1950) is a Norwegian music writer and composer. Biography Skouen was born in Oslo. She studied at the Vienna Academy of Music with Alfred Uhl and Erwin Ratz for composition and Dieter Kaufmann and Friedrich Cerha for ...

(born 1950) became a composer. He died during 2003 and was buried at

Vestre gravlund Vestre Gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway. It is located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway. It was inaugurated in September 1902 and also contains a crematorium (''Vestre kr ...

in Oslo.

Selected filmography

* ''

Emergency Landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

'' (1952) * ''

Circus Fandango ''Circus Fandango'' ( no, Cirkus Fandango) is a 1954 Norwegian drama film directed by Arne Skouen. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Arne Arnardo as Fandango, manager *Joachim Holst-Jensen as Papa, clown * Ilselil Larse ...

'' (1954) * ''

Det brenner i natt! ''Fire in the Night'' ( no, Det brenner i natt!) is a 1955 Norwegian drama film directed by Arne Skouen. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Tim is a proofreader at a newspaper in Oslo by day, and a pyromaniac at night. ...

'' (1955) * '' Ni Liv'' (1957) * ''

Pastor Jarman kommer hjem Pastor Jarman kommer hjem is a 1958 Norwegian crime drama directed by Arne Skouen. It features Henki Kolstad Henki Kolstad (3 February 1915 – 14 July 2008) was a Norwegian actor and pop-cultural national treasure. With his debut at the Oslo na ...

'' (1958) * ''

'' (1959) * ''

Omringet ''Surrounded'' ( no, Omringet) is a Norwegian film from 1960 directed by Arne Skouen. Plot The film describes how the resistance fighter Per, modeled on Knut Haugland, operated an illegal telegraph station on the roof of the National Hospital in ...

'' (1960) * ''

'' (1962) * ''

Om Tilla ''Om Tilla'' (About Tilla) is a Norwegian drama film from 1963 directed by Arne Skouen. Skouen wrote the screenplay, which was based on his 1959 novel ''Bare om barn''. It contained a series of articles from the newspaper ''Verdens Gang'', in whic ...

'' (1963) * ''

Reisen til havet ''Journey to the Sea'' ( no, Reisen til havet) is a Norway, Norwegian drama film from 1966 directed by Arne Skouen, who was also the screenwriter. Skouen's daughter Synne Skouen played Pinne, a teenage girl wanted by the authorities. Plot The tru ...

'' (1966) * ''

An-Magritt ''An-Magritt'' is a 1969 Norwegian drama film directed by Arne Skouen Arne Skouen (18 October 1913 – 24 May 2003) was a Norwegian journalist, author, film director and film producer. Biography Arne Skouen was born in Kristiania (now O ...

'' (1969)

References

Sources

* Linn Ullmann (2001) ''Profession, director : Arne Skouen and his films'' (translation by Tiina Nunnally. Norwegian Film Institute)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skouen, Arne 1913 births 2003 deaths Journalists from Oslo Norwegian film producers Norwegian film directors Norwegian male writers Norwegian dramatists and playwrights Dagbladet people Norwegian columnists Burials at Vestre gravlund 20th-century Norwegian journalists Film people from Oslo