''Charles XII'' (Swedish: ''Karl XII'') is a 1925 Swedish silent

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by John W. Brunius and starring

Gösta Ekman Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman (; 28 July 1939 – 1 April 2017) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and director. Career Ekman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was the son of the director Hasse Ekman and Agneta (née Wrangel). Ekman represented t ...

Bengt Djurberg Bengt Djurberg (23 July 1898 – 2 November 1941) was a Swedish actor and singer. He appeared in about 25 roles in films from 1919 to 1940. His film debut was in Mauritz Stiller's film ''Sången om den eldröda blomman'' in 1919. Selected filmo ...

and

Augusta Lindberg Augusta Lindberg (; 17 March 1866 – 3 December 1943) was a Swedish stage actress. Lindberg also appeared in silent films, such as the 1925 historical epic ''Charles XII''.Kwiatkowski p.33 She was married to the actor August Lindberg and was the ...

. Because of its long running time of nearly six hours, it was released in two separate parts. The film depicts the life of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

(1682-1718) who oversaw the expansion of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

until its defeat at the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

. It was the most expensive production in Swedish history when it was made, and inspired a string of large budget Swedish historical films.Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema p.228-29

Cast

as Karl XII *

as Sven Björnberg *

as majorskan Kerstin Ulfclou på Berga *

Mona Mårtenson Monica Ingeborg Elisabeth "Mona" Mårtenson (4 May 1902 – 8 July 1956) was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 28 films between 1923 and 1949. She was born and died in Stockholm, Sweden. Early career Mona grew up in Helsingborg and ...

as Anna Ulfclou * Harry Roeck-Hansen as Erik Ulfclou, bonde *Axel Lagerberg as Johan Ulfclou, teolog *

Paul Seelig Paul Seelig (5 October 1900 – 5 August 1931) was a Swedish actor. He appeared in about 15 roles in films 1913 and 1931. His film debut was in Mauritz Stiller's film ''En pojke i livets strid'' in 1913, when he was thirteen years old. He was the ...

as Bengt Ulfclou, löjtnant *Palle Brunius as Lill-Lasse Ulfclou *Tyra Dörum as Kajsa, piga på Berga *Nicolai de Seversky as tsar Peter I av Ryssland *

Pauline Brunius Pauline Brunius, née ''Emma Maria Pauline Lindstedt'' (10 February 1881 in Stockholm – 30 March 1954 in Stockholm) was a Swedish stage and film actor, screenwriter and film and theatre director. She was the managing director of the Royal Dr ...

as grevinnan Aurora von Köningsmarck *Tor Weijden as August II av Sachsen-Polen, kallad August den starke *Einar Fröberg as Fredrik IV av Danmark *Ragnar Billberg as Hans Küsel *Märtha Lindlöf as änkedrottning Hedvig Eleonora *Åsa Törnekvist as prinsessan Hedvig Sofia *Edit Rolf as prinsessan Ulrika Eleonora

References

Bibliography

* Sundholm, John & Thorsen, Isak & Andersson, Lars Gustaf & Hedling, Olof & Iversen, Gunnar & Moller, Birgir Thor. ''Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2012.

External links

* 1925 films Swedish epic films Swedish historical drama films Swedish silent films 1920s historical drama films 1920s Swedish-language films Films directed by John W. Brunius Films set in Sweden Films set in the 1690s Films set in the 1700s Films set in the 1710s Cultural depictions of Charles XII of Sweden Swedish black-and-white films 1925 drama films Silent drama films 1920s Swedish films {{1920s-Sweden-film-stub