''Fant'' (The Gypsy) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

film from 1937 based on

Gabriel Scott Gabriel Scott (8 March 1874 – 9 July 1958) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright and children's writer. Personal life Gabriel Scott Jensen was born in Leith in Scotland as the son of sailors' priest Svend Holst Jensen and his wife wri ...

's 1928 novel of the same name. The film was directed by

Tancred Ibsen Tancred Ibsen (11 July 1893 – 4 December 1978) was a Norwegian military officer, aviator, film director and screenwriter. Background Ibsen was the son of Sigurd Ibsen and Bergljot Bjørnson. He was the grandson of both Henrik Ibsen and Nobel la ...

, who was also wrote the script for the film. The film premiered on December 26, 1937 at the Eldorado Cinema in

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 ...

. The film is about a young orphaned girl Josefa (played by

Sonja Wigert Sonja Wigert (11 November 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Norwegian-Swedish actress. She appeared in 34 films between 1934 and 1960. She was a spy in World War II. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal portrayed her in the film ''The Spy''. Selected filmogra ...

), who escapes from her wicked uncle (played by

Einar Tveito Einar Tveito (April 14, 1890 – January 19, 1958) was a Norwegian actor. Tveito was born in Lårdal, Norway. He debuted as an actor in 1920 in '' Fante-Anne'', and he appeared in 13 films until 1944. Filmography Actor * 1920: '' Fante-Anne ...

) and eventually falls in love with a

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

named Fændrik (played by

Alfred Maurstad Alfred Jentoft Maurstad (26 July 1896 – 5 September 1967) was a Norwegian actor, movie director and theatre manager. Biography Alfred Jentoft Maurstad was born at Bryggja in Davik (now Vågsøy) in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was the son of ...

). Fændrik belongs to a seafaring group of Roma that travel around

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

, and in many ways the film is typical of the contemporary view of the Roma people and their culture.

Guri Stormoen Guri Stormoen (10 September 1901 – 1 November 1974) was a Norwegian actress. She was active both on stage and in film. Biography She was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway as a daughter of actor Harald Stormoen (1872–1937) and his first w ...

, who played the role of Mathilde, said that during the production her opponent Alfred Maurstad had stabbed her in the stomach with a knife during the filming of a fight scene, and that director Ibsen had ordered the actors to "fight seriously, otherwise it would look idiotic, of course. And with that, we had to yell at each other, and then—it was absolutely awful!" The actors had to lie in their beds the day after this scene was filmed, according to Stormoen, because they were battered and full of bruises. ''Fant'' was received well by both the critics and the public when it was released, and Alfred Maurstad in particular was praised for his role as the ruthless layabout Fændrik.

Cast

as Fændrik *

as Josefa *

Lars Tvinde Lars Tvinde (11 September 1886 – 25 June 1973) was a Norwegian stage and film actor. Biography Tvinde was born at Voss in Hordaland, Norway. He was the son of Knut Haldorsen (1843–1927) and Eli Jørgensdotter Leidal (1842–1927). He attend ...

as Sebaldus *

as Mathilde *

Oscar Egede-Nissen Oscar Egede-Nissen (March 7, 1903 – November 1, 1976) was a Norwegian actor. He appeared in dozens of films from his debut in 1936 onward, his last being '' An-Magritt'' in 1969. Egede-Nissen was an unruly child, and he was sent to the alterna ...

as Oscar *

Henny Skjønberg Henny Kristin Skjønberg (6 August 1886 – 5 January 1973) was a Norwegian actress and stage director. Biography Hennika Bucher Eide was born in Stavanger, Norway. She was the daughter of Henrik Eide (1831–1907) and Ingeborg Sofie Bucher (1 ...

as Tobine *

Carsten Winger Carsten Winger (18 May 1907 – 19 August 1992) was a Norwegian actor. He was born in Kristiania. Winger made his stage debut at Søilen Teater in 1932, and was later assigned with Chat Noir, Det Nye Teater, Oslo Nye Teater, Det Norske Teatr ...

as Halvor *

Marit Halset Marit Halset (May 18, 1912 – March 22, 1986) was a Norwegian actress. She performed roles in theater, radio theater, and film. Halset was engaged with the National Theater in Oslo from 1933 to 1948. She debuted as the young girl Hazel Niles ...

as Halvor's wife *

Sigurd Magnussøn Sigurd Konrad Magnussøn (December 14, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was a Norwegian theater director and actor. On August 14, 1912 he married the actress Abigael Heber. Magnussøn was a student at the Fahlstrøm Theater from 1906 to 1907. From ...

as Peder *

Karin Meyer Karin Meyer (née ''Karin Eugenea Johansson'', January 9, 1897 – August 9, 1963) was a Swedish–Norwegian actress. Meyer was born in Dalarna, Sweden. She performed at the National Theater in Oslo from 1922 to 1943. This was interrupted by a ...

as Peder's wife *

Toralv Maurstad Toralv Maurstad (24 November 1926 – 4 November 2022) was a Norwegian stage, film, and television actor. He was the son of actor Alfred Maurstad and actress Tordis Maurstad (née Witzøe), and half-brother of actress Mari Maurstad. His screen d ...

as a boy *

Espen Skjønberg Espen Henrik Skjønberg (7 April 1924 – 26 August 2022) was a Norwegian actor of stage, screen, and television. Career Skjønberg made his first movie appearances as a child in the 1932 film ''En glad gutt'' and in the 1937 Norwegian classic ...

as a boy *

Joachim Holst-Jensen Joachim Holst-Jensen (16 June 1880 – 7 March 1963) was a Norwegian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1927 and 1960. Partial filmography * '' Den glade enke i Trangvik'' (1927) - Berg, telegrafist * '' Madame ...

as Uncle Søren * Gøril Havrevold as Johanne * Abigael Magnussøn as Johanne's mother *

Eugen Skjønberg Conrad Eugen Skjønberg (March 27, 1889 – July 25, 1971) was a Norwegian actor. Eugen Skjønberg was married to the actress Henny Skjønberg. They resided at Ramstad. He was the father of Per Skjønberg, Pål Skjønberg, and Espen Skjønberg, ...

as the sheriff *

as Josefa's uncle * Gudrun Tvinde as a fisherwoman * Aagot Didriksen as a farmwoman

Sequel

Leif Sinding Leif Sinding (19 November 1895 – 13 May 1985) was a Norwegian film director and journalist. He worked for the newspapers ''Verdens Gang'', ''Aftenposten'', and ''Morgenbladet''. Among his silent films are ''Himmeluret'' from 1925, based on G ...

made a sequel to Tancred Ibsen's ''Fant'' in 1943 or 1944. This sequel was titled ''Fant II'' or ''Josepha''. However, the film was never released, and only fragments of it have been preserved.

Literature

The film found is discussed in Thor Gotaas's comprehensive 2003 work ''Taterne: livskampen og eventyret'' (Travelers: The Struggle for Life and the Adventure), in which the author discusses the extent to which the film—and Gabriel Scott's novel of the same name—provides an authentic image of Roma culture.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0028852
''Fant''
at the

National Library of Norway The National Library of Norway ( no, Nasjonalbiblioteket) was established in 1989. Its principal task is "to preserve the past for the future". The library is located both in Oslo and in Mo i Rana. The building in Oslo was restored and reopened i ...

''Fant''
at the

Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database ( sv, Svensk filmdatabas) is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the S ...

Norwegian drama films 1937 drama films Norwegian black-and-white films Films directed by Tancred Ibsen 1930s Norwegian-language films