''Fante-Anne'' (Gypsy Anne) is a Norwegian silent film from 1920 directed by

Rasmus Breistein Rasmus Breistein (November 16, 1890 – October 16, 1976) was a Norwegian film director.Sundholm, John et al. ''Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema''. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, p. 88. Life Breistein was born in Åsane in the city o ...

. The film is based on a rural story by

Kristofer Janson Kristofer Nagel Janson (May 4, 1841 – November 17, 1917) was a Norwegian poet, author and Unitarian clergyman. Kristofer Janson is commonly recognized as the founder of the Norwegian Unitarian Church. Background Kristofer Janson was born in Be ...

from 1868.Høiby-Nikolaisen, Magnus. 2012. Da norsk filmkultur ble født – Fante-Anne. ''Montages'' (April 11).
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Film history

''Fante-Anne'' is considered to mark the beginning of the national breakthrough in the Norwegian film culture. This was the first Norwegian film to feature professional actors. Unlike previous films made in Norway, ''Fante-Anne'' was also made with professionals working at all levels behind the camera. It is also noteworthy as one of the few Norwegian films from this period with Norwegians participating at all levels because Norwegian films were often created by Swedes, Danes, and Germans. ''Fante-Anne'' is therefore regarded as the first professional Norwegian feature film. The film makes use of the Norwegian landscape and rural lifestyle where the action takes place. The film was the first for which the distributor

Kommunenes Filmcentral Kommunenes Filmcentral was a film distributor in Norway. It was established in 1919 when Kommunale Kinematografers Landsforbund, an association of municipal-owned cinemas, bought the private-owned Nerliens Filmbureau. It distributed films by Univ ...

and Norwegian cinema owners were involved in the production. ''Fante-Anne'' was also the start of the over three-decade career of Rasmus Breistein, one of the most prominent Norwegian directors of the 20th century. The film was restored and reissued in 2011, with new music written by Halldor Krogh. Originally, the director Rasmus Breistein himself played the fiddle during screenings of the film.

Plot

Anne, an orphan girl, is raised by the Storlein family on a large farm. After the family's son breaks his promise to live with her and marries another, jealousy causes her to set fire to the farmhouse. Another young man, Jon, is in love with her; he takes the blame for the fire and serves several years of hard labor at Akershus Fortress. After he is released Anne meets him on the road and he persuades Anne and his mother to travel to America together to begin a new life.''IMDb'': Gipsy Anne (1920) Plot Summary.
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Cast

Aasta Nielsen Aasta Nielsen (September 29, 1897 – October 24, 1975) was a Norwegian actress. Nielsen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway and was a first cousin of the Wagnerian soprano Kirsten Flagstad. She debuted as a theater actress in 1915 and a ...

: Anne ("Fante-Anne") *

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 ...

: Jon Sandbakken, the cottager * Johanne Bruhn: the farmwife * Lars Tvinde: Haldor, her son *

Dagmar Myhrvold Dagmar Myhrvold (April 19, 1898 – April 21, 1972) was a Norwegian actress. After attending Sofie Bernhoft's school, Myhrvold spent a year studying theater in Copenhagen. In 1916 she was able to make her debut as a participant in Edvard Drablø ...

: Anne's mother * Henny Skjønberg: Jon's mother * Kristine Ullmo: Margit Moen, the wealthy farm girl *

Magnus Falkberget Magnus Falkberget (October 10, 1900 – December 4, 1957) was a Norwegian actor. He was the founder and artistic director of the Falkberget Theater ( no, Falkbergets teater) from 1929 to 1957. Falkberget debuted as an actor in 1920, and he worke ...

: the neighbor boy * Anders Skrede: the bailiff *

Edvard Drabløs Edvard Drabløs (1 April 1883 – 29 April 1976) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. Biography Drabløs was born at Sykkylven in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of Jens Helgesen Drabløs (1856–1925) and Olave Velle (1852–191 ...

: the judge * Elsa Vang: Anne as a child * Olaf Solberg: Haldor as a child *

Olav Øygard Olav Øygard (born 29 July 1956) is a Norwegian Lutheran prelate of the Church of Norway who serves as the Bishop of Nord-Hålogaland since 2014. Nord-Hålogaland covers Troms and Finnmark countries, and also Svalbard. Øygard is a self-descr ...

: the priest

References

External links

*
''Norsk filmografi'': ''Fante-Anne''

''Montages'': article with scenes from ''Fante-Anne''
1920 films Norwegian silent films Films directed by Rasmus Breistein Norwegian black-and-white films {{silent-film-stub