''Løvejagten'' (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

for ''"the lion hunt"'', English title: ''The Lion Hunt'') was a controversial

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

silent film by

producer Ole Olsen and director

Viggo Larsen Viggo Larsen (14 August 1880 – 6 January 1957) was a Danish film actor, director and producer from the early silent era to the 'talkies'. He appeared in 140 films between 1906 and 1942. He also directed 235 films between 1906 and 1921. He ...

. The short ten-minute movie caused an enormous public protest in

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because it depicted the actual shooting of two

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

lions.

Synopsis

Two big game hunters are on safari in the jungle with their African guide. They observe zebras, ostrich and a hippopotamus, and catch a small monkey for a pet. During the night they are awakened by a lion which kills a small goat and then the hunters' horse. The hunters shoot the lion as it stands by the water on a beach. They discover another lion and shoot it also. The lions are gutted and skinned. The happy hunters sit and smoke cigarettes afterward.

Production and controversy

The ten-minute "jungle" movie (215 meters of 35mm film) was actually filmed on location in Denmark. Scenes of the hunters in the forest were shot in

Jægersborg Dyrehave Dyrehaven (Danish 'The Deer Park'), officially Jægersborg Dyrehave, is a forest park north of Copenhagen. It covers around . Dyrehaven is noted for its mixture of huge, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer. In July ...

park near Copenhagen. The animals were filmed at the

Copenhagen Zoo Copenhagen Zoo ( da, København Zoo) is a zoological garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1859, it is one of the oldest zoos in Europe and is a member of EAZA. It comprises and is located in the municipality of Frederiksberg, sandwiched betw ...

with the camera aimed downward to avoid any view of the enclosures. The controversial shooting of two lions took place on the small island of

Elleore The Kingdom of Elleore is a micronation located on the island of Elleore in the Roskilde Fjord, north of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand.John Ryan, Simon Sellars and George Dunford''Micro Nations – The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made ...

in the

Roskilde fjord Roskilde Fjord is the fjord north of Roskilde, Denmark. It is a long branch of the Isefjord. Cities The cities Frederiksværk, Frederikssund, Jægerspris, Jyllinge and Roskilde (including Himmelev), (home to the famous Roskilde Festival), all h ...

.Casper Tyberg, "Teltholdernes verdensteater 1896-1909", ''100 Års Danske Film'', Rosinante, 2001, p.23 In the summer of 1907, Ole Olsen decorated Elleore with palm fronds and artificial plants to simulate a

tropical savanna Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

. He then bought two elderly lions from the Hagenbeck Zoo in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany for the large sum of 5000 deutschmarks.Larsen, Lisbeth Richter, ''World Record Nordisk Film Centenary'', Film #50, May 2006, retrieved=2008-06-22 When the Danish

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

learned about Olsen's plan to shoot the lions for his movie, they protested to the

Danish Minister of Justice The Danish Minister for Justice ( da, Justitsministeren) is the head of the Ministry of Justice of Denmark, Ministry of Justice and a Government of Denmark, cabinet member. As the head of the department, the minister is responsible for: * The Gen ...

Peter Adler Alberti Peter Adler Alberti (10 June 1851, in Copenhagen – 14 June 1932, in Copenhagen) was a Danish politician and swindler, known for the Alberti scandal of 1908. Family life On 6 October 1876 in the Church of Holmen the 25-year-old barrister (ove ...

. Alberti banned the filming. Two days later, however, Olsen defiantly shot the scenes as planned, then smuggled the film to Sweden. Olsen's cinematographer,

Axel Graatkjær Axel Graatkjær (1885–1969) was a Danish cinematographer who worked on silent films during the Golden Age of Danish cinema. Graatkjær was the favorite cinematographer of film director August Blom as well as silent film star Asta Nielsen a ...

, was arrested and spent a day in jail. At a court hearing, Alberti banned the movie in Denmark and revoked Olsen's license for his Biograf Theater.

Aftermath

In 1907, Olsen premiered ''The Lion Hunt'' in Sweden. Because of the publicity from the protests, ''Løvejagten'' was a huge success abroad. The following year, after the charges of animal cruelty were dropped and the Danish ban was rescinded, the film had its homeland premiere on November 11, 1908. Nordisk Film Kompagni eventually sold 259 prints of ''Løvejagten'', which earned the company an enormous profit. It ushered in the "

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

" of Danish cinema when Nordisk Film became the most productive film company in Europe. A sequel to the film, ''Bear Hunting in Russia'', was shot in 1909 and was also a profitable movie, eventually selling 118 prints.

Cast and crew

directed the filming as well as acted as one of the hunters. Knud Lumbye portrayed the second hunter and William Thomsen played the African guide.

, who later became a favorite cinematographer of

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 ...

and

Urban Gad Peter Urban Bruun Gad (12 February 1879 – 26 December 1947) was a 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 début the ...

, shot the film, credited under his actual name of A. Sørensen.

References

External links

Løvejagten
at the Danish Film Institute * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovejagten Danish silent short films 1907 short films Danish black-and-white films 1907 films Danish-language films Animal cruelty incidents in film Films about lions