''Nine Lives'' ( no, Ni Liv) is a 1957 Norwegian film 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 ...

, a commando and member of the Norwegian resistance during

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 ...

. Trained in Britain, in 1943, he participated in an operation to destroy a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

air control tower. This mission was compromised when he and his fellow soldiers accidentally made contact with a civilian rather than a Resistance member, who betrayed them to the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. The film was 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 Oslo), Norway. His parents were Peder Nikolai Skouen (1883-1978) and Jenny ...

and is based on the book ''We Die Alone'' (1955) by British author

David Howarth David Ross Howarth (born 10 November 1958) is a British academic and politician who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005–10. He served as an Electoral Commissioner between 2010 and 2018. He is Professor of L ...

. In 1958, the film was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for Best Foreign Language Film and was entered into the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, Norwegian television audiences voted it the greatest Norwegian film ever made.

Plot

The morning after their blunder, the resistance fighters are attacked by a German vessel. The Norwegians' boat contains 8 tons of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s intended to destroy the air control tower. The commandos explode their payload, and Baalsrud and some other survivors flee. They swim ashore in ice cold Arctic waters. Baalsrud is the only one to escape the Nazi roundup. Soaking wet and missing one shoe, he escapes up a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

officer. Baalsrud evades capture for roughly two months, during which time he suffers from

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

and

snow blindness Photokeratitis or ultraviolet keratitis is a painful eye condition caused by exposure of insufficiently protected eyes to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from either natural (e.g. intense sunlight) or artificial (e.g. the electric arc during welding) ...

. He fails in his bid to reach the border of neutral

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and throws himself on the mercy of some Norwegians who have access to the Norwegian underground. While hiding in their

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. ...

, he amputates most of his frostbitten toes with an ordinary knife, because gangrene has set in. The fellow Norwegians manage to move Baalsrud close to the Swedish border, but are forced to leave him in a

snow cave A snow cave is a shelter constructed from snow by certain animals in the wild, human mountain climbers, winter recreational enthusiasts, and winter survivalists. It has thermal properties similar to an igloo and is particularly effective at prov ...

for roughly two weeks. They made a new plan to get him over the border, having him transported by a

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

herder, who finally gets him across the frontier to safety. Baalsrud recuperates in a Swedish hospital for seven months. He returns to England through

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and America before rejoining the fight.

Cast

Jack Fjeldstad Jack Fjeldstad (24 March 1915 – 4 September 2000) was a Norwegian actor and stage producer. He was active on stage and in films for more than fifty years. He made his film debut in ''Det drønner gjennom dalen'' in 1937, and participated in ...

- Jan Baalsrud *

Henny Moan Henny Moan (born 22 February 1936) is a Norwegian actress from Finnmark. She has had a long career in theatre, but is best known for her roles in certain classics of Norwegian cinema, such as the Oscar-nominated '' Nine Lives'' (1957) and '' Lake ...

- Agnes *

Alf Malland Alf Malland (24 January 1917 – 16 August 1997) was a Norwegian actor. Biography He was born in Bergen, Norway. He began his acting career as a student at the Det Norske Teatret in Oslo. Following the German occupation of Norway during W ...

- Martin *

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 ...

- Bestefar (grandpa) *

Lydia Opøien Lydia Marie Opøien (November 4, 1894 – November 24, 1961) was a Norwegian actress. Among other venues, Opøien was engaged with the Oslo New Theater, the Norwegian Theater in Oslo, and the Trøndelag Theater. She also worked with the NRK Ra ...

- Jordmoren (midwife) *

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 ...

- Skolelæreren (schoolteacher) * Sverre Hansen - Skomakeren (cobbler) * Rolf Søder - Sigurd Eskeland *

Ottar Wicklund Ottar Wicklund (3 July 1911 – 13 March 1978) was a Norwegian actor. He made his debut in the film Sangen om Rondane. He was in over 20 Norwegian films and had his last role in the film ''Min Marion'' in (1975). He also had many roles in Radio ...

- Henrik * Olav Nordrå - Konrad *

Alf Ramsøy Alf Ramsøy (13 September 1925 – 27 May 2014) was a Norwegian long-distance runner, cross-country skier, actor and farmer. He was born in Todalen, Surnadal as a son of farmers Jon Ramsøy and Ingrid Ramsøy, née Halle. As an active runner, his p ...

- Ivar, kjelketrekker (pulled the sled) *

Jens Bolling Jens Bolling (23 June 1915 – 13 December 1992) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. He was among the founders of Studioteatret, and a well-known interpreter of Norwegian fairy-tales. Early and personal life Bolling was born in Levan ...

- Alfred, kjelketrekker *

Per Bronken Per Bronken (13 March 1935 – 4 October 2002) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, actor, film director and stage producer. Career Bronken made his literary debut in 1955 with the poetry collection ''Kom drikk også mitt blod''. He made his stag ...

- Ole, kjelketrekker *

Grete Nordrå Grete Nordrå (22 November 1924 – 13 March 2012) was a Norwegian actress who appeared on screen from the 1950s onwards. She was born in Asker.Lillebil Nordrum - Sykepleiersken ("Nurse")

References

External links

*
''The New York Times'' review from 1959
{{Arne Skouen 1957 films 1950s adventure drama films 1950s Norwegian-language films Norwegian World War II films Films directed by Arne Skouen Films about Norwegian resistance movement Norwegian adventure drama films 1957 drama films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links