Olav Dalgard (June 19, 1898 – December 25, 1980) was 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 ...

literary and art historian, filmmaker, author and educator.

Biography

Dalgard was born Olaf Hanssen in

Folldal Folldal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Folldal. The municipality was established in 1914 when it was sepa ...

, in

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

, Norway. From the age of three, he was raised at

Oppdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Dovre region and the traditional district of Orkdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppdal. Other villages in the municipality include Lønse ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

. He earned an M.A. degree in literature and art history at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1929. He was an advocate of the use of

Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-N ...

and served as the chairman of the student Nynorsk association. He was also involved in the Mot Dag movement. Dalgard worked as a literary critic for the newspapers ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...

'' and ''

Arbeiderbladet ''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...

''. Dalgard took over as dramatic advisor and instructor for Det Norske Teateret in 1931 and was involved with the theater for 48 years. He studied film in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and in the 1930s produced several films with a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

message. Dalgard was also active in the Norwegian Labour Party's cultural operations. During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, Dalgard was arrested in 1942, held as a political prisoner by German authorities and sent to the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

. Dalgard was involved in the establishment of the Norwegian Film Institute and was a member of the state film board. Among his most famous works was '' Gryr i Norden'' (1939). Dalgard both wrote the script and directed the film which was a dramatization of the Kristiania Match Workers' Strike of 1889 (). He also wrote a number of books about theater and film as well as biographies including (nonfiction, 1948), (nonfiction, 1951), (nonfiction, 1955), ''Lars Tvinde'' (biography of

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 ...

, 1966) and ''Inge Krokann'' (biography of

Inge Krokann Inge Krokann (19 August 1893 – 27 September 1962) was a Norwegian writer. His most famous work is '' I Dovre Sno '' (1929), an epic story of the Loe family during the Middle Ages. Because his writing was full of local expressions and is s ...

, 1970). Dalgard was chairman of the

Norwegian Literature Critics' Association The Norwegian Critics' Association (''Norsk litteraturkritikerlag'') is an organization for Norwegian critics in the newspaper and broadcasting professions. Former independent critic teams merged into Norwegian Critics Association in 1998. The ...

from 1953 to 1955, and president of the

Norwegian Humanist Association The Norwegian Humanist Association ( no, Human-Etisk Forbund; HEF) is one of the largest secular humanist associations in the world, with over 130,000 members. Those members constitute 2.3% of the national population of 5.47 million, making HEF b ...

from 1965 to 1977. From 1961, Dalgard received a government grant. He was a lecturer in theater history at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre () and at the Department of Theater Science at the

Personal life

In 1926, he married Anna Marie Sorteberg (1897–1968). They resided at Voll in Akershus. Psychiatrist was their son. In 1978 he accepted the

Arts Council Norway Honorary Award The Arts Council Norway Honorary Award ( no, Norsk kulturråds ærespris) is awarded annually by the Arts Council Norway. The prize is awarded annually to a person who has made a significant contribution to Norwegian art and culture. The pri ...

() and in 1979 he received the Literary Collection Literature Prize (). Dalgard died in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

in 1980. The award , now known as ', was awarded for the first time in 1981. It is given annually to a reviewer in literature, film, or theater by the

Norwegian Critics' Association The Norwegian Critics' Association (''Norsk litteraturkritikerlag'') is an organization for Norwegian critics in the newspaper and broadcasting professions. Former independent critic teams merged into Norwegian Critics Association in 1998. The ...

().

Works

Books

* (1930) * (1933) * (1934) * (1936) * (1945) * (1951) * ''Lars Tvinde'' (1966) * ''Inge Krokann'' (1970) * (1972) * (1973) * (1974) * (1976) * (1978) * (1979)

Films

* ' (1935) * ''

Vi bygger landet ''Vi bygger landet'' (We Build the Country) is a Norwegian film from 1936, directed by Olav Dalgard. The film is a so-called "workers' film" that was created on behalf of the Workers' Educational Association (, AOF) to motivate voters in the citi ...

'' (1936) * ''

By og land hand i hand ''By og land hand i hand'' (Town and Country Hand in Hand) is a 1937 Norwegian drama film written and directed by Olav Dalgard, starring Hans Bille and Lars Tvinde. The film was made by the Norwegian Labour Party for the 1937 local elections. ...

'' (1937) * ''

Det drønner gjennom dalen ''Det drønner gjennom dalen'' (English: ''A Boom through the Valley'') is a 1938 Norwegian drama film written and directed by Olav Dalgard, starring Tryggve Larssen and Ragnhild Hald. It follows the trials and tribulations of contemporary lumber ...

'' (1938) * ''

Lenkene brytes ''Lenkene brytes'' (The Chains Are Broken) is a Norwegian film from 1938 that was directed by Olav Dalgard and Fredrik Barth. ''Lenkene brytes'' is the second film in the "worker trilogy." The other two films are '' Det drønner gjennom dalen'' (1 ...

'' (1938) * '' Gryr i Norden'' (1939) * '' Om kjærlighet synger de'' (1946) * ''

Vi vil leve ''Vi vil leve'' (We Want to Live) is a Norwegian film from 1946 directed by Olav Dalgard and Rolf Randall. The film deals with the German occupation of Norway. The film studies professor Gunnar Iversen characterizes it as "an uneven and choppy fi ...

'' (1946)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalgard, Olav 1898 births 1980 deaths People from Folldal People from Oppdal University of Oslo alumni Norwegian literary critics Norwegian writers Norwegian film directors Nynorsk-language writers Norwegian humanists Academic staff of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts Academic staff of the University of Oslo Mot Dag Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors