''Sir Arne's Treasure'' ( sv, Herr Arnes pengar) is a 1919 Swedish crime-drama film directed by

Mauritz Stiller Mauritz Stiller (born Moshe Stiller, 17 July 1883 – 18 November 1928) was a Swedish film director of Finnish Jewish origin, best known for discovering Greta Garbo and bringing her to America. Stiller had been a pioneer of the Swedish film ...

, starring

Richard Lund Richard Lund (9 July 1885 – 27 September 1960) was a Swedish film and theatre actor. He made his stage debut at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg in 1904 and later appeared in more than 70 films between 1912 and 1952, making his most important ...

Hjalmar Selander Hjalmar Selander (2 July 1859 – 10 August 1928) was a Swedish actor, stage director and theatre manager. Biography Selander was born in Mölndal Municipality in Västra Götaland, Sweden. He made his debut at the Stora teatern in Götebor ...

Concordia Selander Concordia Cornelia Johanna Selander, née ''Hård'' (Arboga, 2 June 1861 – 31 March 1935), was a Swedish actress and theatre manager. Her father was a music instrument maker. She first trained at the school of the Royal Swedish Ballet (1874� ...

and Mary Johnson. It is based on the novel '' The Treasure'' by

Selma Lagerlöf Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was ...

, originally published in 1903. The story takes place on the Swedish west coast during the 16th century, and revolves around a Scottish

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

who murders a wealthy family for treasure, only to unwittingly begin a relationship with the surviving daughter of the family.

Plot

After discovering a conspiracy among his Scottish mercenaries, king

Johan III John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...

orders them to leave the country and puts their commanders in jail. Sir Archie, Sir Filip and Sir Donald, three of the imprisoned commanders, successfully escape and flee to

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for hist ...

, then under Danish rule, in hope of being able to return to Scotland. Sir Arne of Solberga is introduced as a wealthy man who is said to be under a curse. His treasure is said to have been looted from the monasteries during the Protestant reform, and according to premonitions it will one day be his doom. While dining, Arne's wife has a premonition where three rogues are sharpening very long knives nearby, but is not taken seriously. At night however, the three Scots enter the family's mansion, murder the family, steal Sir Arne's treasure chest and burn down the building. The only survivor is the daughter Elsalill. Elsalill is taken care of by a fisherman who lets her live with him in Marstrand, where also the Scottish officers have arrived and are waiting for the ice to break so they can sail away. Eslalill encounters Sir Archie, and they both fall in love without recognising each other. Eventually however, Elsalill happens to overhear a conversation between the Scots, and understands who they are. She reports the criminals, but they are backed up by other former mercenaries who also are waiting for the first ship to leave, and the situation becomes violent. Among the fighting, the emotionally shaken Elsalill seeks Sir Archie who deeply regrets his crime, but in the ongoing turmoil, Elsalill is fatally wounded as Sir Archie uses her body as a shield to protect him from the guards who are trying to kill him. Sir Archie escapes to the frozen-in ship with Elsalill's dead body. The ice still won't break however, and according to sailor's lore it is because there are evildoers on board. The three officers are soon identified and thrown off the ship. A long procession march over the ice to fetch Elsalill's body and bring it back to land.

Cast

as Sir Archie * Mary Johnson as Elsalill *

as Sir Arne *

as Sir Arne's wife *

Wanda Rothgardt Wanda Rothgardt (12 March 1905 – 16 June 1950) was a Swedish stage and film actress.Soila p.84 Rothgardt was the daughter of the actress Edla Rothgardt. She married the actor Semmy Friedmann with whom she had a daughter Jane Friedmann Jane may ...

as Berghild * Axel Nilsson as Torarin * Erik Stocklassa as Sir Filip * Bror Berger as Sir Donald *

Josua Bengtson Josua Bengtson (10 January 1882 – 15 December 1958) was a Swedish stage and film actor.Steene p.393 He appeared prolifically as a character actor in the theatre and in Swedish cinema following his debut during the silent era. Some of his final ...

as Jailer

Production

The first plan for a film adaption of

's '' The Treasure'' at Svenska Biografteatern, the dominating production company in Sweden during the silent era, was in 1915, but fell through. In 1917 a stage adaptation of the story premiered at Deutsches Theater in Berlin, and an offer was received from a German film company which wanted to adapt it. After the play was staged in Gothenburg the following year, Svenska Biografteatern decided to go ahead and produce the film themselves. The screenplay by

and

Gustaf Molander Gustaf Harald August Molander (18 November 1888 – 19 June 1973) was a Swedish actor and film director. His parents were director Harald Molander, Sr. (1858–1900) and singer and actress Lydia Molander, ''née'' Wessler, and his brother was th ...

differs from the novel in that it tells the story in a more strictly chronological order, and incorporates some details which were introduced in the German play. Stiller also chose to tone down the story's supernatural elements. Filming took place from 12 February to 10 May 1919, in the studio area of Svenska Filmbiografen, later AB Svensk Filmindustri, on

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It ...

, Stockholm, where the alleys of

had been reconstructed. Other exterior scenes were shot in the nearby area on Lidingö and

Lilla Värtan Lilla Värtan ( sv, Smaller Värtan) or simply Värtan is a strait in Stockholm, Sweden. Separating mainland Stockholm from the island and municipality Lidingö, it stretches from Blockhusudden in the south to Stora Värtan in the north, and ...

, as well as around Furusund in the Stockholm archipelago, where the ship had been left over the winter and frozen in. Some filming took place further north in

Skutskär Skutskär is a bimunicipal locality and the seat of Älvkarleby Municipality in Uppsala County, Sweden with 6,075 inhabitants in 2010. According to the census of 2000 6,003 people lived in Skutskär, most of them in Älvkarleby Municipality, but ...

, and around

Sollefteå Sollefteå () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Sollefteå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 8,562 inhabitants in 2010. The earliest written account on Sollefteå is found in a script dating back to 1270. Duri ...

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from ...

. The film featured handwritten

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dial ...

s by Alva Lundin and was the first film to use her artistic title cards.

Other adaptations

Two other film adaptations of the story exist. In 1954

directed another Swedish version. A Czechoslovak animated short film directed by

Václav Bedřich Václav () is a Czech male first name of Slavic origin, sometimes translated into English as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas. These forms are derived from the old Slavic/Czech form of this name: Venceslav. Nicknames are: Vašek, Vašík, Venca, Venda Fo ...

was made in 1967.

References

External links

* * {{Sfdb title 1919 films 1910s historical drama films Swedish silent feature films Swedish historical drama films Swedish crime drama films 1919 crime drama films Films based on works by Selma Lagerlöf Films based on Swedish novels Films set in Sweden Films set in the 16th century Films directed by Mauritz Stiller Swedish black-and-white films Silent drama films