Tove Maës (30 April 1921 – 31 December 2010) was a Danish actress of stage, television and film best known for her starring roles in the series of " Morten Korch" films, in particular '' The Red Horses''. Maës was a three-time recipient of the
Bodil Award
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are gi ...
for Best Actress, winning in 1954, 1971, and 1983.
Career
Maës was born in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
on 30 April 1921. She studied with the Danish actor Albert Luther and, in 1942, was "discovered" by Theater Director Helge Rungwald who employed Maës at the Odense Theater. Shortly thereafter, Maës played the lead in
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish writer. 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 ...
's ''Dunungen''. Maës sought an apprenticeship at the
Royal Danish Theatre
The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
after appearing there in
Carl Erik Soya
Carl Erik Soya, (30 October 1896 – 10 November 1983), also known by the single appellation Soya, was a Danish author and dramatist. His works were often satirical provocations against double standards and dishonesty. In 1975, Soya received Denm ...
's ''Natteherberget'', but was turned down. Instead, she worked at the Riddersalen theater, performing in a series of roles.
In 1946, Maës made a critically acclaimed screen debut as Ditte Godpige in the filmatization of
Martin Andersen Nexø
Martin Andersen Nexø (26 June 1869 – 1 June 1954) was a Danish writer. He was one of the authors in the Modern Breakthrough movement in Danish art and literature. He was a socialist throughout his life and during the Second World War moved ...
's novel, '' Ditte Menneskebarn'' ('' Ditte, Child of Man''). Her performance in the film about the hardships of a young impoverished girl received international recognition. Especially noticed was her thoroughly wholesome and pure sensualism even while bathing nude. However, film reviewers in the United States (where the movie was seen in an edited version which removed any nudity) dismissed the movie as being too melodramatic. Maës replied in a later interview that the American audience had never been confronted with poverty in such a realistic portrayal on screen. During the 1950s, Maës performed in many of light-hearted films in the role of the sweet young ingenue. She played starring roles in several family films adapted from the popular Morten Korch novels, the first of which, '' The Red Horses'', became the biggest box-office success in Danish cinema. Maës also was able to bring a more serious side to her acting, and in 1954, she was awarded the
Bodil Award
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are gi ...
for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of an insane girl in 's experimental film, '.
Maës focused again on her stage work during the 1960s with several performances at the Århus Theatre. In 1966, she caused a public reaction when she went against her usual movie persona, playing against type in the role of a prostitute named Lucy in the black comedy ''Galgenhumor'' (''Gallows Humor''). She explained that she was tired of playing the nice young girl. She also began acting in a series of roles playing middle-aged mothers and wives. In 1971, Maës starred in the title role of ' (''Curtains for Mrs. Knudsen''). The film, directed by Henning Ørnbak and Leif Petersen, was an adaptation of Petersen's stage play that had debuted one year earlier with Maës in the same role. Maës' portrayal of the drunken and grotesque mother of a small-time criminal brought her the
Bodil Award
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are gi ...
for Best Actress. For the 1975 comedy film ''Ta' det some en mand, frue!'' (''Take it Like a Man, Miss!'') she was awarded the Mathilde Prize from the Danish Women's Society. She again won the
Bodil Award
The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are gi ...
in 1982 for her performance as an overlooked but fantasy-filled retiree in
Erik Clausen
Erik Clausen (7 March 1942 – 30 October 2024) was a Danish actor, film director and screenwriter. He directed fourteen films from 1981. His 2007 film '' Temporary Release'' was entered into the 29th Moscow International Film Festival
The ...
's drama ''Felix''.
Maës is noted for a number of supporting roles on television series including the sister, Jette on ''Rundt om Selma'', the mother in the adaptation of Pirandello's ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author
''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, their characters, and theatre practitioners, it p ...
'', the subdued Lilly Lund on ''
Matador
A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...
'', and Mrs. Zachariasen on the TV mini-series '' The Kingdom''.
Personal life
Maës married Danish actor, writer and director
Carl Ottosen
Carl Ottosen (18 July 1918 – 8 January 1972) was a Danish actor, screenwriter and film director. He appeared in 70 films between 1947 and 1972.
Filmography
*'' De pokkers unger'' - 1947
*'' Bag de røde porte'' - 1951
*'' Vejrhanen'' - 1 ...
in 1942. They were subsequently divorced and Maës married a second time to press photographer Jesper Gottschalch with whom she had a son in 1952.
She died in her home on 31 December 2010 at age 89.
Isolde
Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...
'' (1989) .... Older Married Woman
* '' Hip hip hurra!'' (1987) .... Kröyer's Mother
* ' (1987) .... Esther
* '' Felix'' (1982) .... Inger Marie Maage
* ' (1980) (voice)
* ''
Matador
A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...
Six Characters in Search of an Author
''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist metatheatric play about the relationship among authors, their characters, and theatre practitioners, it p ...
Premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
Bella
Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle (given name), Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in F ...
'' (1970) (TV) .... Jacob's Mother
* ''
Sangen om den røde rubin
''The Song of the Red Ruby'' (''Sangen om den røde rubin'', 1956) is a Norwegian novel written by Agnar Mykle. It is a story of the young Ask Burlefot's personal ride through shame and letdowns that eventually leads to a closer and deeper unders ...
The Man Who Thought Life
''The Man Who Thought Life'' () is a 1969 Danish science fiction thriller film directed by Jens Ravn and based upon the 1938 novel by Valdemar Holst.Elsk... din næste!'' (1967) .... Citizen of Mårböosen ... a.k.a. ''
Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to:
Film
* Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film
* Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...
''
* ' (1967)
* '' The Reluctant Sadist'' (1967) .... Vibeke Poulsen ... a.k.a. '' The Reluctant Sadist''
* ' (1966) ... a.k.a. '' Unfaithful'' (International: English title)
* ' (1966) .... Bitten
* '' I, a Lover'' (1966) .... Patient hos Ulla Pauce ... a.k.a. '' I, a Lover''
* '' I, a Woman'' (1965) .... Siv's Mother ... a.k.a. '' I, a Woman''
* '' Bussen'' (1963) .... Sofie
* '' Det stod i avisen'' (1962) .... Woman with carriage
* ' (1961) .... Postmaster
* ' (1958) .... Clinician Hansen
* ''
Hidden Fear
''Hidden Fear'' is a 1957 American film noir crime film directed by Andre de Toth, starring John Payne (actor), John Payne. It was filmed on location in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Plot
Mike Brent is an American police detective. When his sister is arr ...
Mosekongen
''Mosekongen'' is a 1950 Danish family film directed by Jon Iversen and Alice O'Fredericks.
Cast
*Johannes Meyer (actor), Johannes Meyer as Claus Munk
*Poul Reichhardt as Jørgen Munk
*Tove Maës as Hanne
*Peter Malberg as Sofus 'Fusser' Hanse ...