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| Victor Sjöström
1879 - 1960 |
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. The director and actor Victor Sjöström belonged to the most important Swedish movie makers of the silent movie era. His childhood was marked by a huge blow when his mother died by giving birth to her child. Victor Sjöstrom was only seve years old at that time. He grew up by relatives because his father was living in the USA at that time where he earned his living with fraudulency before he had to flee from the USA in 1894. Victor Sjöström began is artistic career as a barnstormer in Finland. It didn't last long and he got engagements on stages in Gothenburg. Finally he was contracted by the film company "Svenska Bio" where he was supported by the producer Charles Magnusson. His first movies as a director came already in 1912 into being with "Ett hemligt giftermal" (12) and "Trädgardsmästaren" (12) and in the next years he became established as a film director with productions like "Lady Marions sommarflirt" (13), "Livets konflikter" (13), "Ingeborg Holm" (13), "Dömen icke" (14), "Gatans barn" (14), "Sonad skuld" (15), "Judaspengar" (15), "Therèse" (16) and "Ingmarssönerna" (19). He continued his film career successfully in Sweden at the beginning of the 20s and he realised "Karin Ingmarsdotter" (20), "Körkarlen" (21), "Det omringade hsuet" (22) and "Eld ombord" (23). Five of his directed movies were based on books of the famous Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf. Afterwards he went to the USA where he became a famous movie director as well under the name Victor Seastrom. To his movies in the USA belong "Name the Man" (24) with Mae Busch, Conrad Nagel and Aileen Pringle, "He Who Gets Slapped" (24) with Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert, "Confessions of a Queen" (25) with Alice Terry and Lewis Stone, "The Tower of Lies" (25) with Norma Shearer and Lon Chaney, "The Scarlet Letter" (26) with Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson and Henry B. Walthall, "The Divine Woman" (28) with Greta Garbo and Lars Hanson, "The Wind" (28) with Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson and Montagu Love, "The Masks of the Devil" (28) with John Gilbert, Theodore Roberts and Alma Rubens and "A Lady to Love" (30) with Vilma Banky and Edward G. Robinson and the German vision of it "Die Sehnsuch jeder Frau" (30) although with Vilma Banky and Edward G. Robinson. With the rise of the sound film ended his career as a director. He only realised the German production "Väter und Söhne" (30), the Swedish production "Markurells i Wadköping" (31) and the English production "Under the Red Robe" (37). But Victor Sjöström was not only busy as a director but he was also a busy actor. He also began his acting career for movies from 1912 with movies like "Trädgardsmästaren" (12) and "De svarta maskerna" (12). In the next years he became a demanded actor and he took part in the silent movies "Barnet" (13), "Vampyren" (13), "Livets konflikter" (13),"Strejken" (14), "Dödskyssen" (16), "Thomas Graalsbästa barn" (18), "Ingarmssönerna" (19), "Karin Ingmarsdotter" (20), "Körkarlen" (21) and "Eld ombord" (23). His career as a director ended with the rise of the sound film indeed but as an actor he remained active in the next years. He impersonated roles in the productions "Brokiga blad" (31), "Valborgsmässoafton" (35), "Gubben kommer" (39), "Det brinner en eld" (43), "Kejsarn av Portugallien" (44), "Rallare" (47), "Farlig var" (49), "Kärlek" (52), "Männen i mörker" (55) and "Smultronstället" (57) directed by Ingmar Bergman. Victor Sjöström was among others married with the actresses Lili Beck and Edith Erastoff.
Actor: Writer: Producer: |
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