Movies: Peter Elfelt

A joyful Pas de Deux, performed by Clara Rasmussen and Margrethe Andersen. Clara Rasmussen/Wieth/Pontoppidan (1883-1975) was to become one of the most famous actresses of Danish silent cinema; one of her most notable performances is in Dreyer’s 'Lea...

Nikolai II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar, son of Alexander III and Dagmar. He had been in Denmark on vacation with his parents several times. The royal houses usually met in September to celebrate Queen Louise's birthday. Even after Queen Louise...

The Kaiser was an unpopular guest in Denmark. Both for personal and political reasons, the Danish court did not want to have too close ties to the German Kaiser. But the Kaiser had a habit of inviting himself....

Military in action....

Various street scenes from Copenhagen in 1907....

Horses riding at Kongerevuen....

A child murderess is led to her execution....

Johan Carl Joensen, a Danish colonial manager in Greenland, drives his dog sled in Copenhagen’s Fælledparken. (stumfilm.dk)...

Blowing explosives in the ocean....

A film by Peter Elfelt....

Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), born Dagmar, daughter of King Christian IX was in 1866 married to Alexander III (1845-1894), Czar of Russia (1881-1894). The couple often visited Denmark, where the czar found a safe harbour away from the unstable Russia...

Danish filmmaker Peter Elfelt took his camera to the bottom of the slopes at the skiing competition in Norway. At the bottom of the slope the director captured the man finishing off their jumps....

Spirited Ukrainian trepak dance, performed by Russian soloist Wania Tartakoff. (Stumfilm.DK)...

Images of a hunting party with the Swedish King Oscar II, Prince Christian, Prince Gustav, Prince Valdemar and Prince Georg. Hveen is an island in the strait 'Øresund' between Denmark and Sweden. The island was under Danish rule until 1658. It is mai...

Ballet by August Bournonville 1871. With Hans Beck, Valborg Borchsenius (née Guldbrandsen) and Ellen Price. (Stumfilm.DK)...

Swans getting handled as people watch....

Two fine gentlemen battle brutishly for the favour of two fine ladies. However, one of the gentlemen forgets his suitcase at the station, and his competitor spots his chance to gain a huge lead. (Stumfilm.dk)...

This Danish film shows us a young woman doing a dance, which translates to tarantula. According to the brief bio over at the Europa Film Treasures site, this dance was "influenced" by the delirium caused by the bite of a tarantula....

The Children's Dance from 'Elverhøj', performed by Gudrun Christensen and Helga Smith. Elverhøj (1828; literal translation, Elves’ Hill) by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with music by Frederik Kuhlau, is considered the Danish national play. It was commissio...

Solo from 'La sylphide' (1836), ballet by August Bournonville. Performed by Ellen Price (1878-1968), soloist from 1903. Ellen Price's dancing in Hans Beck's ballet 'The Little Mermaid' (1909) was the inspiration for Edvard Eriksen's statue of the sam...