In 1911 the German poet Hugo von Hofmansthal wrote a new version of the medieval morality play Everyman, and this was staged in Danish translation at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in 1915. At the time, it was radical example of symbolist abstraction. Its success inspired a film version, Enhver [Everyman], directed by Vilhelm Glückstadt for Filmfabrikken Danmark. The film, however, was set in a modern-day environment. It depict the moral choice confronting its protagonist at struggle because two attendant spirits, one good and one bad. The protagonist is tempted by dark figure of evil and succumbs, rejecting God and leading a life of iniquity, but he is then haunted by guilty visions until he finally dies, asking God for forgiveness at the last moment.
Production
Radical 1915 modern-dress adaptation of medieval material—imagine Shakespeare in hoodies.
Cinematography
Shadow-heavy expressionist lighting before German Expressionism even peaked.
Director
Vilhelm Glückstadt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was part of a 1910s Scandinavian wave of 'dignified' literary adaptations to prove cinema's artistic legitimacy.
Director Vilhelm Glückstadt died by suicide in 1925; his brief filmography is now almost entirely lost—Everyman survives as his ghost.
DK
