Benjamin Christensen

Danish director, actor and opera singer. Born in Viborg, Denmark. Died in Copenhagen.

-

Benjamin Christensen began his artistic career as an actor and an opera singer. Already in his directorial debut, the spy melodrama Det hemmelighedsfulde X / The Secretive X (1913), Christensen gave ample proof of his ability to create intriguing images with the help of lighting and dramatic compositions. After having finished Hævnens nat / Night of Revenge (1916), Christensen started to do research for what was to become his most famous film, Häxan / Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922). The film is a strange mixture of didactic lectures and very suggestive dramatizations about the conception of the devil and medieval perceptions of witchcraft. Christensen himself plays the devil in the film, which due to complicated shooting and long post-production wasn’t released until 1922. Häxan was produced by the Swedish production company Svensk Filmindustri, but entirely shot in Denmark, mainly with a Danish cast and crew.

After having directed a couple of films in Germany, where he also played the title character in Mikaël (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1924), Christensen was offered a Hollywood contract, where he made the memorable Mockery (1927) and Seven Footprints to Satan (1927) among others. A few years after his return to Denmark he worked for Nordisk Film, a company that throughout the 1930s mainly had produced lighter fare, such as musicals. With Skilsmissens børn / The Children of Divorce (1939) and Barnet / The Child (1940) Christensen paved the way for more serious themes in Danish films during World War II. After the failure with Damen med de lyse handsker / The Lady with the Light Gloves (1942) Christensen’s career as a director was over, and he was working as a cinema owner until his death in the late 1950s.

Jon Wengström (2007)