Morten Grunwald

Acting

Morten Grunwald

Born December 9, 1934 · Odense, Denmark

Died November 14, 2018 · aged 83

Born in Odense, Denmark on December 9th, 1934, Morten Grunwald is "World famous in Denmark" for several popular film roles. Most famous, however, will always be his Benny in all of the "Olsen Banden" films, where he starred alongside Ove Sprogøe and Poul Bundgaard. He attended Odense Theatrical School in 1958 and graduated from The Royal Theater of Denmark's Theatrical School in 1962. Since 1971,…

Known For

The Wolf at the DoorThe Wolf at the Door · 1986
The Wolf at the Door
5.31986
MovieDrama
Chronicling a period of time in Paul Gauguin's life, this film follows him through his struggles in love and the financial problems caused by the inability to sell his artwork.
The Olsen Gang Sees RedThe Olsen Gang Sees Red · 1976
The Olsen Gang Sees Red
7.41976
MovieFamilyComedy
Egon and the gang are hired to stage a robbery of an antique Chinese vase for an economically challenged baron. Naturally they fooled, which infuriates Egon. The gang tries to get back at the baron by switching the vase with a cheap Hong Kong copy. One attempt is made during the barons hunting party, where Egon ends up being bricked up in the catacombs. In another attempt, the gang has to coordinate breaking through several walls at The Royal Theater in Copenhagen with the "Elverhøj" overture.
AmourAmour · 1970
Amour
5.01970
MovieDramaRomance
This three-part movie begins with a young woman married to an older, cold-hearted man in the year 1200. Two rivals have a swordfight over the affections of the woman. Part two takes place in 1910 and finds an amorously unfaithful wife taking on her many lovers while her unsuspecting husband lurks nearby. The final part finds a count and countess engaging in extramarital affairs in France during the 1840s.
Friends at Arms: On a Bear RunFriends at Arms: On a Bear Run · 1968
Friends at Arms: On a Bear Run
5.21968
MovieComedy
The German bear Fido from Münich is sweet, easygoing and nice, and just loves Danish soldiers. Thus, the bear marches together with the recruits and even wants to share their beds in this strange Danish comedy.
Silent HeartSilent Heart · 2014
Silent Heart
6.62014
MovieDrama
Three generations of a family gather over a weekend. The sisters Sanne and Heidi have accepted their terminally-ill mother’s desire to die before her disease worsens; but, as the weekend progresses, their mother's decision becomes harder and harder to deal with, and old conflicts come to the surface.
Asger JornAsger Jorn · 1977
Asger Jorn
1977
MovieDocumentary
Portrait about the legendary abstract painter Asger Jorn told by painter and poet Per Kirkeby.
The ExperimentThe Experiment · 2010
The Experiment
4.22010
MovieDramaThriller
THE EXPERIMENT is the story of the nurse Gert, who is appointed as headmistress of a special children's home, owned by the Danish state in Greenland, 1951. The children's home is intended to accommodate 16 carefully selected Greenlandic children, who have just come home after a year of civilization in Denmark. Now they are to be introduced into the Greenlandic community as role models. Gert, who lives alone and has no family, accepts the assignment with pride. She is idealistic and ambitious and feels passionate about saving Greenland from destitution. The means to this end is to educate and civilize the 16 children in the Danish language and culture, so they can spearhead Greenland's transformation from being a poor hunter society to being an equal part of Denmark. Due to her blind faith in the experiment, Gert underestimates the obvious personal costs to the children. And when the children as well as the Danish state fail her...
Kassen stemmerKassen stemmer · 1976
Kassen stemmer
5.41976
MovieComedyCrime
Three young men discover a scam that three somewhat older gentlemen from Aarhus' upper class have set up to avoid bankruptcy. The gentlemen directors have both accounts and safe deposit boxes at the bank branch where one of the young men works, so it seems only natural to give the swindlers a taste of their own medicine, so to speak. The situation is further complicated when a journalist gets wind of the double heist and wants his share of the pie.

Filmography

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The ExperimentThe Experiment · 2010
The Experiment
4.22010
MovieDramaThriller
THE EXPERIMENT is the story of the nurse Gert, who is appointed as headmistress of a special children's home, owned by the Danish state in Greenland, 1951. The children's home is intended to accommodate 16 carefully selected Greenlandic children, who have just come home after a year of civilization in Denmark. Now they are to be introduced into the Greenlandic community as role models. Gert, who lives alone and has no family, accepts the assignment with pride. She is idealistic and ambitious and feels passionate about saving Greenland from destitution. The means to this end is to educate and civilize the 16 children in the Danish language and culture, so they can spearhead Greenland's transformation from being a poor hunter society to being an equal part of Denmark. Due to her blind faith in the experiment, Gert underestimates the obvious personal costs to the children. And when the children as well as the Danish state fail her...

Hr. Omann

The Olsen Gang in JutlandThe Olsen Gang in Jutland · 1971
The Olsen Gang in Jutland
7.01971
MovieFamilyComedy
The Olsen gang in Jutland. Ones again Egon Olsen has a plan when he gets out of Vridslose State Prison. He has found out that the Germans left a large sum of money (in American dollars and gold bars) in one of their commando bunkers, when they were defeated in 1945; the only problem it's in Jutland. Egon, Benny and Kjeld "appropriate" a car and drives to Jutland along with Kjelds wife and child Yvonne and Borge. They look forward to fooling the the people in Jutland, but of course, things don't go quite as planed. It ends with Benny, Kjeld, Borge and Yvonne sitting in the train back to Copenhagen, were they are overtaken by Egon in his car on the road next to the track. This is the last time the Olsen gang goes to Jutland.

Benny Frandsen

Five men and RosaFive men and Rosa · 1964
Five men and Rosa
5.71964
MovieComedyCrime
In a hospital's five-bed room—room number 13—there are five very different men with very different backgrounds: District Court Judge Winther, fashion designer Philip André, bank teller Madsen, the incorrigible burglar Herluf "Smukke Arne" Jensen, and legation secretary Konrad Konradsen. The legation secretary has done something foolish and fallen into the clutches of the blackmailer Helmer Gamtofte. He is in possession of some compromising photographs, which he keeps in a safe deposit box at the bank where Madsen works. The camaraderie that develops in room 13 becomes the driving force that prompts the district court judge to suggest that "Smukke Arne" help Konradsen break into the bank and steal the photos.

'Smukke-Arne' Arne Herluf Jensen

The House at ChristianshavnThe House at Christianshavn · 1970
The House at Christianshavn
8.01970
SeriesComedyDrama
The series follows the residents of an apartment building on Copenhagen's Christianshavn, as they go about their daily lives and challenges. There is Olsen, a mover with an old fashion view of the world, Clausen who runs the local pet shop, Egon the career focused assistant, their wives who work hard to keep their spouses lives together, the young couple Tue and Rikke who recently moved in, the hard working caretaker Meyer, who never puts in to much effort, and of course Emma, the innkeeper of Rottehullet, where all the important decisions are made while running up the bar tab. The series was produced by Nordisk Film for Danmarks Radio TV station between the years 1970-77. The series' first director was Ebbe Langberg, then Erik Balling and Tom Hedegaard respectively. The series was conceived by an author team of well-known Danish authors such Leif Panduro, Benny Andersen, and Lise Nørgaard.

Mand med papegøje

MatadorMatador · 1978
Matador
9.11978
SeriesDrama
Matador is a Danish TV series produced and shown between 1978 and 1982. It is set in the fictional Danish town of Korsbæk between 1929 and 1947. It follows the lives of a range of characters from across the social spectrum, focusing specifically on the rivalry between the families of two businessmen: The banker Hans Christian Varnæs, an established local worthy, and social climber Mads Skjern, who arrives in town as the series opens. The name Matador was taken from the localised edition of the boardgame Monopoly, also the series' tentative English title. In addition, in contemporary Danish a "matador" is often used to describe a business tycoon, in the series referring to the character of Mads Skjern and his craftiness as a self-made entrepreneur. Directed by famed Danish film maker Erik Balling, Matador was the idea of author Lise Nørgaard who wrote the bulk of the episodes alongside Karen Smith, Jens Louis Petersen and Paul Hammerich. The series is one of the most well-known and popular examples of Danish television and represents the peak of longtime development of Danish TV drama by the public service channel Danmarks Radio. The series has become part of the modern self-understanding of Danes, partly because of its successful mix of melodrama and a distinct warm Danish humour in the depiction of characters, which were portrayed by a wide range of the most popular Danish actors at the time; but also not least because of its accurate portrayal of a turbulent Denmark from around the start of the Great Depression and through Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark in World War II.

Ernst Nyborg