Ove Sprogøe Movies

In this animated feature, intended mostly for the pleasure of children, some characters are far more bohemian than is customary in better known American and Japanese productions, which may give the adults who are sometimes dragooned into watching these things some unexpected pleasure. In the story, an owl, a loving duo of adolescent sparrows, and some flight-loving mice join together to combat the threat to their lives presented by Fagin, a hawk-like predator who oppresses them. They construct various traps and surprises for the evil bird. When they are not doing that, they have some fun together. One highlight of the show is a seaside sequence in which a seagull entertainer leads a dance and gets everybody, including some cardplaying birds, a few drunk ones, and a flirtatious hen, to join in. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The aged actresses in this film have had their day in the sun, and now they have settled down to a life of genteel poverty at the Actors' Home, a retirement home for theatrical has-beens, funded by a stingy and very dictatorial charity organization. The grand old gals' in this film really want to get a glass veranda put on one side of their rest home and can't spring the money from the rest home's board of directors. Nothing daunted, they take advantage of the fact that they are still big names, and they sell the rights to tell the intimate story of their current lives to a weekly magazine. Each lady vies with the others to be seen as the most important actress of the lot, but despite a lot of posturing, what they are really doing is keeping themselves interested in life. They are assisted in their endeavors by a pack of aging beaus, who gallantly do what they must to help these fine women feel appreciated. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This detective story models its hero and complex plot on the private eyes made famous in the early 1930s by authors Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler: Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon and Philip Marlowe. "The Reporter" (Michael Falch) is also tall, tough womanizer, and a loner with his own personal crusade to clean up a red light district in Copenhagen. After a part-time jazz pianist is murdered, the Reporter has evidence against the culprit in the form of a tape the murderer made with the pianist. Life gets complicated because the police are soon after him. Even though a bookstore owner generously gives the Reporter a handgun, the question is whether his hard-boiled character and sharp thinking will actually win out in the end, gun or no gun. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Bohemians Arnold (Erik Clausen) and Benny (Kim Larsen), unemployed plumbers who earn their livelihood moonlighting, create their own little anarchic world in an abandoned factory. This gentle satire owed its fleeting popularity to its stars, cavern-mouthed pop star Larsen and comedian Clausen, the latter especially known for his satirical comments on the Danish establishment in particular and bureaucracy in general. A throwback to the wild and woolly 1968 Summer of Love, Midt om Natten was slightly anachronistic already when it premiered. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Kurt and Valde (Lars Knutson and Arne Hansen) are a down-on-their-luck duo who seem destined to bumble their way through life riding high on farce and outrageous fortune, yet director Hans Kristensen has opted to round out their human traits -- a noble idea, but it is at odds with the slapstick-style humor. Both men have been dodging hotel bills as they move from one place to the next, when suddenly they find themselves (in disguises) mistaken for the buddies of an inventor who has just accidentally blown himself up before his formula for an artificial gasoline could be handed over to the proper authorities. Now people believe that Kurt and Valde have the formula -- and the chase is on. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When a doctor sets up his practice in a new town he is drawn to the case of a mentally disturbed daughter living with her mother in a mansion on a hillside above the town, a daughter who believes she has murdered her father, even though the father was said to have committed suicide. As the doctor works with his patient, he finds that a wealthy, powerful local man and the town's police are trying to keep him away from the issue of the father's death. Did the rich town magnate actually murder the father? Did the mother? Why is the daughter convinced that she killed her father? These questions get a little buried in the imagery that crawls to the finish line, evoking poetic symbols but skillfully evading the dramatic proposals raised at the beginning of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The trio of petty thieves, the "Olsen Gang", is a familiar to Danish audiences who have already seen the first 11 such films in this series. Egon Olsen (Ove Sprogoe) has decided to go get the heads of an insurance company engaged in an illicit weapons trade. Just when Egon bursts out with one of his inspired plans, it becomes obvious he will soon be desperately needing an equivalently ingenious bail-out from his cohorts. In the end, the corporate bosses seem to be the only unarmed opponents in this battle of wits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Young teenager Bo (Anders Agensø) is too sensitive for the hothouse atmosphere of a boarding school run by a cold, unfeeling would-be man of the cloth (an uncharacteristically grim Ove Sprogøe). Lonely and scared, he finds a soul mate in the headmaster's son (Peter Bjerg) and the two boys form a bond that slowly grows into a sexual relationship. Frank and unadorned, this Danish film concluded director Lasse Nielsen's youth-oriented trilogy that began with La' Os Være (1975) and continued with Måske Ku' Vi (1976). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

It is the beginning of the Stone Age in prehistoric times. Five young tribespeople have run away from their warrior tribe and take up life with a peaceful group of river dwellers. Far from stumbling into an idyllic society, they discover that these new people are even more rigidly organized than their tribe was. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this the tenth comedy in the popular Danish caper series, a plan is underway to turn Denmark into a large amusement park called Daisyland (after Queen Margrethe II, whose nickname was Daisy), in which the Danes would work as "waiters, folk dancers, and village idiots." The Olsen gang puts a stop to the villainous plan (apparently an E.U. directive) in their own inimitable way. The comedy's centerpiece finds the three leads (Ove Sprogøe, Morten Grunwald, and Poul Bundgaard) dangling a la Harold Lloyd from the famous clock tower at Copenhagen's town hall square. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

The infamous Olsen Gang rollicks again in this Danish crime comedy. In this story, Egon, Benny and Kjeld are swindled by a noble con-man, and they pledge themselves to revenge. The swindle involves real and phony Ming vases. Furthermore, Egon is being forced to raise money for a wedding gift; it seems that his female parole officer's son is getting married to a dim-witted, and very pregnant, country girl. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The wacky small-time crooks of the Olsen Gang are still trying to hit the big time. Their goal this time is to divert a trainload of gold on the same day that the Police Force holds its annual banquet-car train dinner. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The Olsens, a popular Danish crime/comedy trio, reappear in this engaging slapstick comedy. Egon is asked by a company director to open the company's safe. Things don't turn out exactly as planned, and the trio find themselves chasing and being chased in a scheme involving diamonds and laundered money deals. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi