
Acting
Asta Nielsen
Born — Died
1881-09-11 — 1972-05-25
Place of birth
Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Denmark
Known for
Acting
Credits
64 titles
Asta Sofie Amalie Nielsen (1881–1972) is considered one of the most influential figures in early film history. Born on September 11, 1881, in Copenhagen, she grew up in modest circumstances. Her father died when she was young, and the family had to move frequently. Despite these difficult circumstances, Nielsen developed a strong affinity for the stage even as a young girl. She took acting lessons and gained her first experience at small theaters before becoming a mother to a daughter in 1901. The decisive turning point in her career came in 1910 with the Danish film “Afgrunden” (The Abyss). Her passionate, modern performance made her internationally famous overnight. Unlike many of her con…
Known for
No synopsis available yet.
German Film Award
1951
6.8In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.
Joyless Street
1925
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Wandering Souls
1921
6.3Magda, a piano teacher, meets Knud, a parson’s son, who invites her to spend the summer at his parents’ parsonage. When a travelling circus stops in the village, Magda leaves the meek Knud for the dashing circus rider Rudolf. But circus life with Rudolf quickly turns out to be anything but happy, and Magda comes to a tragic end.
The Abyss
1910
4.5A woman betrays the regiment location in which the officer she is interested in is assigned because he despises her, only to regret it when he is caught and try to free him.
The Traitress
1911
5.6From the director of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this is the Passion embedded in a contemporary story. An anarchist jailed for an attempted assassination is told the Passion story by the prison chaplain.
I.N.R.I. – A Film of Humanity
1923
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
NRDocumentary on the rise and fall of the Danish silent film industry.
Sex, Sensations & Superstars: The History of Danish Silent Cinema
2020
9.0Asta Nielsen: pioneer of cinema and first European film star, tragedienne and comedienne, writer and artist. As a working-class child and single parent, she works her way up from the bottom - and consciously stages herself as the first role model for independent women and queers. We retell the story of this singular phenomenon with her own words and film clips.
Asta Nielsen - Europas erste Filmikone
2023
1930s · 1 titles
1920s · 22 titles
6.8In 1921, we follow two women - Marie and Grete - from the same poor Viennese neighborhood, as they try to better the lives of themselves and their families during the period of Austrian postwar hyperinflation.
Joyless Street
1925
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Wandering Souls
1921
5.6From the director of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this is the Passion embedded in a contemporary story. An anarchist jailed for an attempted assassination is told the Passion story by the prison chaplain.
I.N.R.I. – A Film of Humanity
1923
8.0Dancing, sports and erotic pursuits are the main ingredients in this drama about the fate of this scorned and abandoned woman, Josefine, who falls for the selfish Fennhofer. This film is considered lost.
The Woman in Flames
1924
10.0Silent adaptation of the famous play by Henrik Ibsen. This film is believed to be lost.
Hedda Gabler
1925
7.2The only surviving excerpt of a documentary on film production in Weimar Germany, featuring the different personalities of several famous directors of the era at work on the set including Fritz Lang, Robert Wiene, and E.A. Dupont.
The Film in the Film
1924
7.0Drama about street walker Elena who marries shop keeper Albert. When her former pimp Peter shows up, her life is ruined. She shoots him and poisons herself.
The Merry-Go-Round
1920
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Living Buddhas
1925
6.5Auguste is an aging prostitute who falls in love with Felix, a younger student. While Felix has strayed away from his parents, Auguste starts taking care of him and spends her life savings into a cake shop to move further away from prostitution, but trouble comes when another woman enters the picture.
Tragedy of the Street
1927
The proprietors of a small inn on the Italian coast suddenly have to cater for a company of conscripts on their way to a nearby port. One of the sergeants recognizes Resa as a former "camp-follower". When her husband hears of this he becomes insanely jealous and decides to join the company.
The House by the Sea
1924
6.0When the old, wealthy Doctor Schön takes Lulu under his wing, he has no idea that she will be his certain death. Young and beautiful, Lulu is endowed with tremendous erotic charisma that utterly enchants any man in her reach. Although Schön sees disaster approaching, he cannot let go of her. (Stumfilm.dk)
Earth Spirit
1923
8.0A loose adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie. The daughter of a count witnesses her mother's increasing mental instability after being spurned by a lover.
Miss Julie
1922
No synopsis available yet.
Athletes
1925
7.1A free adaptation of Shakespeare′s drama. The Danish queen masquerades her daughter as a boy, and thus, the girl lives her life as 'Prince' Hamlet. Her father poisoned by a venomous snake placed by the treacherous Claudius, Hamlet fakes madness to investigate without suspicion.
Hamlet
1921
10.0Drama about Anica's relationship with two highwaymen, Ruggiero and Danilo. After the loss of a child, Anica throws herself into an abyss.
Revenge of the Bandits
1922
No synopsis available yet.
Steuermann Holk
1920
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Small Town Sinners
1927
7.0Variety star Kaja falls in love with fisherman Peter. But he in a unfortunate situation kills a man and is sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Kaja promises to wait for him, but things go badly for her.
Downfall
1923
8.0The dancer Navarro has lost her husband and son. With her daughter at her side, she returns to her homeland and comes under suspicion of spying when she gets into a relationship with a business friend of her deceased husband. This film is considered lost.
Navarro the Dancer
1923
5.2Vanina loves rebel leader Octavio, who gets caught. He gets a pardon and marries Vanina. When he is captured again, Vanina helps him to escape prison. They are both caught, and after his execution she dies from grief.
Vanina
1922
9.0No synopsis available yet.
The Fallen
1926
7.0Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer, is accused of spying for Germany during the First World War.
Mata Hari
1920
1910s · 34 titles
6.3Magda, a piano teacher, meets Knud, a parson’s son, who invites her to spend the summer at his parents’ parsonage. When a travelling circus stops in the village, Magda leaves the meek Knud for the dashing circus rider Rudolf. But circus life with Rudolf quickly turns out to be anything but happy, and Magda comes to a tragic end.
The Abyss
1910
4.5A woman betrays the regiment location in which the officer she is interested in is assigned because he despises her, only to regret it when he is caught and try to free him.
The Traitress
1911
5.0Bella is married to engineer Burk who meets with an accident. To provide an income she starts as a performer, but happen to meet an infatuated, intriguing composer. On the brink of marital ruin, she kills the composer.
Der Totentanz
1912
6.3Gypsy girl Zidra falls in love with the lieutenant she is supposed to spy on.
A Romany Spy
1912
Ester escapes an orphanage and finds employment with Dr. Hoff and later with dramatist Hugo Mayerling. After reading a play of his she succeeds on stage and marries him.
The Orphanage Child
1917
4.7The English landowner Wolton has gone on a fishing trip in the Spreewald with his daughter May. They meet fellow Englishman Bruce, who falls head over heels in love with the beautiful May and plans to make her his wife before their holiday is over. However, there is just one problem: May has only eyes for the young boatman Max. Bruce finds an ally in Max’s girlfriend, Grete, and together they do everything in their power to stop the budding love affair. A war of love with a fatal outcome.
The Strange Bird
1911
9.0Jonna cheats on her husband with a chauffeur and is discovered by her husband. After the divorce, she falls into a life of theft and poverty until her daughter helps her reconcile with her ex.
Gypsy Blood
1911
NRIn a remote german valley, a lord falls in love with a gypsy thief. This film is considered lost.
Gypsy Blood
1911
6.8Countess Ysabel is a young and rich woman with many suitors. An elegant and adventurous baron has managed to win her heart, but she anyway continues to play with other men’s feelings. Nemesis hits her when a young man with a broken heart kills himself, and the baron at the same time reveals a horrible secret. Ysabe'ls world seems to fall apart.
Towards the Light
1919
Marriage between Margit and artist Erik Lind is interrupted by her infatuation with squire *Arvid Sund. She gives up the relationship because of Erik's illness and death. Arvid's brother however, brings the two back together.
In Turmoil
1918
6.2Young Polar Explorer brings Eskimo Ivigtut to his parents in Berlin. After experiencing Western culture, she finds herself pregnant but the explorer comes to her rescue.
The Eskimo Baby
1918
6.5When Lis meets her fiancé for the first time, she is severely disappointed. Having dreamed of a dashing, mysterious Latino man, she instead finds herself stuck with the shy and inexperienced Philip. Something must be done! Lis takes Philip to Paris, where she intends to teach him to be a real man. But doing so requires her to gain access to male society herself. Disguised as a man, Lis ventures out into Paris nightlife with Philip, only to discover that life as a man is harder than expected. However, the real trouble begins when Lis’s father shows up unannounced. (stumfilm.dk)
The ABC of Love
1916
7.0Actress Dora marries journalist Gustav and lets down her art. She helps him in his political career but finally leaves him and commits suicide.
Dora Brandes
1916
Drama about a country girl who becomes a model for an artist with no morals. Disheartened, she return to her home to her old friend Christoph who accidentally kills a man. Tempted to leave again, she awaits his dismissal.
Die Macht des Goldes
1912
NRBank director Hardner, a cunning businessman who hides his unscrupulousness behind a mask of friendliness, tries to destroy a family.
When the Mask Falls
1912
9.0Many suitors woo the wealthy heiress Dora, but her heart belongs to the doctor Alberto. Shortly after their engagement, it turns out that Alberto has kept a child from a previous relationship a secret, which causes Dora – in grief and defiance – to marry Reppen, a banker who is only after her fortune. Years go by in their unhappy marriage until one day the couple’s daughter has an accident – and only one doctor can help.
So Ends My Song
1919
NRComedy about the courting couple Sabine and Lehman. Her roving eye catches a lieutenant, and when he finds out about her winning lottery ticket, he tries to steal it. Lehman intervenes and saves the day.
Frontstairs and Backstairs
1916
NRZirzi witnesses the murder of Professor Wormser.
Die Tochter der Landstrasse
1915
NRMelodrama set in Spain.
Death in Seville
1913
A lost short film starring Asta Nielsen.
The Moth
1911
5.2Nelly's mother is a suffragette and persuades her daughter to join the good cause. Placing a bomb under Lord William's chair love develops between the two.
The Suffragette
1913
1.0The landowner Bergmann and his wife hire Annie as a maid, but when the girl gets pregnant by a relative of her master, they dismiss her. Only Johann, the coachman, tries to help her. The child grows up without his mother at the Bergmanns'. A few years later, Johann helps Annie kidnap her son. But, discovered, he is condemned and imprisoned. After serving his sentence, the coachman retaliates by burning the estate. Annie, who tries to save her son, is killed.
The Great Moment
1911
8.0Comedy about the lieutenant who marries poor Jesta. As a wealthy neighbor wants his own daughter to wed the officer, Jesta has to disguise herself as a man to woo her rival. She is revealed but finally gets her lieutenant.
Youth and Madness
1913
Kind-hearted Thekla helps her frivolous brother and hides him on a remote farm.
The General's Children
1912
Mine owner Helene has a crush on the manager. He is however, enamored with Helene's cousin Lina.
The Queen of the Stock Exchange
1918
NRComedy superstar Kamma has her professional life and her relationship strained when her son Maurice becomes fatally ill. Only a small fragment of the film remains.
Comedians
1912
5.1Stella, a circus princess, has two suitors: young, handsome Count Waldberg and the greying, hidebound jeweller Hirsch. Stella’s love for Waldberg drives Hirsch mad with jealousy. He will stop at nothing to be near the woman of his dreams. When the count loses a staggering sum to the jeweller in a gambling duel, Stella embarks on a fateful mission to save her beloved’s honour. (Stumfilm.dk)
The Black Dream
1911
Ernest Schiller, a wealthy merchant, has the cherished ambition to secure as his son-in-law the Count De Grechy, a member of the nobility. His ambition is about to be realized, for the Count has accepted an urgent invitation to be Schiller's guest. His arrival is hailed with delight by the merchant, who offers the freedom of his home. Bertha, Schiller's daughter, does not experience the same enthusiasm which is manifested by her father. The reason for this is that she has pledged her heart and hand to Franz Rambauld, her sweetheart. The Count's attentions, therefore, are greatly distressing to Bertha. Nevertheless, through her father's insistence, the unfortunate girl is compelled to engage herself to the Count.
Das Kind ruft
1914
6.4Jenny, a cleaner, is seduced by a local playboy, Edouard. Jenny's parents reject her after she spends the night with him. She finds a job as a vaudeville dancer, but ultimately winds up in the gutter.
Poor Jenny
1912
10.0Growing up with mean foster parents, Lotte is employed as a kitchen maid with the von Harten family. After a dramatic interlude, including an accusation of theft, Mrs. von Harten reveals the truth about being her real mother, and the two are reunited.
Cinderella
1916
Drama with poor blind Marta who falls in love with sculptor Paul who prefers the high life. As she tries to bring him to the straight and narrow, he lets her down again which results in her taking both their lives.
Die ewige Nacht
1916
Hanna is a lush and her artist friend abandons her only to reacquaint himself with when she is down and out. His motive is to paint her as a washed up women. When she realizes his intentions she ruins his painting and him.
Die Sünden der Väter
1913
10.0The actress Thilda Wardier is courted by the wealthy Adam de Rochord, who presents her with a large bouquet of white roses every time they see each other. When Thilda is brought on board by a prestigious theatre in Ostend and wants to look suitably refined for the occasion, she borrows an expensive piece of family jewellery from Adam. However, a criminal gang staying in the same hotel as Adam and Thilda gets wind of the jewellery, and they cleverly manage to steal it and replace the real stones with fake ones. The precious loot now proceeds to pass through many different bouquets of white roses before ending up in the right hands again.
The White Roses
1916
The idealistic journalist Sonja Waler is making every effort to provide financial assistance for the young doctor Albert Holm’s new invention, which is predicted to be able to save thousands of lives. She comes into contact with a cynical loan shark who ends up falling victim to Sonja’s altruistic plan.
In the Eyes of the Law
1919
Series credits
Behind the camera
7.1A free adaptation of Shakespeare′s drama. The Danish queen masquerades her daughter as a boy, and thus, the girl lives her life as 'Prince' Hamlet. Her father poisoned by a venomous snake placed by the treacherous Claudius, Hamlet fakes madness to investigate without suspicion.
Hamlet
1921
7.0Variety star Kaja falls in love with fisherman Peter. But he in a unfortunate situation kills a man and is sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Kaja promises to wait for him, but things go badly for her.
Downfall
1923
A conversation with Poul Reumert recorded in the spring of 1968, Asta Nielsen is interviewed by actor Axel Strøbye in his home in Copenhagen . She tells him about her career as the first world star of the film up to the 1920s and about the time that followed, partly in the theater and partly in anonymous retreat in Denmark.
Asta Nielsen
1968


