Bodil Kjer

Acting

Bodil Kjer

Born 1917-09-02 · Odense, Danmark

Bodil Kjer (2 September 1917 – 1 February 2003) was a Danish actress whose talent and charisma earned her status as a Primadonna and the title of first lady of Danish theater. Kjer's leading roles reflect the span of Denmark's modern cinema: such as the artistic maturity of the war-torn 1940s in Jenny and the Soldier, the light-hearted romance of the 1950s and 1960s in Mød mig på Cassiopeia, the action drama of the 1970s in Strømer, and the modern epic tale in Babette's Feast (1987). Denmark's highest film prize, the Bodil Awards, were named in honor of Kjer and Bodil Ipsen. Kjer twice received her namesake award for Best Actress (1948, 1952) and once for Best Supporting Actress (1977). In 1997, she accepted an honorary Bodil for lifetime achievement.

Acting credits

Babette's Feast poster
7.2

A French housekeeper with a mysterious past brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite meal to a circle of starkly pious villagers in late 19th century Denmark.

Babette's Feast

1987

The Invisible Army poster
7.0

Sabotage of a Nazi factory is carried out by the husband of the lover of a resistance leader.

The Invisible Army

1945

Jenny and the Soldier poster
5.6

A good natured soldier with a killer right hand falls in love with a beautiful girl who has a troubled past.

Jenny and the Soldier

1947

To Kvinder poster
NR

Elisabeth is a 70-year-old woman who has injured her leg. Karima is a young girl of immigrant parents who is hired to help Elisabeth. Their backgrounds are very different, and their relationship is characterized by skepticism and suspicion until they find each other in music, their mutual passion. When Karima must suddenly get married, it appears that their lives are perhaps not all that different.

To Kvinder

2001

Mirror, Mirror poster
8.5

Heavily influenced by the French stage sensation La Cage Aux Folles (which was filmed the very same year) a drag-queen comedy about a group of homosexuals sharing an apartment with a naive but straight country boy did not live up to expectations. The lead characters lead boring lives during the day and, as depicted here, downright pathetic existences at night, all decked out in peacock plumes and high heels and with nowhere to go.

Mirror, Mirror

1978

The Sunset Boys poster
7.0

Ernest, Ted and August fulfill their friend Carl's dying wish and take him to Heidelberg, where they all first met 45 years ago, to see his old girlfriend one last time. However, the locals won't talk about her, due to a WW2 secret.

The Sunset Boys

1995

Min kone er uskyldig poster
8.0

Frederik makes various scams. As money is once again tight, Frederik and his wife Betty decide that they must go in new directions. Frederik dies and Betty cancels the life insurance. At first, things go very well for Betty. At the same time, Frederik is very jealous, which is why he decides to check Betty's relationship with men. Frederik appears as Frederik's brother, Carl. Carl and Betty have a few pleasant days together. Betty suspects that Carl is actually Frederik, but how could she know for sure. At the same time, the web begins to tighten around Carl/Frederik.

Min kone er uskyldig

1950

Din fortid er glemt poster
6.7

Paul a young, newlywed writer returns home from abroad with his sweet, young wife, Anna, whom he has met in the South of France. After their honeymoon Poul is looking forward to start his new job as a screenwriter.

Din fortid er glemt

1949

Far skal giftes poster
7.0

The world-distant and absent-minded professor Jacob Jensen lives exclusively for his science and his stamps. He has no idea what is going on around him, in his own home. In the 11 years since his wife died, his capable, wise and lovable housekeeper Karen Frederiksen has, with a loving hand, managed the home for him and his 3 children. The aspiring amateur boxer Oscar and the 2 daughters Else-Margrethe and Birthe. She has shared in the children's sorrows and joys and has often lent them money when they have had dry pocket pains. She has praised and scolded them at the right times - in short, she has been in their mother's place. Both the professor and the children take her for granted. They take her services, big and small, for granted, and do not quite understand what she really means to them.

Far skal giftes

1941

Tante Cramers Testamente poster
7.5

The 74-year-old widow, Juliane Cramer, is a very wealthy lady with an incredible appetite for life. Despite her advanced age, she rushes from one pleasure to another, from mannequin shows to boxing matches, and when her lawyer reminds her that it is time for her to write her will, she firmly rejects him. There is no urgency: "I have decided that I want to live for many more years, that's it". She is more than generous towards her nephews and nieces and their spouses. They all live in a property that belongs to her. That is why they have never paid a penny in rent. They know that, if things get tough, they can always 'borrow' a couple of hundred kroner or three from Aunt Cramer. So everything is very good - apparently...

Tante Cramers Testamente

1941

Anne Sophie Hedvig poster
NR

Early morning. A young couple enters their apartment after locking themselves out. The home is completely empty and dark, and there is no sign of the family who had been their neighbors for years. The lights don't work, and when they finally manage to light a match, they see the body of the old girl slumped in an armchair.

Anne Sophie Hedvig

1975

Vi kunde ha' det saa rart poster
8.0

A renowned and widowed otolaryngologist hires a young, penniless poet as live-in nanny for his three rowdy – but musically gifted – children.

Vi kunde ha' det saa rart

1942

Kick Me in the Traditions! poster
6.5

Based on Leif Panduro's 1958 satire classic. David, a senior high-school student, aims a swift kick at his principal's behind and is committed to a psychiatric ward from the perspective of which he takes a close look at his allegedly sane family. They, of course, are the real loonies. The psychiatrists are worse. Only lovely class-mate Lis is down-to-earth and trustworthy.

Kick Me in the Traditions!

1979

The Burning Question poster
7.3

After three long years, the young legal secretary Bodil is reunited with his former girlfriend Carsten. Their love affair flares up again, but unfortunately Bodil has meanwhile come a little too close to his boss' son, the skirt hunter Hugo. And he has no intention of making Bodil happy.

The Burning Question

1943

John and Irene poster
6.8

The two leading actors form a team traveling round performing as a professional dancing couple who has difficulty making ends meet. Ebbe Rode is the dreamer and Bodil Kjer the down to earth realist. Bodil Kjer expands her image to encompass the disillusioned woman reflecting the hard life she has gone through. Ebbe Rodes disappointed optimism turn into violence with dramatic consequences.

John and Irene

1949

To som elsker hinanden poster
7.3

On the indebted estate, Gyldenstrup, lives a spoiled and selfish lady, Mrs. Selstrup, with her two spoiled and selfish children, Ellen and Joachim. Her husband has recently died, and the widow completely forgets her grief when lawyer Hansen confides in her that they are in fact very poor. Spoiled and selfish as she is, it seems to her like a disaster that she and her two hopeful offspring may end up living in poorer conditions.

To som elsker hinanden

1944

Søren Søndervold poster
8.0

Søndreø is a small, peaceful island in one of Denmark's fjords, owned and run by the old farmer Lars Søndervold and his son Søren. But times are hard, and everything is not going as it should. The greedy, bragging merchant Anders Lundrup has used all means to gain possession of the island, and one fine day Søren and his old father must leave their ancestral farm and the island. Søren swears an expensive oath - he will earn so much money that he can one day buy the farm and the island back, and at the same time he swears revenge on Anders Lundrup.

Søren Søndervold

1942

En ganske almindelig pige poster
7.5

Tove (Bodil Kjer) is a modest and ordinary girl dreaming of winning the competition to become the next big movie star. She applies with a photo of her more beautiful sister Grete (Gerda Neumann). The competition, however, is already rigged.

En ganske almindelig pige

1940

Hans Onsdags-Veninde poster
7.0

Director Peter Engel, called "Peter the Great" by his friends, is a very spoiled and spoiled young man. His mother, the general's wife, lives and breathes only for her son after her husband's death, but she is also a woman with a very determined will, and behind her flabby manner Peter has great respect for her. Every Wednesday evening Magda comes to visit Peter in his elegant bachelor apartment on Bredgade. She is a sweet and fresh young girl who lives with her father. Magda loves Peter with all her heart, which is why it hurts her that she is only his Wednesday friend.

Hans Onsdags-Veninde

1943

Copper poster
7.8

After a stay in a sanatorium due to violent behavior during an arrest, Detective Karl Jørgensen is transferred to the fraud department. Here, Karl discovers a case involving his ex-wife and her new husband. When Karl begins to investigate the case, he is stopped by the police chief. Karl teams up with journalist John Bullnes. They gradually get closer to the truth, but are stopped when a suspect commits suicide. Karl is suspended and Bullnes is sent to Berlin on an assignment. Karl then takes the case into his own hands and arrests the city's mayor and a major contractor.

Copper

1976

The Missing Clerk poster
7.3

Two men disappear at the same time, with one of them committing suicide using dynamite. The police try to figure out which one died and what happened to the other.

The Missing Clerk

1971

Tag til Rønneby kro poster
8.7

The owner of Rønneby Kro, Bartholdi, is writing his memoirs. When this comes to the ears of prominent citizens, they rush to Rønneby Kro to have the publication stopped. However, Bartholdi is neither a stickler nor a hack. They get help from a lawyer, who only has success when he goes through Bartholdi's grandson.

Tag til Rønneby kro

1941

I den grønne skov poster
9.0

"Modern vaudeville," where the entire story takes place at Dyrehavsbakken. In an impressionistic style, it tells the story of the waiter Mowitz, who ponders whether he loves the singer Myrna and what true love really is. He ponders too long; Myrna instead becomes engaged to the pianist Bertram, who can get her into the Circus Revue. Mowitz also takes too long to discover the singer Lillian's interest, so his friend Max snatches her up instead, while Mowitz can continue his search for the one and only.

I den grønne skov

1968

A Gentleman in Top Hat and Tails poster
7.8

In broad daylight, a man runs at full speed across the Town Hall Square wearing a dress and white. People stare in amazement as he tries to grab a seat in a phone box to make a call. However, his story is even more incredible than they can imagine.

A Gentleman in Top Hat and Tails

1942