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{{short description|1919 film}}
{{for|the 1954 film|Sir Arne's Treasure (1954 film)}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Herr Arnes pengar
| image = Sir arne poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Mauritz Stiller]]
| producer =
| screenplay = Mauritz Stiller<br />[[Gustaf Molander]]
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Treasure (novel)|The Treasure]]''|[[Selma Lagerlöf]]}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Richard Lund]]
* [[Mary Johnson (actress)|Mary Johnson]]
* [[Hjalmar Selander]]
* [[Concordia Selander]]
}}
| music = [[Helmer Alexandersson]]
| cinematography = [[Julius Jaenzon]]
| editing =
| studio = [[Svenska Biografteatern]]
| distributor = Svenska Biografteatern
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1919|9|22}}
| runtime = 122 minutes
| country = Sweden
| language = [[Silent film|Silent]]<br />Swedish [[intertitle]]s
| budget =
}}
[[File:Sir Arne's Treasure (1919) by Mauritz Stiller.webm | thumb | ''Sir Arne's Treasure'' (1919) by Mauritz Stiller]]
'''''Sir Arne's Treasure''''' ({{langx|sv|'''Herr Arnes pengar'''}}) is a 1919 Swedish silent crime-drama film directed and co-written by [[Mauritz Stiller]], starring [[Richard Lund]], [[Hjalmar Selander]], [[Concordia Selander]] and [[Mary Johnson (actress)|Mary Johnson]]. It is based on the novel ''[[The Treasure (novel)|The Treasure]]'' by [[Selma Lagerlöf]], the first woman to win the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], originally published in 1903. The story takes place on the Swedish west coast during the 16th century, and revolves around a [[Gallowglass|Scottish mercenary]] who murders a wealthy family for treasure, only to unwittingly begin a relationship with the surviving daughter of the family.

==Plot==
After discovering a conspiracy among his Scottish mercenaries, king [[Johan III]] of Sweden orders them to leave the country and puts their commanders in jail. Sir Archie, Sir Filip and Sir Donald, three of the imprisoned commanders, escape and flee to [[Marstrand]], then under Danish rule, in hope of being able to return to Scotland.

Sir Arne of Solberga is introduced as a vicar and wealthy man who is said to be under a curse as his treasure - a chest full of silver coins - is said to have been looted from the monasteries during the [[Reformation in Sweden|Protestant reform]] and, according to premonitions, will one day be his doom. While dining, Arne's wife has a premonition that three rogues are sharpening very long knives nearby, but is not taken seriously. At night, however, the three mercenaries enter the family's mansion, murder the family, steal Sir Arne's treasure chest and burn down the building. The only survivor is the daughter, Elsalill.

Elsalill is taken care of by a travelling fishmonger who happens to be there and lets her live with him and his mother in Marstrand, where the Scottish officers have arrived and are waiting for the ice to break so they can sail away. Elsalill encounters Sir Archie, and they fall in love without recognising each other. Eventually however, Elsalill happens to overhear a conversation between the Scots, and understands who they are. She reports them to the town guard but the three repel the guard trying to arrest them as they are backed up by other mercenaries who are also waiting for the first ship to leave. Sir Archie seeks Elsahill to try to persuade her to come to Scotland and explains that he deeply regrets his crime but, as the town guard attack, Elsalill is fatally wounded when Sir Archie uses her as a human shield.

Sir Archie escapes to the frozen-in ship with Elsalill's body. The ice still hasn't broken however, and according to sailor's lore it is because there are evildoers on board, a fact confirmed by the fishmonger seeking Elsahill. The three officers are identified and thrown off the ship. A long procession march over the ice ensues to fetch Elsalill's body and bring it back to land.

==Cast==
[[File:Mary Johnson-Herr Arnes pengar.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Johnson in the film]]
* [[Richard Lund]] as Sir Archie
* [[Mary Johnson (actress)|Mary Johnson]] as Elsalill
* [[Hjalmar Selander]] as Sir Arne
* [[Concordia Selander]] as Sir Arne's wife
* [[Wanda Rothgardt]] as Berghild
* Axel Nilsson as Torarin
* Erik Stocklassa as Sir Filip
* Bror Berger as Sir Donald
* [[Josua Bengtson]] as Jailer

==Production==
The first plan for a film adaption of [[Selma Lagerlöf]]'s ''[[The Treasure (novel)|The Treasure]]'' at Svenska Biografteatern, the dominating production company in Sweden during the silent era, was in 1915, but fell through. In 1917 a stage adaptation of the story premiered at [[Deutsches Theater (Berlin)|Deutsches Theater]] in Berlin, and an offer was received from a German film company which wanted to adapt it. After the play was staged in [[Gothenburg]] the following year, Svenska Biografteatern decided to go ahead and produce the film themselves. The screenplay by [[Mauritz Stiller]] and [[Gustaf Molander]] differs from the novel in that it tells the story in a more strictly chronological order, and incorporates some details which were introduced in the German play. Stiller also chose to tone down the story's supernatural elements.<ref name=ksf>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-filmdatabas/Item/?itemid=3473&type=MOVIE&iv=Comments|title=Herr Arnes Pengar (1919): Kommentar Svensk filmografi|language=sv|work=[[Swedish Film Database]]|publisher=[[Swedish Film Institute]]|access-date=2011-07-01}}</ref>

Filming took place from 12 February to 10 May 1919, in the studio area of Svenska Filmbiografen, later [[AB Svensk Filmindustri]], on [[Lidingö]], Stockholm, where the alleys of [[Marstrand]] had been reconstructed. Other exterior scenes were shot in the nearby area on Lidingö and [[Lilla Värtan]], as well as around Furusund in the [[Stockholm archipelago]], where the ship had been left over the winter and frozen in. Some filming took place further north in [[Skutskär]], and around [[Sollefteå]] in [[Ångermanland]].<ref name=ksf /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?itemid=3473&type=MOVIE&iv=RecordingPlace|title=Herr Arnes pengar (1919): Filming locations|work=[[Swedish Film Database]]|publisher=[[Swedish Film Institute]]|access-date=2011-07-01}}</ref>

The film featured handwritten [[intertitle]]s by [[Alva Lundin]] and was the first film to use her artistic title cards.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bull |first=Sofia |editor-last=Bull |editor-first=Sofia |editor2-last=Widding |editor2-first=Astrid Söderbergh |title=Not so Silent: Women in Cinema before Sound |place=Stockholm, Sweden |publisher=Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis |series=Stockholm Studies in Film History |year=2010 |chapter=Artistic Titles in Artistic Films! Investigating Swedish Art–Titles and the Case of Alva Lundin |pages=115–17 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/417336 |chapter-url-access=registration |isbn=978-91-86071-40-0}}</ref>

==Other adaptations==
Two other film adaptations of the story exist. In 1954 [[Gustaf Molander]] directed [[Sir Arne's Treasure (1954 film)|another Swedish version]]. A Czechoslovak animated short film directed by [[Václav Bedřich]] was made in 1967.<ref name=ksf />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Herr Arnes pengar}}
* {{IMDb title|0010247}}
* {{Sfdb title}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1919 films]]
[[Category:1910s historical drama films]]
[[Category:Swedish silent feature films]]
[[Category:Swedish historical drama films]]
[[Category:Swedish crime drama films]]
[[Category:1919 crime drama films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Selma Lagerlöf]]
[[Category:Films based on Swedish novels]]
[[Category:Films set in Västra Götaland County]]
[[Category:Films set in the 16th century]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mauritz Stiller]]
[[Category:Swedish black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Silent crime drama films]]

Sir Arne's Treasure - Revision history

imported>Steam-powered PC at 09:31, 2 June 2025