Cinema
Harry and the Butler
Harry og kammertjeneren
Bent Christensen · 1961
Synopsis
Old Harry keeps a car scrapyard in the suburbs of Copenhagen, where he lives rent-free in a shack made of wreck parts; he turns a blind eye to the kids who take the cars apart, including a little inventor building a rocket, and plays cards every week with two friends. One day, an unexpected inheritance leaves him a little over three thousand kroner. Rather than invest it, he decides to treat himself to something he has never had: a real valet, as in England. Fabricius, a well-mannered servant, answers the advertisement and turns up at the scrapyard.
Context
The screenplay is written with Leif Panduro, then a dentist in Esbjerg and still little known in cinema, and the role of Harry is conceived for Osvald Helmuth; Ebbe Rode plays Fabricius. The director, aged thirty-one, produces the film himself, and the actors invest part of their fee in it to help this unusual project. It was released on 8 September 1961 and is presented in competition at Cannes the following year.
Who it is for
One hour forty-five minutes, in Danish. Know before watching that the Danish title names a valet, and that the word matters in a comedy built on each person's place.
Prizes and reception
Nominated for the Oscar for best foreign film, Bodil Award for best Danish film, and it remains one of the best-loved Danish comedies.
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