Captain Grogg in a Balloon
About Captain Grogg in a Balloon
Victor Bergdahl steps in front of the camera and draws the first picture: Grogg and Kalle in a balloon. After that the anchor does the work. It lifts a father who is hitting his child, carries off a shy young woman and dumps her with a grog-soaked uncle in the water, and pulls a man out of the Nile ahead of a crocodile. The balloon drops into Vesuvius and comes back up with Grogg and Kalle coughing smoke. In a storm the bag splits. They come down under an umbrella.
Cast & crew
More about Captain Grogg in a Balloon
Bergdahl made Kapten Grogg i ballong at the Lidingö studio. It is the second Grogg cartoon. The censor passed 221 meters on 15 November 1916, number 16528, all ages, timed at 11 minutes at 18 frames a second. Röda Kvarn in Stockholm opened it on 27 November 1916 as a supporting short to the American feature Bullets and Brown Eyes, released in Sweden as Prins Virvelvind.
Themes
Making
The short starts as a live shot of Bergdahl's hand. The rest is the drawn balloon. He did not stay inside one country: the anchor's victims are a father, a shy woman, a man in the Nile, and then the mouth of Vesuvius.
Reviews
Two unsigned Stockholm notices from the opening week praised the cartoon. One said it carried more humor than a run of ordinary comedies. The other reported lively applause at Röda Kvarn.
Preservation
Swedish cinematheque programmes revived it in 1973 and 1990.
Notes
- An unsigned notice said the film was so packed with jokes that it outweighed several so-called comedies.
- Another unsigned review said the Röda Kvarn premiere audience applauded Bergdahl's cartoon.
- Alternate titles include Kapten Groggs ballongfärd and the production number SF 2752.
- Finnish titles are Kapteeni Grogg ilmapallossa and Kapten Grogg i ballong.
- Cinematheque dates on the database include 29 March 1973 and 1 November 1990.
Scenes
- Bergdahl draws Grogg and Kalle into the balloon, then leaves the frame.
- The anchor snatches a man out of the Nile as a crocodile closes.
- The balloon sinks into Vesuvius and rises with the two of them coughing smoke.
- The bag bursts and they float down on an umbrella.
