The Great Circus Catastrophe

1912 Drama 41 minutes Directed by Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen

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About The Great Circus Catastrophe

Count Willy von Rosenörn, ruined, moves into an artists’ hotel and meets Circus Carino. He falls for the director’s mistress and, to impress her, agrees to a stunt: he and a horse are hauled to the top of the circus dome and jump into the ring.

Cast & crew

More about The Great Circus Catastrophe

Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen directed. Alfred Kjerulf wrote the script. Nordisk produced it, and Fotorama released it in Denmark. The premiere was 26 August 1912 at the Panoptikon in Copenhagen. The Danish title is Dødsspring til Hest fra Cirkuskuplen. German prints were called Die grosse Attraction. The print is tinted and 805 meters. The Danish Film Institute lists the archive length as 41 minutes.

Themes

  • A ruined count in an artists’ hotel
  • A stunt to impress the director’s mistress
  • A horse dropped from the dome
  • Count Willy von Rosenörn
  • Circus Carino
  • horse
  • dome
  • Psilander
  • Axel Mattsson

Background

Nordisk sold this kind of stunt picture abroad in 1912. English-speaking markets used The Great Circus Catastrophe.

Making

Nordisk negative number 896. The sensation is the horse-and-rider drop from the cupola, shot with a double rather than with Psilander.

Technique

The horse and rider are hoisted to the dome and filmed jumping into the ring, with Axel Mattsson doubling Psilander.

Music

Silent. The surviving material is tinted.

Preservation

The Danish Film Institute lists an archive length of 41 minutes. The negative was tinted.

Notes

  • Valdemar Psilander plays Count Willy. Aage Hertel is circus director Winge. Ellen Ræder is the rider Mlle Doré. Jenny Roelsgaard is the dancer Miss Evelyn. Frederik Jacobsen is the count’s servant, old John.
  • Psilander did many of his own stunts. The dome jump was done by his friend Axel Mattsson, a Swedish-born rider.
  • Contemporary reports said Mattsson was hurt badly enough that a silver plate was set into his skull.
  • Danish censors passed it for all ages and advised against it for children under seven.
  • Other English titles include A Fatal Decision and The Platform of Death.

Scenes

  • Horse and rider are hauled to the top of the circus dome and jump into the ring.

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-ddsspring-til-hest-fra-cirkuskuplen)