Den flyvende cirkus

If you've seen one sensational circus film of the Danish silent era, you've seen them all, it would appear. This, "The Flying Circus", is only the second one I've seen, but it's nearly identical to the other, which is "The Great Circus Catastrophe" (Dødsspring til hest fra cirkuskuplen) released the same year. I've also seen the sequel to "The Flying Circus", "The Bear Tamer" (Bjørnetæmmeren), which I suppose would also be considered of the circus genre, but it's not really worth seeing even if you haven't seen a circus film (and apparently not many have; as of posting this comment, it's not even on this website yet). Alfred Lind helped to inaugurate the circus film in 1911 with "The Four Devils" (De fire djævle), which apparently hardly anyone has seen, either.

For the first ten or so minutes of "The Flying Circus", it is rather slow going, with the setting up of the circus in the city and the introduction of the characters, although setting up a story is rather neglected. As with "The Great Circus Catastrophe", of what story there is serves to loosely connect sensational episodes, such as rescuing a damsel in distress from a burning building (included in both movies). The main dilemma in both films is the protagonist's decision between a good and a bad woman, with all the jealousy and danger that ensues. In "The Flying Circus", there's more classism involved. At least, there are few intertitles and it's rather short. As well, it's interesting to see what passed for popular entertainment in the motion-picture industry then.

When the mayor of a small town refuses to allow him to marry the daughter whose life he has saved, a circus tightrope walker attempts a dangerous stunt to raise the money he believes will make him an acceptable prospect. One of a number of Danish circus movies from the early 1910s, this one fails to really engage despite the rescue of a damsel in distress from a burning building and an escaped snake threatening the tightrope walker in the middle of his act. The sultry Lili Beck dominates as the cigar-chain-smoking, whip-wielding snake charmer who argues with a monkey ringing a bell.

Quite a nice little adventure yarn from the early golden days of the Danish cinema, lovingly restored into near-pristine condition and released by the Danish Film Institute (on a DVD with what seems to be be the sequel, The Bear Tamer). It can seem a wee bit slow moving, but it never becomes boring - there's a fire and a great deal of jealousy and some perilous situations and last minute escapes. Pretty good for 1912. There's the additional bonus of the quite pretty Lili Bech, who must take home the Oscar as the most smoking woman on the screen - she has a cigar in her teeth about 98 percent of her screen time!

The circus picture was a very popular genre at that time. There are at least 4 circus movies from about 1910-1915 released by the Danish Film Institute.

A three-reel offering of one of those fly-by-night circuses which here serves as the background for a romantic story, extremely well put on and effective. The players are capable and one especially, a gypsy girl and snake charmer, is all that her role demands. She suggests the right type of woman, one of the passionate kind, who are good villainesses and good losers, too. A woman with whom one can easily sympathize and we are made to feel strongly for her, consoling herself with the smoke of a whacking big cigar. It is a good offering for any place where this Bohemian kind of picture is acceptable. The camera work is of high order. - The Moving Picture World, June 14, 1913

The Danes apparently had quite a fixation with the circus. 'The Flying Circus (1912)' was only one of many such-themed films that were released in the early years of the 1910s, and the film itself spawned a sequel, also directed by Alfred Lind, called 'The Bear Tamer (1912).' Indeed, circuses were a popular cinematic theme in film-making for many years. With their extraordinary collection of the weird and wonderful – high-wire acts, performing animals, clowns and strong-men – such a setting was prime material for exciting movie viewing {notably, the most entertaining example of all is probably Chaplin's 'The Circus (1927)'}. This particular Danish effort starts a bit slow, almost as a documentary of circus life, but eventually draws on its characters to provide an interesting and intermittently exciting slice of melodrama and escapism. Behind the sparkle and glamour of circus life lurks the scourge of lust, passion, jealousy and treachery, personified in the sleazy, cigar-smoking snake-charmer, Ula Kiri-Maja (Lili Bech), who fires up the screen with her smoldering sexual domination.

Though I had been expecting more of a straight documentary, the dramatisation and character development in 'The Flying Circus' was a welcome deviation. Borgmester Strøm (Rasmus Ottesen) is purportedly the circus' greatest tight-rope walker. His first effort does little to convince us of this – it's a completely lame three-metre trot along a rope that's about three metres above the stage, but the audience in the film seemed impressed enough, as did the mayor's daughter, Erna (Emilie Otterdahl). Considerably more impressive is a later feat, when Borgmester utilises his tight-rope skills to rescue Erna from the window of a burning building {even if I clearly noticed a crewman's head crop up where there ought to have been nothing but thin air}. Though he soon wants to marry Erna, his request is declined by her father, who is adamant that no daughter of his will ever marry a performing peasant. To secure enough money to ensure a respectable marriage, Borgmester decides to tight-rope walk a long rope to the top of a church tower.

Offering to perform a dangerous stunt to acquire much-needed marital funds sounds a bit like Harold Lloyd's 'Safety Last! (1923),' even if this Danish version is only mildly exciting in comparison. The performances are more understated than might be expected – there's certainly nothing that would be called naturalistic, but, as far as silent cinema goes, the main cast members manage to keep their exaggerated gestures to an acceptable minimum. Lili Bech, calling to mind the vampiric French actress Musidora (of Louis Feuillade's serials), totally steals the show, her every action leading me to curse her unfettered nastiness. The film's running-time of 46 minutes was around average for features of the time, though the cinematic techniques used are still relatively primitive, especially compared to the excellent work that D.W. Griffith during those same years. Alfred Lind's 'The Flying Circus' deserves at least a single viewing, as a historical curiosity, a Danish curiosity and as a pleasant-enough circus melodrama – a beautifully-restored print is available on DVD from the Danish Film Institute.