The feature film "Fyrtøjet":
The last tough move
This section is about the last tough move to complete the drawing work on "Fyrtøjet". Despite the overtime, which among other things meant that the employees for about half a year only had a full day off on Sundays, the atmosphere among the employees was still good at the design studio in Frederiksberggade 28. Here, as previously mentioned, all key animators sat and worked, except for Bjørn Frank Jensen, who ran the design studio out on Nørrebrogade, and Kjeld Simonsen (Simon), who sat at home in Holte and worked.
At the design studio in Stengade, which Mogens Mogensen was the leader of, sat a large group of in-betweeners and worked all day. The same went for the inkers and colorists in Willemoesgade and later on Vesterbrogade. The procedure was therefore that the animation drawings were brought from the drawing studio in Frederiksberggade to the drawing studio in Stengade, and after being in-betweened drawn there, they were brought for inking and coloring at the drawing studio in Willemoesgade. From here, the material was brought to the drawing studio in Frederiksberggade, where the scenes were photographed on the trick table by photographer Marius Holdt. It was a little different with Bjørn Frank's department in Nørrebro because here he had his own in-betweeners available. Therefore, the material from there only had to be picked up and brought on in the system.
The vast majority of the employees were actually dedicated to their work, and all made an impressive and appreciative effort to complete the "Fyrtøjet". This of course applied not least to the key animators, who had a special interest in seeing each of their respective work completed, because you primarily make films and cartoons, so that the result can be seen by an audience.
Børge Hamberg - supervising co-instructor
To now take the head of the drawing studio at Frederiksberggade, the well-known 24-year-old Børge Hamberg at the time mentioned here, first, he was in a way something completely different, especially with his personally mature but still always friendly demeanor towards everyone, regardless of rank and condition. As mentioned, he acted as a competent intermediary between the employees at the drawing studio in Frederiksberggade and the management of Dansk Farve- og Tegnefilm A/S, the latter especially represented by Allan Johnsen and Peter Toubro. In addition, Børge Hamberg, in addition to being a diligent ant, was also both a skilled artist and a skilled animator with a great sense of cinematic scene construction and scene work. This also meant that he was in fact a kind of supervising co-director on "Fyrtøjet", where e.g. Bjørn Frank and Preben Dorst were 'only' co-instructors on the sequences for which they each had the main responsibility.
The main director of the film "Fyrtøjet" was still Peter Toubro, in the sense that it was he who, as the film's screenwriter in consultation with especially Børge Hamberg, delegated the individual scenes to the main characters and animators, who then again delegated the work to the assistants. animators and to the in-betweening of characters. Finn Rosenberg was and remained mainly art director on "Fyrtøjet", but as the initiator of the film he was also a member of the team that acted as the film's directors, namely in addition to Rosenberg and Toubro also Børge Hamberg, Bjørn Frank Jensen and Preben Dorst. As production manager, Allan Johnsen was usually an assistant when planning scenes, but he gave largely free hands to his creative staff, as he clearly acknowledged his lack of expertise in cartoon production.
Børge Hamberg was probably one of the total of seven key animators on "Fyrtøjet", who employed the most assistants and in-betweening artists. His two assistant animators were Mogens Mogensen and Harry Rasmussen, while the in-betweening cartoonists were first and foremost Arne "Jømme" Jørgensen, Erling Bentsen, Torben Strandgaard, but many more were involved in the process.
As mentioned, Børge Hamberg was especially responsible for characters such as the soldier, the witch, the crow, the big one and (especially) the smallest of the three dogs, but it happened occasionally that he also drew and animated other characters in the film.
A good example of how Børge Hamberg could also draw and animate other than the soldier, the witch, the crow and the big and the smallest dog, can be seen above. The time is the morning after the astrologer at the Round Tower has seen in the stars that the princess of the country will marry a simple soldier, and immediately before the scene in which the soldier is introduced in the film. From inside the town, there is a tone over to a farm in the country, and here is the rooster, which has jumped up on a tub, where it crows its well-known kykkeliky. In-betweened by Harry Rasmussen. The background is painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
But Børge Hamberg's great work and significance for the feature film "Fyrtøjet", primarily concerned the animation of the main character the soldier, a work he continued until the summer of 1945. Among some of the last scenes he drew and animated with the soldier were those, in which one sees this in prison shortly before he is to be led out to the gallows hill, to be hanged. The prison cell is located in a half-height basement, and from here the soldier has a clear view of what is happening on the street outside via a lattice window. The city is on the other end because of the impending execution, which is a tributary of the rare. Many of the city's citizens hurry to get out and secure a place from which there will be a good view of the gallows itself. (Note 1)
Luckily for the soldier, however, it happens that the shoemaker boy, who is also on his way to the gallows, comes running, and just as the boy passes the cell window, he loses one of his slippers, which falls through the grid and ends up in the soldier's cell. The soldier shouts at the shoemaker boy and admonishes him not to be so busy, because nothing special will happen until he, the soldier, has been taken out to the gallows hill. What happens next between the soldier and the shoemaker boy can be read and seen under the mention of Preben Dorst.
Here is the soldier's prison cell, where the sunlight from the window falls on the door in the background and marks the window grille and the soldier's shadow, as he wanders back and forth in the cramped cell. Here he awaits the death sentence on him to take place. - The soldier's shadow is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg, while the background is painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
After being sentenced to death, the soldier awaits his further fate in the cramped prison cell, where his only pleasure is to stand behind the lattice window and watch people rushing past out on the street. This takes place shortly before the shoemaker boy happens to pass by, which is mentioned under the description of the scenes that Preben Dorst drew and animated towards the end of "Fyrtøjet"'s production time. - The soldier is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg and the background painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
From the prison at the Courthouse in Copenhagen, the rear-bound soldier is led with a donkey-drawn cart to the courthouse some distance outside the city. Until the 20th century, public executions took place on a scaffold in the present Fælledparken, where beheadings and hangings had occurred for a long time. - The soldier is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg, while the cart, the driver and the donkey are drawn and animated by Otto Jacobsen. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Above, the soldier stands on the scaffold, while the executioner is seen to his right and the king sitting alone in his lodge to the right. The soldier addresses the king and says, "Is it not the case that one always allows a sinner, before serving his sentence, to have an innocent wish fulfilled?" To this the king replies: "Let us hear what that wish is. But hurry up! ” …
… The soldier replies: “I would like to smoke a pipe of tobacco! It's my last wish in this world! ” The king: "Yes, you should be allowed to do that!" - The soldier is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg, while both the king and the executioner are drawn and animated by Simon. The background is painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
The soldier stands here with his pipe in his mouth and the lighter ready in his hands, looking politely up at the unsuspecting king. This image of the soldier is - especially as far as the facial expression is concerned - a direct self-portrait of Børge Hamberg, who in this case has both drawn and animated the soldier. - Photo from the movie. © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Here the soldier's hands are seen with the lighter, which he here make use of for the first time, to summon his faithful helpers. - As previously mentioned, this scene is drawn and animated by Harry Rasmussen.
Cut to the witch's tree, as the first dog, seen only in the form of speed clouds, emerges from the hole and disappears to the left. - The tree is designed and animated by Børge Hamberg and the in-between drawings made by Harry Rasmussen. The background is painted by Finn Rosenberg.
… The soldier uses the lighter for the second time…
… Cut to the witch's tree, from where dog no. 2 in the form of speed clouds comes up from the hole and goes out to the left. …
… The soldier now uses the firearm for the third time…
… Cut back to the witch's tree, from where the largest of the three dogs emerges in the form of speed clouds, which make a turn and disappear to the left. - The tree is also here drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg and the in-between drawing by Harry Rasmussen, while the background is laid out and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - All photos shown above are from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Bjørn Frank Jensen - a solid animator
An artist and animator like Bjørn Frank Jensen worked quietly, calmly, thoroughly and energetically with each and every one of the scenes he drew and animated. This way of working matched well with his slightly refined nature and sober demeanor, and it characterized his drawings and animation, which at the same time had something solid, craftsmanship about it. Bjørn struggled with every single key drawing, in an attempt to get the best out of it, but at the same time he was fully aware that the individual key drawing was only a phase in the course of movement that a figure had to go through and express. As previously mentioned, he was the one of all the key animators on "Fyrtøjet", who sketched the most, finally, when he thought the result was good enough, he made the clean-ups of for others, often almost obscure drawings.
One of the sequences that Bjørn Frank drew and animated late in the production process was the sequence that takes place in the Royal Council Chamber. Here the king and queen are gathered with their advisers, to plan what can be done to prevent the soldier from having to see the princess more than has already been the case. The situation is that the soldier, with the help of the magic lighter and one of its 'spirits', the smallest of the three dogs, has forced himself access to see and be with the princess, albeit only for a short time. But it is in turn imperative for the princess' parents, the king and queen, to prevent the prophecy that their daughter will marry a simple soldier from coming true. But so far, they have failed to find the soldier's whereabouts and arrest him. The court lady's trick of hitting a large cross on the door of the house where the soldier is staying had been thwarted thanks to the soldier's helper, the dog, because it simply ticked all the doors and gates in that neighborhood of the city. Therefore, good advice was very welcome, and that is what the deliberations at the castle are now about.
Vue over the council chamber with the king and queen sitting at the far end of the long table while the scribes sit at the front end, busy writing down everything that is being said and talked about. Among the people sitting around the long table are the astrologer, the general, the old man and others. - All characters are here drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank Jensen. The background is painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
The general is the first to speak, and as he takes one of the candlesticks on the table and moves it in front of him, he says: "Here stands the cavalry!" Then he takes the glasses from the astrologer and places them in front of him on the table, and says: "Here are the cannons!" And at the same time as he points to himself, he exclaims confidently: "And here I stand!"
The queen, interrupting the general: "Nonsense!" - The king: "Then let's hear our astrologer, huh!"
The astrologer gets up and points upwards, saying: "The stars say…" He does not get any further until the king turns to the half-deaf old man.
The king: "Does the old man have any advice?" The old man gets up and answers: "In this case a lot can be said for and against etcetera, and as such the case should be clear,…
… And therefore he thinks it, I think, expedient that under the existing… ”
… He no longer reaches until the Queen interrupts: “Nonsense! - Let me handle this case! ”
Everyone around the table bends and answers in unison: "As the queen commands!" - All characters in the scenes shown above are drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank Jensen and preferably the middle character by Helge Hau. The backgrounds are painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A / S.
After the involuntary watercourse to which the youngest of the three dogs has exposed the court lady, by throwing her into the moat, she now sits here, red-nosed and littered, with her feet in a tub of hot water, nurturing the cold that resulted. There will also be a few sneezes. - The scene is drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank Jensen and the in-betweens made by Helge Hau. The background is painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
However, the Queen has hatched a cunning plan for how to track down the soldier's whereabouts. She has come up with the good idea of filling a bag of buckwheat groats, tying it around the neck of the sleeping princess and cutting a small hole in the bag so that the groats will sprinkle out when the dog leaves with her to the destination. And that cunning the dog apparently has no opportunity to thwart.
Above, the queen sits in her apartment, holding a cloth bag in one hand and a small pair of scissors in the other. It knocks on the door in the background. The queen says: "Come in!".
The door opens and the chef comes in with a stuffed sack on his back. "Your Majesty!" He puts the sack down on the floor, saying: "The buckwheat!", To which the queen replies: "Excellent!"
As the queen holds out the bag, the chef fills it with buckwheat groats. Then overtones to the following scenes:
The queen ties the bag filled with buckwheat groats around the neck of the sleeping princess, after which she cuts a small hole in the bag so that you can see that some buckwheat groats roll out on the duvet. - The queen and the chef are drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank, while the princess is drawn and animated by Preben Dorst. The backgrounds are painted by Finn Rosenberg. - All the above photos are from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Around the same time it happens that the soldier strikes the lighter, to summon the dog and ask him to bring the princess home. The soldier is here drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A / S.
The queen is sitting here on a chair outside the princess' room, and for pastime she is sewing on a canvas. A lit candle stands in front of her on the floor, throwing a cone of light around the place. …
… At the same time, the dog (in the form of speed clouds) enters the door on the left at breakneck speed and disappears through the door to the princess' room,…
… To immediately after coming out again and again disappear through the door where it had come from. …
The queen now raises the candlestick and sees that the buckwheat groats have left the desired mark on the floor. After this, the tracing and arrest of the presumptuous soldier is moved closer. - The queen is drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank, the dog's 'speed clouds' by Børge Hamberg, while the backgrounds are painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
With this, almost all the scenes in "Fyrtøjet", which were drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank Jensen at the end of the film's production time, are referred to and mentioned. He could then embark on, among other things, drawing various drawings, which were partly to be used in connection with the film poster and the film program and partly in advertisements and commercials for various products. See more about this in the next section.
Simon - a huge work effort
As mentioned earlier, during 1944 it became clear to both the management and the leading cartoonists and animators that the latter would find it difficult to draw and animate all the scenes with characters they were each responsible for. But this would be catastrophic for the prospect of the film being able to premiere within a manageable and reasonable time.
A crisis meeting was held between Allan Johnsen and Peter Toubro on the one hand and Finn Rosenberg, Børge Hamberg, Bjørn Frank Jensen and Preben Dorst on the other. At that time, Allan Johnsen was in negotiations with some of the large Danish film companies, partly with a view to raising new capital and partly to ally with an established and efficient distribution company.
During the crisis meeting, they took stock of how far the production of "Fyrtøjet" had reached until then, and below it became uncomfortably clear that they largely lacked to draw and animate the film's two major ending sequences. Namely, the one in which the soldier is captured and sentenced to death by hanging and led out to the gallows hill, where the sentence is to be executed, and the one in which the whole city is at the other end, to celebrate the wedding between the soldier and the princess.
Given these non-uplifting facts, the three main animators present expressed strong doubts about the extent to which they would be able to reach and manage to draw and animate the respective scenes for which they were each responsible within a period of approximately six months. for. Both Johnsen and Toubro were deeply desperate until the three animators suggested that one should try to persuade the always very fast and efficient Simon to take on a significant part of the task. Until now, he had only had smaller and sporadic scenes as his area of responsibility, and it was therefore thought that he would gladly embark on the demanding task of drawing and animating a very large part of the remaining scenes in the final sequences.
Allan Johnsen therefore immediately called Simon, who at the time was sitting at home in his own studio in Holte and working. Luckily, Simon immediately agreed to take on the undeniably demanding task, and the very next day he trooped up to the drawing room in Frederiksberggade, to be instructed on which characters and scenes it was about drawing and animating. , and how long - or rather short - time he had to carry out the work in. However, he was a little apprehensive that the figure gallery also included the soldier and the princess, but after a short time of reflection and a good deal of persuasion, probably not least in the form of a increased fee, it ended up that Simon also accepted this condition.
Equipped with various materials, Simon then took the train home to Holte again, where he immediately began to meet the expectations that had been set for him and his great abilities as a cartoonist and animator, and of course a cartoonist and animator who was able to accomplish almost the impossible, especially in terms of diligence and time. He was legendary in almost every respect, and in addition he as a personality was perfectly straightforward, unpretentious, kind and sociable. In what follows, we shall see what came out of his great and, after all, time-consuming work.
In practical terms, Simon was a fast and confident illustrator and animator, and the work flowed easily from his hand, and therefore drawing every other drawing in the scenes he animated was not something that slowed him down. This meant that his animation drawings - counted in 2s - had No. 1, 5, 9, 13, etc., while he left it to intermediate artists to draw No. 3, 7, 11, etc. Other of the animators drew e.g. . only Nos. 1, 9, 17, 25, etc., and left to intermediate artists to draw 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 19, 21, 23, etc., which of course saved time for the animators in question and also gave work for the intermediaries.
But if one - very reluctantly - had to give a critique of Simon's animation, then it had to be that the movements of his characters were even very soft and often a little too 'floating' and slow. In many cases he would have been able to just draw each other of his key drawings and numbered these 1, 5 (= 9), 9 (= 13) etc. But something indicated that his way of drawing and animating already sat him so much on the spinal cord that he did not consciously think about it. In that sense, he was an inspired animator, who almost automatically animated straight ahead and only rarely "from pose to pose". (Note 2)
It was mainly due to the great work pressure that was increasingly placed on the animators during 1944, which already had enough to do with keeping up with the interpreters, the painters and the colorists, that at one point it was agreed that that as many scenes as possible should be drawn and animated by Simon. Fortunately, as mentioned, he also proved more than willing to take on the task, partly because the work interested him, and partly because he worked on a kind of piecework payment, which meant that the more scenes he delivered, the more he earned in kroner and pennies.
After the smallest of the three dogs at the soldier's command has brought this time the awake princess to his room at the inn, the two lovers sit on the sofa, holding each other's hands. The princess exclaims: “My God, what do I care that you are a simple soldier! After all, you are the only one I really like! ” Then the soldier begins to sing in response: "On my journey through the world,…
… Under sun and wind and snow,…
… I have met so much beautifully on the highway! ” The soldier continues his song.
The three scenes shown here are for the two tops drawn and animated by Simon, while the third scene, where the princess and the soldier are seen in the mirror, whose frame is adorned with a group of little cupids, for the soldier and the princess is drawn and animated by Simon, while the Cupids are drawn and animated by Preben Dorst. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Simon's final sequences
Simon's greatest effort in connection with the feature film "The Torch" was achieved by drawing and animating virtually all scenes in the film's two major ending sequences: The one in which the soldier is captured and sentenced to death by hanging and led out to the gallows hill, where the verdict is to be executed, and the one in which the whole city is at the other end, to celebrate the wedding between the soldier and the princess.
The above scenes are followed by a situation in which the soldier asks the king to have an 'innocent' wish fulfilled, namely that he be allowed to smoke one last pipe of tobacco in this world. This is confessed to him most graciously by the king, who has no idea of mischief. After which the soldier uses his lighter and calls the three dogs to help him free. But since the soldier in these scenes is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg, the scenes are shown under the mention of him above. - All reproduced scene images above are taken from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Above, the three dogs have arrived and have sat down in front of the soldier on the gallows podium, awaiting orders from their master. Both dogs and soldier are in this case drawn and animated by Simon. I have no clear knowledge or memory of who and how many people drew for Simon, as it mainly took place at the drawing studio in Stengade in Nørrebro. - Layout and background are - as usual - drawn and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
In this scene, the soldier shouts to the three dogs, "Help me now so I don't get hanged!" - Here too, both soldier and dogs are drawn and animated by Simon. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Like the other members of the council, it is as if the astrologer does not understand anything of what is going on, because after appearing out of the water he continues his speech: "The stars say,…" No longer does he reach, taking a frog in the same interrupts him with a loud "quack". - As is the case with all the images shown above in the sequence, all the characters are drawn and animated by Simon. Layouts and backgrounds are designed and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
This is followed by another suite of images from scenes in the film's final sequence, all drawn and animated by Simon, which show the impressive effort, time and energy he invested in completing the feature film "Fyrtøjet".
All the scenes with the popular procession through the city streets are drawn and animated by Simon, while the backgrounds are laid out and painted by Otto Jacobsen. The scenes with the procession are followed by a panorama of the festive table at the castle. This scene, which does not contain animation, is not by Simon, but is laid out and painted by Frede Henning Dixner.
Then there is cut to the following scenes, which Simon also has drawn and animated, and whose backgrounds are laid out and painted by Finn Rosenberg:
With these many scenes, the backgrounds of which are layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg, Simon completed his intense and impressive work on the feature film "Fyrtøjet", though not voluntarily, but forced by the circumstances. - All pictures are photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
After months of hard work with the two final sequences, which lasted until October 1944, it happened to Simon that he had to "go underground" for his own safety. He had secretly participated in illegal work, and several members of the resistance group to which he belonged had been tracked down, arrested, tortured and executed by the Gestapo. On September 19, 1944, the vast majority of members of the Danish police force, with the exception of those who had succeeded in avoiding or escaping by chance or chance, had been arrested and taken to a German concentration camp. From then on, the German police had taken over all police work in Denmark, well and energetically helped by Hilf Polizei, Hipo, which consisted exclusively of Danish accomplices.
For Simon, as for others who had to "go underground", this meant that he had to temporarily leave his residence and change residence regularly, in the hope of being able to stay hidden from the Gestapo. Therefore, none of us saw anything until after the liberation, but he did not return to work as an animator on "Fyrtøjet". On the other hand, he continued as a freelance illustrator of illustrations, advertisements, children's books and occasionally he also made a few commercial cartoons. Later he entered into a collaboration with Bjørn Frank Jensen and Børge Ring and became a significant employee at the cartoon company Ring, Frank & Rønde, which we will hear more and more precisely about later. (Note 3)
Preben Dorst - a versatile artist and animator
Although Preben Dorst was not really a very experienced animator, he still got a lot of other characters than the princess to draw and animate. However, it was the latter figure who occupied most of his time in daily life. But even he was not entirely happy with the result that came out of his care and attempt to breathe life into the film’s female protagonist. In only a few scenes did he succeed in giving the princess the appeal needed to make a cartoon character present to the audience. With his delicate and sensitive mind, Preben Dorst was on sick leave for short periods and therefore absent from the design studio. With good reason, the management therefore feared that Dorst would not be able to draw and animate all the scenes with the princess within a manageable time frame. That was one of the reasons why - with Dorst's acceptance - it was left to Simon to draw and animate some of the princess scenes, as we have already seen examples of during the mention of Simon's work on "Fyrtøjet".
But one of the other characters besides the princess, whom it was left to Dorst to both draw and animate, was the grim hangman. The figure, which like most of the film's gallery of figures was originally designed by Børge Hamberg, was a welcome change from the somewhat fresh and sweet-laden princess, and Dorst approached the task with desire and enthusiasm. But even though the executioner only appears in quite a few scenes, it still had to be left to Simon to draw and animate the character in some of the film's final scenes. On the other hand, Dorst managed to draw and animate all the scenes in which the shoemaker boy appears.
Here is a selection of the scenes in "Fyrtøjet", which Preben Dorst was an employee on:
The crowd in front of the courthouse awaits the verdict on the soldier to be handed down and announced publicly. As the hangman passes through the crowd, one of the two madams exclaims: “The hangman is coming! Then we will probably know what happens! ” - Both the hangman and the two ladies are drawn and animated by Preben Dorst. Layout and backgrounds are drawn and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
The shoemaker boy comes running along the courthouse and loses his one slipper, which happens to end up behind the prison's lattice window, where the soldier is standing and looking out at the passing crowd. The soldier bends down and picks up the slipper and shouts: “Hello shoemaker boy! You must not be in such a hurry! …
… Nothing happens until I come! ”
As the soldier hands the slipper to the shoemaker boy, he says: "Run to the pub and get my uniform, and you'll get four shillings!"
During the episode with the shoemaker boy who is on his way to the pub to pick up the soldier's uniform, in whose pocket the lighter is lying, cuts are made to tendons with people rushing off on the way to the gallows hill. In this scene, the crowd is drawn and animated by Preben Dorst. Just like in the other scenes, the background is laid out and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
The shoemaker boy has now returned to the courthouse prison, where he hands the uniform to the soldier: "Here you have your uniform, sir! Do I get the four shillings !? ” The soldier hands the money to the boy, who acknowledges with a quick: "It's fine!", After which he hurries on. - The shoemaker boy is drawn and animated by Dorst, while the soldier is drawn and animated by Børge Hamberg. The backgrounds are the layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Above is an insert scene with a close up of the hangman's ugly grinning face. It amused Preben Dorst to draw and animate this scene in particular, because it was so much a contrast to the recent scenes with the sweet-laden princess. - Photo from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Preben Dorst also drew and animated a number of scenes of people fleeing the gallows for fear of the three dogs. It was a relaxing job, which at the same time gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities as a good character artist. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
But drawing and animating the princess was and remained the main task for Preben Dorst, who especially got good help from his favorite assistant and in-betweener artist, Bodil Rønnow, who in turn was dedicated to the task.
In this scene, the king and queen are sitting at the breakfast table as the princess comes in and says good morning to her parents. The Queen: "Have you slept well, my child?" - The princess: "I had a strange dream last night!" - The Queen: "Let us hear what it was about? Let us hear! ” - In all the scenes shown below, the king, queen and court lady are drawn and animated by Bjørn Frank Jensen, while the princess is drawn and animated by Preben Dorst. The backgrounds are the layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
In answer to the mother's question, the princess answers: “I dreamed that a big, big dog, who put me up on his back, and then ran it through the whole city with me, down to a nice, nice room, where there was a soldier - and he kissed me! ”
The court lady comments on the princess' dream, saying: “Oh, how inappropriate! Yes it is!"
The queen complements the court lady by saying: "It was really a bad story!"
The king is so upset to hear about the princess' dream that he gets up from the table and starts trotting restlessly back and forth in the room, saying: “Ugly story! Very ugly story! Highly uncomfortable! Extremely uncomfortable! What should I do? etc. ” - "Now I have it! …
The king continued:… Now I have it! She must wake up tonight by the princess' bed! Then we will see if it was a dream or what it can be for some strange nonsense! ”
The king has now opened the door and says commandingly: "Bring the princess back to the tower!"
In the princess' tower room. The princess sits in bed combing her hair while the court lady sits on a chair next to her and naps. The princess sighs dreamily: "Oh, I really wanted to dream the same thing again tonight!"
The princess, who has now snuggled under the duvet, mumbles sleepily to the court lady: "Good night!"
Both the princess and the court lady have now fallen asleep. Suddenly there is a hissing and whistling sound and the princess is removed from her bed as if by an invisible force. The court lady wakes up and stares in horror at the empty bed, after which she herself runs out the door. This is followed by scenes where the court lady puts on water boots and runs out into the night rain, to follow the dog, as it is who has abducted the princess.
The immediately following scenes in which the princess appears are not drawn and animated by Dorst, but rather by Simon, which we have already been made aware of. These scenes take place in the soldier's room at the inn, and although Dorst has not drawn and animated the princess in those scenes, he in turn made some interjected small scenes with the little Cupid and some erots.
In this sequence, we are in the soldier's room at the inn, where he and the princess are sitting and enjoying themselves on the sofa. Here the two duet sing with each other, and after we first hear the soldier's singing declaration of love for the princess, she begins to sing her answer: "And I think I knew you before I saw you for the first time… etc." Meanwhile, a little Cupid steps in through the window, which is half open. The following scenes are seen during the duet of the soldier and the princess.
Here we will end the mention of Preben Dorst by showing a scene from the Port of Copenhagen, where you see King Christian the Fourth's mast crane in the background, and from one of the scenes with the bride and groom driving through the city on their way to the gala dinner at the castle. But in the scene with the two apple-chewing boys, it happens that they talk about the day's big events in the city.
1st boy: "Have - have - you heard what the trouble in the square this morning was?" - 2nd boy: "Yeah, - they fired cannons and knocked down an entire house!" - 1st boy: "Shouldn't we rather go down to look at it ?!" - 2nd boy: "Yes!" -
The boys are drawn and animated by Preben Dorst, and the background is the layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg, who had actually stood down by the Langelinje quay and drawn a sketch for this background.
The bridal carriage is designed by Otto Jacobsen, the princess is designed and animated by Preben Dorst, and the soldier by Børge Hamberg. The backgrounds are the layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
With this, we leave the mention of Preben Dorst for the time being, but since we have often come across the name Finn Rosenberg again, it would be appropriate to give a few concluding examples of his fine backgrounds for the feature film "Fyrtøjet":
The four above scenes, of which the top three show exteriors from Copenhagen Courthouse, as it also looks to this day, are laid out and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
Otto Jacobsen - an all-round artist
As mentioned, the cartoonist Otto Jacobsen, simply called "Jacob", was not responsible for special figures during his more than two-year work on "Fyrtøjet". Not even if he got to draw and animate the soldier in quite a few of the film's scenes. But it was and were mainly side characters that Jacob was given the task of taking care of. In fact, he came to draw such diverse figures as chimney sweeps, soldiers, city gatekeepers, lawyers, judges and prison guards, the horse-drawn racket cart and - probably just as importantly - the bridal carriage.
The judge with a fatal black wig proclaims the verdict to the soldier: "For you are known for right…" Then cut directly to the following scene:
The prisoner ends the sentence with the words: "Tomorrow you will be hanged!" After which he slams the door to the soldier's cell and closes it. The backgrounds are the layout and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
A little later in the film, where the soldier is on the gallows hill and has called for help from the three dogs, Jacob has drawn and animated the following scenes:
The city gate gives way when the first two of the dogs pass through the gate opening, the dogs are only seen as speed clouds.
It all goes wrong when the third and largest dog runs through the gate opening. The size and speed of the dog simply causes the gate building to collapse.
In the ruins of the collapsed city gate, the apparently dutiful gatekeeper opens a window and shouts: "No one is coming in here!" - The gate building and the gatekeeper are drawn and animated by Otto Jacobsen, while the dogs' speed lines are drawn and animated by Harry Rasmussen, who at the same time also drew the collapsed gate building. - The backgrounds are laid out and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
‘Benjamin’ Rasmussen’s last exploits
Here are some examples of the scenes that I, Harry Rasmussen, also called "Benjamin", drew and animated as about the last during my two-year work on the feature film "Fyrtøjet":
A half-hearted episode occurs as the three dogs are on their way to the gallows to help the soldier avoid being hanged. Below, the smallest of the dogs suddenly stops in the middle of a street, to scratch behind the ear, but has to duck, as first one and then the other of the dogs (in the form of speed bumps or speed clouds) pass by it. - The dog and the speed clouds are drawn and animated by Harry Rasmussen. The background is layouted and painted by Finn Rosenberg. - Photos from the film: © 1946 Palladium A/S.
In the next section, we will look at how the continued production of the feature film "Fyrtøjet" was made possible thanks to the fortunate fact that Filmselskabet Palladium A/S stepped in with new capital and as a distributor of the film.
To start: Danish Cartoon History
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