Jump to content

Olsen Gang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olsen Gang
Left to right: Kjeld, Benny, Yvonne, Egon.
First appearanceThe Olsen Gang(1968)
Last appearanceThe Olsen Gang's Last Trick(1998)
In-universe information
TypeFictional crime syndicate
LocationDenmark

TheOlsen Gang(Danish:Olsen-banden,Norwegian:Olsenbanden) is aDanishcomedy film series created by Danish directorErik Ballingand special effects expertHenning Bahsabout theeponymousfictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual offenderEgon Olsenand his accomplices are Benny and Kjeld (Kjell in Norwegian). The gang members are harmless, extremely rarely target ordinary citizens, and never deliberately use violence.[a]The first film came in 1968; during the next thirty years a total of fourteen films were made.

A Norwegian version of the film series was also made (a total of 14 films from 1969 to 1999), in most cases based directly on the scripts for the Danish films. Later, starting in 1981, Sweden also produced their own version:Jönssonligan.[1]

Plot

[edit]

Most of the films start with Egon coming out of jail and being enthusiastically welcomed by Benny and Kjeld. The three men will then have a beer together in the living room of Kjeld's home inValby,where Egon will inform his friends of his latest plan for making them millionaires. Plans are often two-step plans, where the first heist will get the equipment for the real, second plan. The plans usually feature everyday artifacts such asLego,party balloons, cigarettes, etc., which are then brought together in surprising ways in elaborate and well-timed plans, often including cleversocial engineering.Benny's function in the heists, besides get-away-driver, is picking locks and starting machinery using "The Thing", a specially shaped brass piece used for manipulating machinery and opening doors. Egon often serves time in prison with lawyers or executives who provide him with the information he needs, such as duty rosters for the national public record office. Egon is also a brilliantsafecracker,operating manually, specializing in the fictive "Franz Jäger" brand.

Egon's plans often bring the gang into perilously close contact with white-collar criminals from the Danish business (and political) elite. For example, in the ninth installment named "Olsen-banden deruda" well-connected people try to make money out of the so-called "butter mountain", a huge amount of butter bought up and stored by theEEC(now theEU) to keep prices up. Egon Olsen learns about this from a lawyer who is serving prison time, and the gang interferes with the plan to secure the millions for themselves, but as always, Egon – after having succeeded with a genius plan – fails for a variety of reasons, for instance underestimating the power and unscrupulousness of these people, bad luck, interference from Kjeld's wife Yvonne, or other surprising elements. For several films, the role of the antagonist was filled by CEO Hallandsen of the fictive, multinational company Hallandsen Inc. - or variations thereof. Egon is usually arrested in the end, for various reasons: scapegoat, bad luck, some irrelevant crime, or even turning himself in as a matter of honor.

A recurring part of the film is making fun of Danish authorities, especially the police. In some earlier installments, the clumsy Police Inspector Mortensen is used for slapstick comic relief; he is later replaced by Superintendent Jensen, an older, troubled man who has seen better days. He is a resigned character who despises the Danish government as he often criticizes Hallandsen crimes going unnoticed and mentions to his assistant, Inspector Holm: "The only thing the police can do when the real big criminals come by is offer them protection!" Jensen incredulously uses the recurring exclamation "Bagmændene!" (Behind-men/Big Fishes) to reference the in-joke of powerful players moving outside of the law.

In the early installments, profanity and soft-erotica (scantily-clad women) were more freely used than in later ones, where such content was somewhat watered down to suit younger viewers. Later films focused on the satirical interplay between Jensen and Holm and Egon and his crew, with a frequent outburst of anger from Egon. His long list of slurs is especially famous, like "social democrats!", "insane woman!" (to Yvonne), "lousy amateurs!", "cowards!", "dog heads!", "porridge peasants!", "sop!", "scumbags!", to name a few.

Characters

[edit]
Olsen Gang silhouettes at a cinema wall inThisted,Denmark.

Recurring characters in the Danish version:

  • Egon Olsen:Gang leader, expert safecracker, brilliant but short-tempered and occasionally overdramatic.
  • Benny Frandsen:Gang member, get-away driver, always cheerful and handles practical stuff.
  • Kjeld Jensen:Gang member, tool master, ever nervous and humble, but does on a rare occasion rise to meet any challenge.
  • Yvonne Jensen:Kjeld's very bossy wife, often with firm plans on how to use the millions from the various plans.
  • Børge Jensen:Kjeld and Yvonne's son, occasionally an impeccable part of the schemes.
  • Dynamite Harry:Benny's brother, explosives expert (at least in his own opinion) and deeply alcoholic.
  • Jensen:Superintendent at Copenhagen Police, somewhat disillusioned and mostly forgotten by the brass in his basement office.
  • Holm:Detective with Copenhagen Police, young and with high ambitions, but somewhat naive.
  • Mortensen:An overambitious but very clumsy inspector with Copenhagen Police appearing in the early films.
  • Holm-Hansen/Bang-Johansen/Hallandsen:A role with the same actor playing various villains, always on top of the social hierarchy, most often also with international contacts.
  • KingandKnight:A confidence trickster and his violent nephew.
  • Bøffen(The Beef): Enforcer and muscleman for Hallandsen and others.
  • Hansen:Rival gang leader with theme music fromBob le flambeur.

International versions

[edit]

TheOlsen Ganghave been made in Norwegian andSwedish(Jönssonligan) versions too. While both remakes follow a generally similar formula to the Danish films, the Swedish version diverges considerably from the Danish original in terms of storylines, character development, and overall quality.

Norwegian Olsenbanden

[edit]

The Norwegian remakes were, with two exceptions, directed byKnut Bohwimbased on Balling and Bahs's original scripts with minor adaptations to Norwegian conditions. For example, some names of the main characters were changed: Kjeld became Kjell, Yvonne became Valborg, and Børge became Basse. The character of Benny's brother, Dynamite Harry, was used much more often in the Norwegian films than in the original Danish series, with six appearances.

Swedish Jönssonligan

[edit]
Main article:Jönssonligan

In the Swedish version, the Egon character is calledCharles-Ingvar "Sickan" Jönsson,with a slightly different costume and mannerisms, and was a huge success for the actorGösta Ekmanuntil the actor got tired of the character and left the series. Benny's character was named(Ragnar) Vanheden,a small-timer fromStockholm,played byUlf Brunnberg.Kjeld's character was named Rocky, but appeared only in the first two films. From the second film, the character Dynamit-Harry played byBjörn Gustafson(who has had rather minor parts in the original Danish films) was featured instead. Although starting out as a strict remake, after a while the franchise started writing their own scripts.

The Swedish franchise eventually expanded into films of the band as young kids:Lilla Jönssonligan(little Jönsson band) with four features to date.

There was also an attempt to reboot the franchise, featuring brand new actors in the adult roles.Jönssonligan – Den perfekta stöten(2015) was released to middling reviews and poor box office.

Danish films

[edit]

The first thirteen films were directed byErik Balling,while Tom Hedegaard andMorten Arnfreddirected the fourteenth and finalOlsen Gangfilm. The scripts were written by Balling andHenning Bahs,who also worked as aproduction designer.

English title (original title) Release date Notes
The Olsen Gang
(Olsen-banden)		 October 11, 1968
The Olsen Gang in a Fix
(Olsen-banden på spanden)		 October 3, 1969
The Olsen Gang in Jutland
(Olsen-banden i Jylland)		 October 8, 1971
The Olsen Gang's Big Score
(Olsen-bandens store kup)		 October 6, 1972
The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy
(Olsen-banden går amok)		 October 5, 1973
The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang
(Olsen-bandens sidste bedrifter)		 October 4, 1974 This was intended to be the last film at the time it was made.
The Olsen Gang on the Track
(Olsen-banden på sporet)		 September 26, 1975
The Olsen Gang Sees Red
(Olsen-banden ser rødt)		 October 1, 1976 This film contains the famous showdown scene in which the gang bombs, drills, and hammers its way through the basement of theRoyal Danish Theatrein synchronicity with the music ofFriedrich Kuhlau'sovertureto the operaElverhøj.
The Olsen Gang Outta Sight[da]
(Olsen-banden deruda')		 September 30, 1977
The Olsen Gang Goes to War[da]
(Olsen-banden går i krig)		 October 6, 1978
The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders[da]
(Olsen-banden overgiver sig aldrig)		 October 26, 1979
The Olsen Gang's Escape over the Fence[da]
(Olsen-bandens flugt over plankeværket)		 October 16, 1981
The Olsen Gang Long Gone
(Olsen-banden over alle bjerge)		 December 26, 1981
The Olsen Gang's Last Trick
(Olsen-bandens sidste stik)		 December 18, 1998 The actor in the role as "Kjeld Jensen", Poul Bundgaard, died while filming the last film. The actorTommy Kenterstepped in to fill his role to finish the film. This was hidden through various effects and cover-up techniques.
[2]

Danish cast

[edit]

Spin-offs

[edit]

A Danish TV series and a feature film have been made showing the main characters as children, following the Swedish success ofLilla Jönssonligan:

Two animated films have been released in the 2010s:

Norwegian films

[edit]
DVD cover of the first NorwegianOlsenbanden:from left to right: Benny, Egon, Kjell.
  • Olsenbanden Operasjon Egon(1969)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry(1970)
  • Olsenbanden tar gull(1972)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry går amok(1973)
  • Olsenbanden møter Kongen og Knekten(1974)
  • Olsenbandens siste bedrifter(1975)
  • Olsenbanden for full musikk(1976)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry på sporet(1977)
  • Olsenbanden og Data-Harry sprenger verdensbanken(1978)
  • Olsenbanden mot nye høyder(1979)
  • Olsenbanden gir seg aldri(1981)
  • Olsenbandens aller siste kupp(1982)
  • …men Olsenbanden var ikke død(1984)
  • Olsenbandens siste stikk(1999)
  • Olsenbanden – Siste skrik!(2022)

Several elements recur in the film series. As the Japanese carmakerToyotawas usually the main sponsor of the film series, most cars, including the villain's cars, the security cars, the police cars, the gang's car, civilian cars parked on the sidewalks, etc., were supplied by the company. Models include theCrownas taxis,Toyota Cressidaas police cars,Hiaceas security vans and money transports, and so on. There have been exceptions, notablyOlsenbandens aller siste kupp(The Olsen-Gang's Very Last Coup) from 1982, which was sponsored byDatsun.

In 2022, a filmrebootwith a new team of actors was released, where the Olsen Gang make plans to steal the paintingThe Screamfrom theMunch Museum.

Norwegian DVDs

[edit]

Most of the Norwegian films have been digitally restored. The discs include English and Norwegian subtitles, 16:9 format and Dolby Digital 1.0 surround sound.

DVD release list:

  • Olsenbanden Operasjon Egon(27 October 2004)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry(27 October 2004)
  • Olsenbanden tar gull(27 October 2004)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry går amok
  • Olsenbanden møter Kongen og Knekten(1 December 2004)
  • Olsenbandens siste bedrifter(1 December 2004)
  • Olsenbanden for full musikk(1 December 2004)
  • Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry på sporet(8 December 2004)
  • Olsenbanden og Data-Harry sprenger verdensbanken(19 January 2005)
  • Olsenbanden mot nye høyder(19 January 2005)
  • Olsenbanden gir seg aldri(19 January 2005)
  • Olsenbandens aller siste kupp(19 January 2005)
  • ...men Olsenbanden var ikke død
  • Olsenbandens siste stikk(1999)

Norwegian cast

[edit]

Spin-offs

[edit]

The Danish TV series showing the gang during their childhood,Olsen-bandens første kup,was remade in Norway asOlsenbandens første kupp.There has also been made an entire feature film series,Olsenbanden Jr.,with six films from 2003 to 2010, inspired by the SwedishLilla Jönssonligan.

[edit]

The popularity of the film series inspired a Norwegian restaurant chain, Egon, with the logo alluding to Egon Olsen's iconic hat and cigar.

Semicpublished five Norwegiancomic albumsfeaturing the Olsen Gang, eight original stories, starting with"Olsenbanden raner hurtigruta!"published in 1983.[3][4]

In June 2019, the Norwegian Postal service issued two stamps to celebrate the first film's 50th anniversary. The domestic stamp depicts Egon leaving prison, which is the opening scene in most of the films. The European stamp shows the whole gang, including Harry and Valborg.[5]

The dubbed versions of the series have also enjoyed great popularity in the formerGDRand can still be seen regularly on regional television stations. More than 3000 people are members of the German Olsenbanden fan club.[6]The stage name ofBetterov,a musician fromThuringia,is a reference to the eponymous supporting character Betterøv in the series.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Nicholas Wennö (13 January 2015)."Ny proffsig Jönssonliga vill lämna farsen"(in Swedish). Dagens nyheter.Retrieved18 September2016.
  2. ^Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema.Scarecrow Press. 31 August 2012. pp. 300–.ISBN978-0-8108-5524-3.
  3. ^Håkon AasnesLambiek Comiclopedia
  4. ^"Olsenbanden raner hurtigruta! - ComicWiki".
  5. ^"8. Juni 2019 – Olsenbanden 50 år".
  6. ^Menzel, Björn (2018-09-21)."Kult-Krimis aus Dänemark:" Olsenbande "- in der DDR ein Riesenerfolg".Der Spiegel(in German).ISSN2195-1349.Retrieved2022-11-27.
  7. ^"Betterov".Betterov(in German).Retrieved2022-11-27.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^However, the gun barrel of anAFVis used to knock out a bodyguardanimated cartoon–style inThe Olsen Gang Never Surrenders,while henchmen (e.g.Bøffen) may fall victim of their own violent schemes.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toOlsen-banden.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olsen_Gang&oldid=1240249564"