Alice O'Fredericks facts for kids

Alice O'Fredericks (born Mitzi Otha Alice Frederiksen; 8 September 1899 – 18 February 1968) was a talented Danish actress, writer, and film director. She is famous for directing many popular movies. These include the Far til Fire (Father of Four) comedies. She also directed family dramas based on books by Morten Korch.

Alice O'Fredericks was one of the busiest directors in Danish cinema. She wrote 38 movie scripts and directed 72 feature films. She also directed some of the first Danish films that talked about women's rights. The Alice Award is given every year to the best female director at the Copenhagen International Film Festival. It is named in her honor.

Early Life and Start

Alice O'Fredericks was born Mitzi Otha Alice Frederiksen. This happened on 8 September 1899 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her parents were from Denmark. When she was young, her parents divorced. She then moved to Copenhagen with her mother.

She went to a secretarial school. In 1918, she got a job as a script girl. This was for a Danish director named Benjamin Christensen. At this time, she started using the stage name Alice O'Fredericks.

Her Amazing Career

Becoming an Actress

In 1920, Alice O'Fredericks started acting in movies. Her first role was a nun in Christensen's film Häxan (The Witches). This movie was quite talked about.

During the 1920s, she acted in several other films. These included Hadda Padda by Gudmundur Kamban. She also appeared in the comedy Pas Paa Pigerne. This film featured the popular Danish duo Ole & Axel. Alice O'Fredericks even started her own film company called Tumling Film. She acted in two movies for Nordisk Film. Her acting career ended in 1929. Her last film was Laila, made in Norway.

Writing and Directing Films

Alice O'Fredericks started writing movie scripts in 1928. She won a contest held by the B.T. newspaper. Her winning story became the movie Filmens Helte (The Heroes of the Movies). After this, she worked for Palladium Film as a writer. She also became an assistant director to Lau Lauritzen Sr.. He taught her a lot about making films. This helped her become a very successful director.

She began directing movies in 1934. She worked with Lauritzen's son, Lau Lauritzen Jr.. Their first movie together was Ud i den kolde sne (Out in the Cold Snow). Alice and Lau Jr. worked well together. They made 27 films in the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1950, she directed a movie by herself. It was for ASA Film. This film was based on the Morten Korch novel De røde heste (The Red Horse). Morten Korch's books about country life were very popular in Denmark. But they had never been made into movies before. The Red Horses was a huge hit! It was seen by 2.3 million people. This made it the most watched film in Danish history. Alice O'Fredericks went on to direct six more movies based on Korch's books.

She also made movies with Jon Iversen and Robert Saaskin. During this time, she created her famous Far til Fire (Father to Four) comedies. These were family movies that everyone loved. Between 1953 and 1961, she wrote and directed eight of these films.

Later in her life, Alice O'Fredericks had rheumatism. This made it hard for her to move around. She often used a wheelchair. But she kept writing and directing! She even had two men carry her around the movie sets.

In the mid-1960s, she wrote and directed three more movies. These were rural dramas called the Næsbygaard films. They were her last movies. Alice O'Fredericks passed away on 18 February 1968 in Hellerup, Denmark.

She directed 72 films and wrote 38 screenplays. This makes her one of Denmark's most active filmmakers ever. Even though critics didn't always praise her comedies, her films were very popular with audiences.

Alice O'Fredericks is seen as a pioneer for women in filmmaking. She wrote and directed some of the first Danish films that focused on women's rights. Examples include her 1946 drama Så mødes vi hos Tove (We Meet at Tove's). Also, her 1943 film Det Brændende spørgsmål (The Burning Question). In 2003, the Copenhagen International Film Festival created the Alice Award. It is named after her and honors the best female director each year.

Personal Life

Alice O'Fredericks was married to Oskar Klintholm. He was a Danish businessman. They were married from 1927 until he passed away in 1959.

See also

In Spanish: Alice O%27Fredericks para niños