Carl Schenstrøm (1881-1942) and Harald Madsen (1890-1949)

CAREER OVERVIEW / PAT & PAT EXHIBITION / A PAT & PATACHON MYSTERY /

AN APPRECIATION by ULRICH RUEDEL:

Schenstrøm (the tall one) and Madsen (the short one) were teamed in 1921 by director Lau Lauritzen at Denmark's Palladium Studios. After a few shorts they turned to five and six-reelers, and by 1925 they were a success throughout Europe - in Scandinavia (Fy og Bi), the Netherlands (where they found popularity as Watt en 1/2Watt), Germany and Austria (Pat und Patachon), France (Doublepatte et Patachon), Great Britain (Long & Short), Sweden (Telegrafstolpen och Tilhengern) and Russia. In Danish, their names literally mean "The Lighthouse and the Trailer".

Personally, I think they were at their best - although never up to their American counterparts - in their silent Scandinavian films, where the directors, especially Lauritzen, understood how their slower, laid-back style melded nicely with the Danish tradition of beautiful landscape photography - especially utilizing rural, seashore (sometimes with the "Palladium Bathing Beauties" thrown in for good measure) or winter landscape settings. The closest that a silent American comedy comes to this style may be Fatty and Mabel Adrift. They weren't afraid to tackle the classics, as their Don Quixote (1926) will attest. Cocktails (B.I.P., 1928), directed by Monty Banks (a last minute replacement) was their first British film. Alf's Carpet (aka The Rocket Bus) followed in 1929, a part-talkie recently restored in both sound and silent versions by the Project Lumiere (but still unavailable for public viewing). In 1930 they made their first German talkie followed in 1932 their first Danish talkie. Their two 1935 German talkies and their 1937 Swedish The Pale Count (later shown as a compilation with a Laurel & Hardy short in both Denmark and Germany), are pretty bad (as is Cocktails, IMO). Their last film as a team came in 1940, followed in 1947 by a misbegotten Swedish attempt to team Madsen with a new partner.

Considering their vast output, it amazes me that they're pretty much forgotten by film history. After all, they were the only actors in Europe turning out feature silent comedies in the 1920s (if you don't count the single features by Max Linder and Karl Valentin). The duo can creditably lay claim to being the first internationally famous comedy team. There was a 1928 screening of one of their European movies to determine what interest there was in signing the pair up for a Hollywood feature (they were billed as Ole & Axel). According to journalist R. Eddy, "Many prominent American movie people were present during the showing, including the world-famous Charlie Chaplin. After the screening, he said, "An excellent movie; the two funsters deserve laurels for their accomplishments, but their comedy does not relate to American mentality." They never made a film in America (no thanks to Chaplin).

For stills and poster art, check out Marguerite Engberg's book Fy og Bi or the more accessible coffee table book Film Posters of the Russian Avantgarde. The only movies available that I know of (in Europe only, VHS-PAL) are Han, Hun og Hamlet (their first Danish talkie, 1932, which looks like shot, in part, in silent speed) and Maedchenraeuber and Blinde Passagiere, the less-than-exciting German talkies (from Germany's Taurus Video, I think). No silents, unfortunately, although there have been TV and 8/16 mm sightings (in fairly brief clips) many years ago in Sweden, Belgium and Germany. Maybe Glenn Mitchell will be able to dig out some more facts for his next Encyclopedia.

A CAREER OVERVIEW:

November 13, 1881: Carl Schenstrøm is born in Copenhagen, Denmark.

November 20, 1890: Harald Madsen is born in Silkeborg, Denmark.

1917: Circus clown Madsen makes his film debut.

1918: Stage actor Schenstrøm makes his film debut.

1921-1929: They inaugurate their teaming with Tyvepak and make over thirty silent comedies, most directed by Lau Lauritzen.

1928-1929: The team goes to England and makes Cocktails and The Rocket Bus (aka Alf's Carpet) billed as Long and Short.

1929-1940: They make several talkies in different countries, with varying results.

1940: The duo make their last film as a team, I de gode gamle Dage.

1942: Schenstrøm dies.

1947: Madsen makes one last film, replacing Schenstrøm with a similarly tall actor, but it is not a success.

July 13, 1949: Madsen dies.

PAT AND PATACHON IN OLDENBURG, GERMANY

When the Oldenburg Regional Museum planned to exhibit a famous Danish collection of paper theaters, it turned out that this collection, assembled over years by the late Helge Schenstrøm, also contained some memorabilia of Mr. Schenstrøm's dad - no-one else than "Pat" of Pat & Patachon. A small display honoring Pat & Patachon was thus added in the museum. While the actual exhibition is now over, it is still possible to take a virtual tour, and although the text is in German only, this site is well worth visiting. There's photos of Carl Schenstrøm's makeup case (with Pat's nose and tramp shoes!), an oil painting of the team, a VERY detailed scan of his passport (shooting movies in Austria, Sweden and Germany certainly requires some degree of travelling -- and allowed Schenstrøm to buy paper theaters for his son), and LOTS of poster art scans, courtesy of the Austrian Film Museum (taken from the CD-ROM they offer). German readers will enjoy a nice summary of the Lange-Fuchs book and a wealth of contemporary ads and reviews (including a report of a stage appearance of "fake" Pat & Patachon - shades of Billy West!). To visit the site, just step right up...

ADMIT ONE: PAT AND PATACHON EXHIBITION IN OLDENBURG

A PAT & PATACHON MYSTERY

What is the story behind Pat & Patachon's failed attempt to gain entree into the American market? According to M. Engberg's Danish book on the pair, one of their comedies was screened in San Francisco in August 1926. This screening produced the comment by Chaplin referenced above. In addition, M. Engberg's book reproduces an American one-sheet: "Walter W. Kofeldt presents OLE and AKSEL in the five-reel comedy scream MISPLACED HIGH-BROWS. A riot of Snickers, Tittles, Giggles and Laughs. See the 50 'Pal' Bathing Beauties."

A search of the trades (Moving Picture World, Variety, Motion Picture News) has not yielded reviews or mention of either Misplaced High Brows or its Danish title, Takt, Tone og Tosser. Which begs the question: if the point was to get American companies excited about the prospect of distributing Pat & Patachon comedies, why was the preview held in far-away San Francisco? Why were none of the trade papers invited to review the film? Did Chaplin and the other luminaries travel to San Francisco to just see this film or was this screening held in conjunction with another event? Stay tuned...