Lau Lauritzen

Højt paa en kvist is a 1929 Danish silent family film directed by Lau Lauritzen Sr. and written by his son Lau Lauritzen Jr. (wikipedia.org)

Love and Superstition is a Danish silent film from 1920, directed by Lau Lauritzen Sr. and written by Harriet Bloch. (wikipedia.org)

Escaping the moving day mess at home, Holm seeks refuge with a good friend. Many hours, and a lot of whisky, later, Holm mistakenly returns to his old address, where the new tenants have long since gone to bed.

A penniless student, falls in love with a millionaire's daughter. Making a bet with his friends, he vows that within six months she will be his wife. But how can a student without money or rank ever hope to get her father's blessing?

‘Oh! That Cheese!’ offers a foul-smelling jape between two friends. David and his girlfriend are going to a ball, but they forget to invite David’s friend Jonathan. This hurts Jonathan, who vows to prank David by hiding a piece of ancient cheese in his jacket. David has such a stuffy nose that his sense of smell is gone, but what playful retaliation awaits Jonathan when David sniffs out the prank?

A typo in the newspaper sends a frisky model to treat the ill professor Knolle and a strict nurse to the croquis-artist Klat. While the supple model is about to undress in front of the embarrassed professor, the dumbfounded nurse wonders if the groping sketch artist is actually a psychiatric patient.

Baron Dandy has a weakness for young girls. Almost every day he stands in front of the local housekeeping school and waits for the bell to ring so he can admire the flocks of female students. Grete in particular seems to have caught his eye and he follows her every day on the journey home. One day, Grete has enough of her old stalker and her older brother offers to teach Baron Dandy a lesson.

A poor painter known as Peter Daub is putting the finishing touches on his latest painting. While working, Peter takes delivery of a new chest of drawers. He pays for the shipment with a top hat, which he later learns contained a treasure. A wild hunt through the city ensues, searching for the valuable hat.

For rentier Back – senior football fan – it’s always coming home. Unfortunately for the domestic peace, his finicky wife doesn’t share his enthusiasm for football at all. When Mrs. Back discovers that her husband has signed up for an oldboys match, she smugly places him on house arrest. How will Mr. Back manage to sneak out and get to the game in time?

Every night a common thief stalks the local girl’s school, and he may already have stolen one heart. The headmistress of the school calls upon her nephew, the mighty detective, Basse, to apprehend the thief. On his way, Basse bumps into young Miss Lise, who happens to study at the school. Unfortunately, the great detective fails to grasp the core of the case: that Lise has an undisclosed sweetheart, who pays her secret visits every night after bedtime.

Even though the Gommesens have been married for 25 years, they are still in love. They wake up happy on their silver wedding anniversary, but the peaceful atmosphere does not last. The couple ends up in a huge fight causing Mrs. Gommesen to leave the house in fury. Her husband’s anger quickly fades when Lawyer Vinkel makes a surprise visit, delivering a present from Gommesen’s rich uncle in Chicago: A check of 25.000 DKK.

The Madsens and the Sørensens are eagerly awaiting a visit from their rich uncle Bims from America. As the ship docks, the two couples stand ready like drooling dogs about to chow down. However, the four are in for a sore disappointment: the gifts brought along by their uncle turn out to be very modest in scope. Enraged, the Sørensens destroy their gifts and mock the uncle by throwing cream puffs at his portrait in their living room.

There will be a crisis in Peter and Inga Billes marriage, when the house assistant Amanda is fired by Inga and it turns out that Peter does not believe her to be able to handle the household herself.

Director Jessen lives with his sons Fritz and Jørgen in a country house on the coast of Øresund. One day, Jessen announces that his boss is coming to visit from Australia, and that he will bring along his daughter, Alice. Jessen further proclaims that he wants one of his sons to marry Alice. Full of prejudice against Australians, Fritz and Jørgen end up drawing lots to determine who must accept this terrible fate.

A love triangle is building up to a drama in and around the old mill. The wealthy and self-absorbed Per Persson is in love with the miller’s beautiful daughter, Grethe, whose heart, however, belongs to the miller’s apprentice. To Persson’s great frustration, Grethe would never dream of choosing wealth over love, so Persson instead – and unsuccessfully – tries to get rid of his rival in all sorts of nefarious ways.

A self-proclaimed "knight" and his hapless squire travel the Spanish countryside, attacking "giants" that are really windmills in his attempt to win the love of the fair Dulcinea.

Nikolajsen is shocked by the news that he has an adult daughter who lives in Jutland – where wild wolves wander! His friends – the baker, the butcher, the tailor and the shoemaker – are entranced by the honour and glory they would gain by venturing forth and exterminating the feral wolves. Unfortunately for their chances of success, Nikolajsen and Co. decide to hire Pat and Patachon as their hunting guides. And so the wolf hunters will probably end up chasing their own tails.

In a boarding house in the city live our friends Pat and Patachon, who have settled down in relative comfort for a modest sum of money. In the room next door lives an old inventor, a good friend of Pat and Patachon"s. He’s been working on a television set for some time now, and it seems that his efforts will bear fruit. Patachon has caught the inventing bug and wants to come up with smokeless and noiseless gunpowder.

While enjoying a glorious summer’s day at the beach, Pat and Patachon meet the beautiful Mona, whom they both fall in love with. However, they’re soon given something else to think about when they’re drafted into the armed forces and sent to a cantonment. The two friends struggle to find their place among the other soldiers, and they get into all sorts of escapades.

Spirits are always high at the quayside pub The Red Rabbit. One day, adventurers Fy and Bi come by to look for work. Their luck is in! A police raid sends all the staff to prison. On the spur of the moment, two women from the upper-middle class decide to study the life of the common people by paying them a visit. A brawl ensues, and Fy and Bi chivalrously bring the two women to safety – or so they think! Before they know it, all four end up aboard a steamer in the pitch black of night.

Two kind tramps Pat and Patachon help reunite young lovers Karin and Tom, despite her father is against marriage.

Three suitors swarm the singer Adelaide, two of which own millions, while the last one owns naught but wit. Miss Adelaide is offered a lucrative tour in America, but her contract already binds her to Europe. Only a hypothetical husband could cancel the Europe tour. Together with her suitors, Adelaide devises a plan – a marriage with an eight-day trial period with a handsome dowry! But neither millionaire will let the other one marry her.

A stingy uncle is taught a lesson when he is tricked into adopting a grown man instead of a ten-year-old kid. When aspiring poet Karl King is engaged to ballerina Mimi, he falls into disfavour with his benefactor: his uncle. The uncle threatens to adopt an orphan boy as an heir instead. However, in a comic plot, King’s adult brother-in-law takes on the role of a ten-year-old adopted son and displays his most mischievous side!

Petersen has forgotten his gentlemen’s club-appointment and has to employ every trick to escape from home unseen. Mrs. Petersen watches over him like a hawk, and he only gets respite as he starts faking a toothache. Coincidentally, the shoemaker drops by and agrees to take Petersen’s place discreetly so that the appointment can be kept. The plan works beyond all expectations, until the police mistake Petersen’s return home for a burglary.

Mr Holm, an umbrella manufacturer, is haunted by the name ‘Bech’, which he suddenly appears everywhere in his home. Holm is convinced that Bech – the famous theatre actor – is courting his wife. In fact, he is almost right. The actor Bech fancies the employee in Holm’s umbrella shop. But the confusion does not end here: Holm’s maid is also in love with a man called Bech – the local butcher’s apprentice. Will Holm figure it all out?

A young man practices an imitation of Charlie Chaplin, but his eagerness and clumsy excitement gets him in trouble more than once. In the end, the unfortunate Chaplin imitator manages to escape the most impossible situations after all. Or is it all in his head?

Business partners Storch and Søndergaard are in for a very confusing day. The birthday child Storch reminds Søndergaard that it is his wedding day, which prompts Søndergaard to immediately send flowers home to his wife. In response, Mrs Søndergaard sends a lunch invitation to her husband as well as a birthday card to Storch. The cards become mixed up with befuddling consequences for both couples.

For 14 years, merchant Thippe has been paying child support to his dear son, although he has never seen the boy. For the sake of the family legacy, and economic certainty, Thippe decides to meet his offspring. However, something is not quite right. The so-called mother shows few signs of motherly behaviour and the kid has seemingly hit puberty a long time ago – in fact, the boy rather resembles a grown man.

Harry Spleed’s jealousy near turns to madness when he finds a torn letter to his wife from a mysterious “Johan”. Harry knows three Johans, so one of them must be the culprit! He seeks them all out, convinced that each of them has run off with his wife. Harry ends up with a pair of black eyes before heading home. Perhaps the second half of the torn letter contains further clues?

The only reason the two lawyers, Chit and Chat, haven’t gone bankrupt is their talented secretary, Amanda. But when Amanda suddenly stands to inherit millions, things look quite bleak for Chit and Chat. They have to turn up the charm if they want to keep her. However, for the two lawyers, everything is easier said than done.

In the main protagonist’s household, his wife, Ilsebil, calls all the shots. Even on his own birthday he cannot get a word in edgewise, and when some friends invite him out for the evening, his wife takes the key to the front door so he cannot get out. Later that night, the henpecked husband seizes an opportunity to escape, but when he finally returns home he is in for a nasty surprise.

Aage’s uncle wants him to drop out of law school to learn about farming on the family estate instead. At the same time, the uncle harbours a great desire for his nephew to fall in love with his daughter, Wilda. Aage has other plans, and besides, he is already in love with a young woman who attends the girls’ institute in the city. To get closer to her, he poses as a substitute teacher for the woman’s class. What he doesn’t know is that his dream woman and Wilda are one and the same person.

Mikkelsen and Jokumsen swear allegiance to the woman and all her being, but when Nelly flees to them to marry her lover as her boxer father wants to flog, they all sacrifice themselves for her.

Old Skipper Bims takes his daughter on a sailing trip and bitterly regrets it. Else falls head over heels for Helmsman Kik & Bims can’t stand that kind of romance! After the skipper has been hypnotised on land, he gets the idea that he might have hypnotic abilities himself, which could be used to separate Kik and his own daughter. The plan is put into action, but Bims has more regrets coming! It turns out that his newly discovered superpowers are even stronger than he himself had dared to hope.

Every white hair on old Douglas Morland’s head can be attributed to his nephew, the scandalmonger Basil. The root of the family quarrel is Basil’s engagement to a simple showgirl, whom Uncle Douglas’s delicate sensibilities do not approve. So the two stubborn men have a duel with extravagant pranks as their weapon of choice. Which of them will get the last laugh?

A fast-paced little farce about the racing enthusiast Hurtigkarl and his sports-mad dream – to see his favourite runner hitched with his daughter Musse. Since Musse would rather be with hairdresser Svipp, Hurtigkarl has to think on his feet: A race between the two rivals must decide the matter – the winner gets to be with Musse until the end of days. The plan seems impeccable, but there’s something Hurtigkarl hasn’t thought of. In the race, your mind must be as quick as your legs!

When Halfdan’s old flame, Karina, comes to town, the reaction of his jealous wife Märthe begins to concern him. But Halfdan has no clue that they’re in fact childhood friends, and the two women agree to keep Halfdan in the dark for a little while longer. When Märthe is on her way out of town, Halfdan sees an opportunity to replace his jealous wife with an actress in order to impress Karina. Karina tells Märthe about the incident and they decide to teach Halfdan a lesson.

Bastian is an unrelenting skirt-chaser who is never put off by a rejection. Unfortunately for Bastian, the women of his city seem resistant to his charms. And unfortunately for the women of his city, Bastian can’t seem to take a hint. However, a young woman is surprisingly receptive and hands Bastian a note: “Meet me at Basse’s Confectionary at five o’clock”. Is there finally hope for Bastian – or for the four other gentlemen, who, suspiciously, have also turned up right on time?

Mr Tipp, a landowner, is on his way to the city to have a serious word with his nephew Peter, who lives wildly beyond his means. On board the train Mr Tipp meets his childhood sweetheart, the widow Topp. His feelings are rekindled and reciprocated. Arriving in Copenhagen, the pair agree to meet again and then go home to their respective children. Mrs Topp quickly discovers that her daughter, Musse, has recently become romantically attached to someone, and so too has Mr Tipp’s nephew Peter.

War has been declared in the aptly named “Villa Pax”. The war-ladies, Mrs. Sørensen and Mrs. Hansen, spearhead the conflict between their floors, and constantly send their henpecked husbands to the front line. The poor men try their best to remain neutral, but a secret fraternity cannot stop any war. Fresh blood is required, so Mrs. Hansen’s son and Mrs. Sørensen’s niece plan a peace conference in the backyard.

The Nokkesens have got themselves into a huge predicament. They’ve forgotten that the Spidsmejers are coming to dinner and expect roast hare. The Nokkesens have no hare to cook, and the game butcher is closed, so the man of the house goes out to find a solution. After a bit of an odyssey, which includes coming across a bunch of mermaids, a fat little dog, and a pretty housekeeper with mischievous eyes, the Spidsmejers luckily get their promised roast hare.

In a boarding house where young girls are kept under strict surveillance, only two persons of the male persuasion are allowed to enter. The gardeners Pat and Patachon are popular among the girls because they can play the accordion and sing songs, both cheerful and sad. One of the girls has attracted Pat and Patachon’s particular admiration: Eve, who dreams of becoming an actress. They clandestinely rehearse Shakespeare with her, but when their arrangement is discovered she is expelled.

When the modest butcher’s wife becomes a wealthy landowner, it immidiately goes to her head. With her new stuck-up attitude, she rejects the long-time butcher’s apprentice when he asks for her daughter’s hand in marriage. Fortunately, the poor butcher’s apprentice is friends with Pat and Patachon, who work in a circus and have experience with clownery. Together, they must fight fancy with silly, and ground the butcher’s wife’s aloofness, in the name of love!

Although the twins Flora and Dora attend the School of Sculpture, their real calling lies in gymnastics. They decide to open an “Institute of Strength and Beauty”, which does not go down well with Uncle Brown, who finances their numerous business adventures. When he announces his arrival in town and demands to see the results from the School of Sculpture, they find themselves in a predicament.

Hans and Elinor are in love, but have to meet clandestinely to avoid the keen eyes of the headmistress at the home for girls where Elinor lives. When they are discovered, they seek refuge in a Chinese gazebo used by the vagabonds Pat and Patachon as a cheap summer residence. However, the two vagabonds quickly vacate the premises to let the young couple stay there. As a thank you, Hans, who is a sailor, enrols Long and Short as part of the crew on his rich uncle’s boat.