Suomi-Filmi, lit. Finland-Film, is a Finnishfilm production and distribution company established in 1919 by Erkki Karu. Suomi-Filmi produced around 160 feature-length films and for most of its history was one of the two most important film companies in the country, along with Suomen Filmiteollisuus. The company was home for several noted Finnish film directors, mainly its founder Erkki Karu, and the later two main directors Risto Orko and Valentin Vaala. After the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema ended, the company's film production rate slowed down, and eventually ended with the 1980 film Tulitikkuja lainaamassa. The company still exists, but is mainly only active in the home video distribution of their catalogue of titles.
The company was founded as Suomen Filmikuvaamo on December 20, 1919, by Erkki Karu,[1] but took its present name soon after, in 1921.[2] Suomi-Filmi had a rocky start and took until May 1920 to complete its first short film, Vapaussodan päättymisen muistopäivä.[3] Later on in the same year, the company released their first feature-length production, Ollin Oppivuodet, an adaptation of an Anni Swan novel directed by Teuvo Puro.
During his stay with the company, Karu worked not only as the CEO, but also as the head director of the company. While most of the other directors the company hired during the 1920s only worked on a few films and didn't enjoy significant success,[4] Karu could create well-received films such as Koskenlaskijan morsian (1923) and the Aleksis Kivi adaptation The Village Shoemakers (Nummisuutarit, 1923).[5] By the end of the silent film era, Suomi-Filmi was unquestionably the largest film production company in Finland, achieving almost a monopoly status.[6][7]
In the early 1930s Suomi-Filmi ran into financial difficulties stemming from the global depression started by the Wall Street Crash of 1929. While the 1920s had been largely successful for the company, yearly attendance figures dwindled countrywide, falling from over 12 million in 1928 to just over 6 million five years later.[8] In 1933, after a falling out with the rest of the company's shareholders due to perceived financial irresponsibilities, Karu had to resign and was replaced as the CEO by Aarne Wuorenheimo.[9] Only months later, however, Karu had founded another film company, Suomen Filmiteollisuus, which throughout much of its existence competed head-to-head as one of the two leading film companies in Finland along with Suomi-Filmi,[10][11] although Karu himself died in 1935.
After Karu
After the departure of Karu, Suomi-Filmi's future looked bleak. With their financial difficulties and lack of directing talent many expected the company to declare bankruptcy.[12] However, Suomi-Filmi managed to avoid disaster by hiring promising young filmmaker Risto Orko as their chief director and head of production. Orko had previously worked as an assistant director for the company, but was expected to leave with Karu after aiding him in founding Suomen Filmiteollisuus. In the end, the confident Orko couldn't resist the chance of being the top man in the company, when leaving could've meant being always overshadowed by Karu.[13] Orko ended up staying in the company for more than six decades, transitioning from directing to acting as the CEO from 1945 to 1976. From the 1970s to the early 1990s Orko was still the majority stockholder in the company (with the rest of the stocks being held by the rest of his family).[14]
After his appointment Orko had to work hard and fast to re-invigorate the finances of Suomi-Filmi.[15] During the 1930s and the early half of the 1940s Orko directed 13 films – a stark contrast with his later career, when he only directed three. The third film Orko directed, Siltalan pehtoori (1934), became a huge success, and the first Finnish film to reach a million viewers – in a country with a population of around three and a half million at the time.[16] The film has been credited as saving Suomi-Filmi and returning it to a sound financial base.[17]
In 1935, Suomi-Filmi hired another promising young director, Valentin Vaala, as their second main director. Vaala started his career with the company with Kaikki rakastavat (1935), a romantic comedy which brought Ansa Ikonen and Tauno Palo together on the screen for the first time.[18] During his career with the company Vaala directed 39 films,[19] among the most popular were Juurakon Hulda (1937), Niskavuoren naiset (1938), the two Mika Waltari adaptations Gabriel, tule takaisin (1951) and Omena putoaa... (1952), and Nummisuutarit (1957).[20]
During the Winter War Suomi-Filmi's feature film production halted, while the company concentrated on mostly documentary short films. After the war the company's film production again proceeded rapidly, and when the Continuation War started, it only managed to slow down production a little, after an initial break. During the years 1940-1944 Suomi-Filmi produced 28 feature-length films.[23]
The latter half of the 1940s were largely successful for Suomi-Filmi. Vaala remained active as the head director while Orko concentrated on the financial side of the company. During the 1950s, Suomi-Filmi's production rate started to slow down, but the company still remained one of the three largest film studios of the country, along with Suomen Filmiteollisuus and the upstart Fennada-Filmi.[10] The other main directors working for the company during the time were Ilmari Unho, who finished among others Kalle-Kustaan Korkin seikkailut (1949) and Härmästä poikia kymmenen (1950).[24]Hannu Leminen was hired away from Suomen Filmiteollisuus and he directed several films during the 1950s, such as Kesäillan valssi (1951) and Riihalan valtias (1956).[25]
Decline
While Suomi-Filmi remained somewhat active in producing films, by the 1960s the popularity of their pictures had started to wane.[26] During the 1970s the company only produced two films of their own, but still remained active in film distribution for both domestic and foreign films until the early 1980s.[27] Suomi-Filmi's final production was the Soviet co-production, Tulitikkuja lainaamassa (Za spichkami) in 1980. Later on, the company has still remained visible in the home video distribution of its extensive film catalogue.[28]
Influence
During its heyday, Suomi-Filmi had, at one time or another, employed most of the major Finnish actors and creative filmmaking personnel of the time.[29] It was therefore largely responsible for shaping the 'Golden Age' of Finnish cinema,[7] along with their major competitor Suomen Filmiteollisuus, and that influence has reached even past the end of Suomi-Filmi's own production activities.[28] Many of the films produced by the company are still regarded as classics of contemporary Finnish cinema.[30]
Risto Orko was a Finnish film producer and director.
Kari Peter Conrad von Bagh was a Finnish film historian and director. Von Bagh worked as the head of the Finnish Film Archive. He was the editor-in-chief of Filmihullu magazine and co-founder and director of the Midnight Sun Film Festival. Since 2001, he had been the artistic director of the film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna. Von Bagh was a member of the jury in the competition category of 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Suomen Filmiteollisuus (SF), lit. Finland's Film Industry, is a Finnish film production company founded by Erkki Karu in 1933 after financial problems with Suomi-Filmi. The CEO, director, producer and writer T.J. Särkkä was a central figure in Suomen Filmiteollisuus. Among others, the film director Armand Lohikoski worked for the company, for which he directed 18 feature films. Suomen Filmiteollisuus went bankrupt in 1965 as a result of the coming of television.
Toivo Jalmari Särkkä, born Toivo Hjalmar Silén, was a Finnish film producer and director. He was CEO of the production company Suomen Filmiteollisuus.
The Finnish cinema has a long history, with the first public screenings starting almost as early as modern motion picture technology was invented. It took over a decade before the first Finnish film was produced and screened in 1907. After these first steps of Finnish cinema, the progress was very slow. After 1907 there were two periods when no Finnish films were produced. This was partly caused by the political situation, as Finland held a status as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and was thus influenced by the worldwide political situation.
The Radio Goes Insane or The Radio Goes Mad is a 1952 Finnish comedy film directed by Matti Kassila. The film is a sequel to The Radio Burglary, again starring Hannes Häyrinen as radio reporter Toivo Teräsvuori. Teräsvuori is mistakenly committed to a mental hospital and attempts to escape.
Erkki Karu was a Finnish film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the pioneers of the Finnish cinema.
Valentin Vaala was a Finnish film director, screenwriter and film editor. His career spanned several decades, from 1929 to 1973, and has been called one of the most significant, in both quality and popularity, in the history of Finnish cinema.
Ilmari Unho was a Finnish actor, film director, and screenwriter. Unho was employed by Suomi-Filmi for most of his filmmaking career.
Erkki Pohjanheimo is a Finnish television producer and director.
Linnaisten vihreä kamari is a 1945 Finnish film directed by Valentin Vaala. Mixing elements of horror and romance, it is based on an 1859 novel The Green Chamber of the Linnainen Mansion by Zachris Topelius.
Fennada-Filmi was a Finnish film production company which was in operation from 1950 to 1982. It was one of the largest companies in its field in Finland from 1950s to 1970s. Mauno Mäkelä was the head of the company during its entire run.
Aini Helena Kara was a Finnish film actress. Like Lea Joutseno and Regina Linnanheimo, she was one of the few Finnish film actors without a theatrical background. Kara is best remembered for her role in a 1943 melodrama Valkoiset ruusut.
Fenno-Filmi was a Finnish film production company.
Pekka Heikki Tapani Gronow is a Finnish ethnomusicologist and historian of the recording industry. He studied at Wesleyan University with David P. McAllester and Robert E. Brown and at the University of Helsinki and received his PhD from the University of Tampere. He was the head of the record library at Yleisradio 1989–2006 and an archiving specialist 2007–2008. Gronow became known in the 1960s for his radio programs on jazz and blues. In 1966 he founded with M. A. Numminen Eteenpäin, a record company which issued Numminen's works and other underground artists.
The Village Shoemakers is a Finnish silent comedy film made in 1923, directed and produced by Erkki Karu, written by Artturi Järviluoma and starred by Axel Slangus. The film is based on the 1864 play Heath Cobblers, written by Aleksis Kivi, and is the first of several film versions of the play.
The Finnish Realm Union was an organization operating in Finland during the Continuation War, whose task was to bring together pro-Nazi forces under the same umbrella organization and at the same time bring them closer together. SVL's ultimate goal after the victory in the war was to form a one-party system in Finland like Germany.
Old Baron of Rautakylä is a Finnish silent horror film made in 1923, written and directed by Carl Fager and produced by Erkki Karu. The film is based on the novella Gamla baron på Rautakylä and the play Efter femtio år, both written by Zachris Topelius. The film premiered on April 1, 1923 at the Kino-Palatsi cinema in Helsinki, Finland.
Harald the Stalwart is a 1946 Swedish historical adventure film directed by Hampe Faustman and starring George Fant, Georg Rydeberg and Elsie Albiin. It was shot at the Helsinki studios of Suomen Filmiteollisuus and on location on the island of Suomenlinna. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Bertil Duroj and Karl Fager.
Kimmo Laine, Matti Lukkari, Juha Seitajärvi (ed.) (2004). Valentin Vaala (in Finnish). Otava. ISBN951-746-562-9.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Kari Uusitalo (1972). Eläviksi syntyneet kuvat (in Finnish). Otava. ISBN951-1-03535-5.
Kari Uusitalo (1994). Kuvaus - kamera - käy! Lähikuvassa suomifilmit ja Suomi-Filmi Oy (in Finnish). Kirjastopalvelu Oy. ISBN951-692-344-5.
Kari Uusitalo; Gunnar Nylander; Liisa Orko (1969). Risto Orko (in Finnish).
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