Karl William Marcus (formerly Söderström) (12 January 1917 Liverpool, England – 10 October 1989 Espoo, Finland) was a Finnish-British film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer who used the stage name William Markus.[1][2]
William Markus | |
|---|---|
 William Markus and Sonja Wigert in 1951 | |
| Born | Karl William Söderström 12 January 1917 |
| Died | 10 October 1989 (aged 72) Espoo, Finland |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Actor Screenwriter Producer |
| Years active | 1944–1989 |
Marcus was born in Liverpool, England, to a Finnish father, Captain, Lieutenant Commander Karl Ilmari Söderström and an English mother May Isabel Blance Cope.[3][1] His mother languages were English, Finnish, and Swedish.[1] He had a dual citizenship in Finland and the United Kingdom.[1]
His acting career started in 1944, and he changed his surname from Söderström to Marcus.[1][4]
Traveler's Oases (1953) is a short film directed and starred by Marcus.[5] The story tells of a Finnish family, which lives in the United States of America.[5] The family visits famous Finnish cities and landmarks.[5]
Marcus was a pioneer in the Finnish film industry because he introduced British humour in his films for the Finnish audiences.[1] Autuas Eversti (The Blessed Colonel, 1958) was censored because the Colonel came to life and rose from the coffin.[1][6] The coffin scene was too much for Finnish officials at the Finnish Board of Film Classification.[1] Eventually, the film was released from censorhip after removing unwanted scenes.[7]
The increasing amount of censorship in the Finnish film industry affected Markus' other film, Verta käsissämme (Blood on our Hands) in 1958.[1] The film was censored four times.[8] It is assumed that the Finnish Board of Film Classification tried to censor the entire film because the film showed Finnish war prisoners in a Soviet concentration camp.[1] Finland's foreign policy was heading towards Finlandization[9] Public outrage and pressure released the film from censorship.[1]
Marcus acted in the British film, The Wooden Horse in 1950.[4] The film was the third most popular film at the British box office in 1950.[10]
He acted in 14 films between 1944 and 1957.[11] He was a writer in six productions.[11]
He directed 13 films between 1953 and 1965.[11] His film Miriam was entered into the 8th Berlin International Film Festival as an Official Selection.[12][1] Marcus was a film director at Suomen Filmiteollisuus.[1]
He founded Tuotanto William Marcus & Co, which he owned between 1959 and 1989.[1] The production company produced films and advertisements for Finnish and foreign companies.[1]
Director
edit- Den heliga ilskan 1965
- Karl 1963
- Det förrädiska hjärtat 1963
- Ett fat amontillado 1963
- Lumisten metsien tyttö - Girl of the Snowy Forests 1960
- Verta käsissämme - Blood on our Hands 1958
- Autuas eversti - The Blessed Colonel 1958
- Miriam 1957
- Rakas varkaani - My Dear Robber 1957
- Neiti talonmies - Miss Janitor 1955
- Rakkaus kahleissa - Love in Chains 1955
- Taikayö - Magical Night 1954
- Matkailijan keitaita - Traveler's Oases 1953
Writer
edit- Det förrädiska hjärtat 1963
- Ett fat amontillado 1963
- Autuas eversti - The Blessed Colonel 1958
- Miriam 1957
- Neiti talonmies - Miss Janitor 1955
- Matkailijan keitaita - Traveler's Oases 1953
Actor
edit- Rakas varkaani - My Dear Robber 1957
- Matkailijan keitaita Traveler's Oases 1953
- Forsfararna 1953
- On lautalla pienoinen huvila - Small Villa on the Ferry 1952
- Suomalaistyttöjä Tukholmassa - Finnish Girls in Stockholm 1952
- Neljä rakkautta - Four Loves 1951
- Kenraalin morsian - General's Bride 1951
- Vain laulajapoikia - Just Singer Boys 1951
- The Wooden Horse - 1950
- Hornankoski 1949
- Hormoonit valloillaan - Hormones in Full Swing 1948
- Maaret - tunturien tyttö - Maaret - the Girl of the Fells 1947
- Tuhottu nuoruus - Destroyed Youth 1947
- Dynamiittityttö - Dynamite Girl 1944
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Uusitalo, Kari. "William Markus (1917-1989)". National Biography of Finland - The Finnish Literature Society. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Uusitalo, Kari (2005). "Markus, William (1917–1989)". Suomen kansallisbiografia 6 (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. pp. 561–562. ISBN 951-746-447-9. ISSN 1456-2138.
- ^ William Markus (in Finnish) at Elonet
- ^ a b "William Markus". elonet.finna.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Matkailijan keitaita". yle.fi (in Finnish). 1 October 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Markus, William (5 September 1958), Autuas eversti (Comedy), Pentti Siimes, Hillevi Lagerstam, Anneli Sauli, Suomen Filmiteollisuus, retrieved 13 November 2023
- ^ "Autuas eversti *". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Markus, William; Toivo Särkkä; Volodja Semitjov; Kauno Laine; Armas Vallasvuo; Kurt Vilja; Einar Englund; Karl Fager; Pentti Taivainen (1958). Verta käsissämme (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen Filmiteollisuus.
- ^ "What is "Finlandisation"?". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "BOB HOPE BEST DRAW IN BRITISH THEATRES". Mercury. 29 December 1950. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "William Markus | Director, Actor, Writer". IMDb. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Miriam". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 3 January 2010.