Norwegians in Hollywood
Parrington Hall Commons (3rd floor)

Arne Lunde (Assistant Professor of Scandinavian and Film, UCLA) provides an overview history of Norwegians in Hollywood cinema during the classic studio era. The talk will focus on the hyperwhite star persona of Sonia Henie at 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as on the lesser-known stars such as Greta Nissen and Sigrid Gurie. This illustrated lecture will also discuss how Norwegians have been represented on the American screen. Subjects include WWII-era films such as Casablanca and The Moon is Down, postwar family films like I Remember Mama, and the screen persona of Norwegian-Canadian character actor John Qualen, Hollywood’s quintessential “squarehead.”