The Olsen Gang

The Olsen Gang (Olsen Banden) (1968)

Runtime: 80 minutes

Directed by: Erik Balling

Starring: Ove Sprogoe, Morten Grunwald, Poul Bundgaard, Peter Steen, Poul Reichhardt

From: Nordisk Film

I watch a comedic Danish heist film? Sure! Actually, Olsen-Banden is a famous franchise not only in Denmark, but all through Scandinavia and Germany; Norway and Sweden made their own versions of the films. None other than Wes Anderson is a fan; I won’t hold that against the franchise! Regrettably, finding any of the movies w/ English subtitles anywhere is nearly impossible. Even if I wanted to continue this journey of watching the entire franchise, that is a no-go. I thankfully found the OG Olsen Gang movie on the Internet Archive.

Egon, Benny and Kjeld are the titular gang; from what I understand, in all of them gang leader Egon is seen walking out of prison and picked up by his buddies. They conjure schemes in an attempt for riches. In the first few movies, Mortensen is the Detective enemy who always tries to stop them. The gang is the bumbling type, but Mortensen is analogous to Clouseau in terms of bumbling. The comedy reaches new heights after the heist.

Benny and Kjeld have families, which prove to be entanglements. I was not expecting a literal child to be part of the scheme. Then again, I also wasn’t expecting F bombs and topless women, but The Olsen Gang has both! Wiki also told me that this lessened through history as of course children would also like a series with pratfalls, characters constantly running away from trouble, & objects getting destroyed.

The movie is not the best of its type; that said, The Olsen Gang still was amusing & provided enough chuckles where I can state that it-complete w/ jaunty Dixieland jazz that sets a jovial mood-was fun. From hearsay I understand the series improved through the years. Even here, it was apparent why those characters and their camaraderie as anti-heroes would find fervor among the population.