Valda Valkyrien (born Adele Frede; September 30, 1895 â€" October 22,
1956) was a Danish prima ballerina and a silent film actress.Born in
ReykjavÃk, Iceland, Valkyrien was prima ballerina of the Royal Danish
Ballet. She married Danish nobleman and author, Baron Hrolf von Dewitz
and in 1912 began appearing in motion pictures for Nordisk Film
productions of Copenhagen. For them, she performed in at least six
silent films including one feature-length production. Of these, the
film Den Stærkeste (Vanquished) was an American/Danish production
released in the United States by the Great Northern Film Company, the
Nordisk Film subsidiary in New York City. This led to Valkyrien going
to the U.S. where she was signed by the Bayonne, New Jersey, studio
owner David Horsley. In 1914, she made her American film debut in the
"Baroness Film Series" for Horsley's Centaur Film Company.With World
War I raging in Europe, in 1915 a New York City publisher released her
husband's book titled War's New Weapons which received considerable
publicity. That same year, Thanhouser Studios capitalized on her
husband's success and her aristocratic title, billing her as Baroness
von Dewitz in a film about Norse mythology titled The Valkyrie. The
resulting success brought Valda Valkyrien an offer from the Fox Film
Corporation and in 1916 she signed on to make feature-length
productions. However, the contractual relationship soured after one
film and she left Fox to work in feature-length films back at
Thanhouser as well as for Lewis J. Selznick's studio.Valkyrien's last
film is probably her most remembered, although she had only a
secondary role. Bolshevism on Trial was an anti-Marxist melodrama
about a wealthy father who purchases an island off the coast of
Florida and establishes a commune for his son in order to prove to the
idealistic young man that communism can't work.
1956) was a Danish prima ballerina and a silent film actress.Born in
ReykjavÃk, Iceland, Valkyrien was prima ballerina of the Royal Danish
Ballet. She married Danish nobleman and author, Baron Hrolf von Dewitz
and in 1912 began appearing in motion pictures for Nordisk Film
productions of Copenhagen. For them, she performed in at least six
silent films including one feature-length production. Of these, the
film Den Stærkeste (Vanquished) was an American/Danish production
released in the United States by the Great Northern Film Company, the
Nordisk Film subsidiary in New York City. This led to Valkyrien going
to the U.S. where she was signed by the Bayonne, New Jersey, studio
owner David Horsley. In 1914, she made her American film debut in the
"Baroness Film Series" for Horsley's Centaur Film Company.With World
War I raging in Europe, in 1915 a New York City publisher released her
husband's book titled War's New Weapons which received considerable
publicity. That same year, Thanhouser Studios capitalized on her
husband's success and her aristocratic title, billing her as Baroness
von Dewitz in a film about Norse mythology titled The Valkyrie. The
resulting success brought Valda Valkyrien an offer from the Fox Film
Corporation and in 1916 she signed on to make feature-length
productions. However, the contractual relationship soured after one
film and she left Fox to work in feature-length films back at
Thanhouser as well as for Lewis J. Selznick's studio.Valkyrien's last
film is probably her most remembered, although she had only a
secondary role. Bolshevism on Trial was an anti-Marxist melodrama
about a wealthy father who purchases an island off the coast of
Florida and establishes a commune for his son in order to prove to the
idealistic young man that communism can't work.
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