William Markus
William Markus and Sonja Wigert in 1951
Born
Karl William Söderström

(1917-01-12)12 January 1917
Liverpool, England
Died10 October 1989(1989-10-10) (aged 72)
Espoo, Finland
Occupation(s)Film director
Actor
Screenwriter
Producer
Years active1944–1989

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]

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]

Increasing amout 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Uusitalo, Kari. "William Markus (1917-1989)". National Biography of Finland - The Finnish Literature Society. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ William Markus (in Finnish) at Elonet
  4. 1 2 "William Markus". elonet.finna.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Matkailijan keitaita". yle.fi (in Finnish). 1 October 2007. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Markus, William (5 September 1958), Autuas eversti (Comedy), Pentti Siimes, Hillevi Lagerstam, Anneli Sauli, Suomen Filmiteollisuus, retrieved 13 November 2023
  7. ↑ "Autuas eversti *". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ↑ 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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ↑ "What is "Finlandisation"?". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "BOB HOPE BEST DRAW IN BRITISH THEATRES". Mercury. 29 December 1950. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "William Markus | Director, Actor, Writer". IMDb. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "IMDB.com: Awards for Miriam". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 3 January 2010.


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