View source for The Vicar of Vejlby (1922 film)

{{short description|1922 film by August Blom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Praesten i Vejlby
| image          = Præstenivejlbyposter.jpg
| caption        = 1922 film poster by Palle Wennerwald
| director       = [[August Blom]]
| producer       =
| writer         = Valdemar Andersen<br>[[Steen Steensen Blicher]] (story)
| starring       = [[Viggo Wiehe]]<br/>[[Gunnar Tolnæs]]<br/>[[Ingeborg Spangsfeldt]]
| music          =
| cinematography = Louis Larsen
| editing        =
| distributor    =
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|1922}}
| runtime        =
| country        = Denmark
| language       = Silent Film<br />[[Danish language|Danish]] Intertitles
| budget         =
}}
'''''The Vicar of Vejlby''''' ({{langx|da|'''Præsten i Vejlby'''}}) is a 1922 Danish crime mystery film directed by [[August Blom]].<ref name="Tyberg">{{cite journal | title=Dreyer and the National Film in Denmark | first=Caspar | last=Tyberg | volume= 13 | number= 1 |journal=Nordic Cinema | year=2001 | pages= 23–36}}</ref> It is also known as '''''The Hand of Fate'''''.<ref name="Hjort">{{cite book | title=A Companion to Nordic Cinema | pages=280–281 | author=Mette Hjort, Ursula Lindqvist | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2016 | ISBN=9781118475270}}</ref> The [[silent film]] is based on a [[The Rector of Veilbye|novella of the same name]] by [[Steen Steensen Blicher]] about a true murder case from 1626.<ref name="Tyberg"/> Blom filmed the exteriors on location in the area of [[Grenaa]] and the village of [[Vejlby]].<ref name="Tyberg"/><ref name="Hjort"/> International audiences praised Blom's adaptation for its "high level artistry," but its faithfulness to the original tragedy was deemed "too excessively sad" for American audiences.<ref name="Tyberg"/>
The story was adapted again by [[George Schnéevoigt]] (see [[Praesten i Vejlby (1931 film)]]), and [[Claus Ørsted]] (see [[Praesten i Vejlby (1972 film)]]), but the Danish Film Institute considers Blom's version to be closest to the source material.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dfi.dk/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/print/film/16025 | title=Præsten i Vejlby | work=databasen | publisher=Den Danske Filminstitut | language=Danish}}</ref>
==Plot==
Søren Qvist, a village minister with a short-temper, is accused of murdering his unlikeable servant when the man disappears after an argument. Erik Sørensen, the local judge, reluctantly investigates but he is conflicted because he is happily betrothed to the minister's daughter, Mette. The judge becomes distraught as more and more witnesses offer evidence against the minister. The minister, although he doesn't remember any murder, believes the evidence is undeniable and decides to confess—condemning himself to death. The judge is forced to pass sentence—the pastor is beheaded—and Judge Sørensen's relationship with the woman he loves is destroyed. Twenty years later, the murder victim returns to the village. He reveals his alleged murder was a cruel hoax constructed by his brother as revenge for his rejection as a suitor for Mette.
==Cast==
{| class="wikitable"
! Actor !! Role
|-
| [[Viggo Wiehe]] || Søren Quist, Minister of Vejlby
|-
| [[Ingeborg Spangsfeldt]] || Mette, Minister's Daughter
|-
| [[Gunnar Tolnæs]] || Judge Erik Sørensen
|-
| [[Clara Schønfeld]] || Aunt Gertrud
|-
| [[Gerhard Jessen]] || Morten Bruus
|-
| [[Hans Christian Sørensen (actor)|Hans Christian Sørensen]] || Niels Bruus
|-
| [[Hans Dynesen]] || Minister of Aalsø
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/16025.aspx?id=16025 Danish Film Institute] (In Danish)
*{{IMDb title|tt0011608}}
{{August Blom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vicar of Vejlby (1922 film), The}}
[[Category:1922 crime films]]
[[Category:1920s historical films]]
[[Category:1922 films]]
[[Category:Danish black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Danish crime films]]
[[Category:Danish historical films]]
[[Category:1920s Danish-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by August Blom]]
[[Category:Danish silent films]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1620s]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1640s]]
{{Denmark-silent-film-stub}}
{{Mystery-film-stub}}