Tutta Rolf” an Analysis of a Star Image in Early 1930S Swedish Cinema
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”Hela Sveriges Tutta Rolf” An analysis of a star image in early 1930s Swedish cinema Jesper Larsson Department of Media Studies Master’s Thesis 30 ECTS credits Cinema Studies Master’s Programme in Cinema Studies 120 ECTS credits Spring 2018 Supervisor: Tytti Soila ”Hela Sveriges Tutta Rolf” An analysis of a star image in early 1930s Swedish cinema Jesper Larsson Abstract Tutta Rolf’s career. Rolf was one of the greatest stars in 1930s Swedish cinema. She was also a popular stage actress, vaudeville performer and recording artist. Despite her prominence she has been largely neglected in scholarly work. This thesis aim to bring new knowledge about this under- researched star by conducting basic research. I situate her within the field of star studies by deploying Richard Dyer’s influential theory to abstract a method on how to look at the praxis of Tutta Rolf’s stardom. Thus, I deploy her films, newspapers, Filmjournalen and archival material to tell the story of her early career. My basic assumption, i.e. hypothesis is that there existed a Swedish star system in the 1930s. Earlier there has been a lack of research regarding a potential Swedish star system. Hence, this is an inductive study that will try to bring forward new knowledge about Tutta Rolf, Swedish stardom and its star system that may be used for future research. Keywords Tutta Rolf, Star studies, Swedish stardom, Swedish star system, Svensk Filmindustri, Filmjournalen, Swedish cinema, 1930s Swedish cinema, Archival research Acknowledgment In over a year, Tutta Rolf has been a constant fixture in my life following my decision to make her my research object. Therefore, the first person I would like to thank is her, the star Tutta Rolf, who delighted so many people in the 1930s, and who also has delighted me through her films and songs. If I would thank all the persons who have supported me through this master’s thesis, the acknowledgment would probably have to be the size of the novel Gone with the wind, but either way there are some people I would like to thank specifically by name. I would like to thank my wonderful supervisor Tytti Soila. It has been both a pleasure and strength for me to have such a supportive and intelligent person to guide me through this thesis. Another invaluable person for my thesis has been Ulrika Holgersson who has contributed with pieces of material regarding Filmjournalen. It saved me a lot of time and energy, but there are still articles I have not used that I would like to use in the future. Also, the librarians at the library of the Swedish Film Institute I want to give a special thanks for their kindness and support with books and material. There is no way I would be here writing this thesis today if it were not for my family who has supported my academic journey thorough all these years of curiosity and interests that may have seemed odd at first. I would also like to acknowledge my dear friends who have unconditionally managed to put up with me during these busy months of research. To my former colleagues at the Swedish Film Institute, I would like to thank for their kindness and for the opportunity for me to get a break from the thesis work during the winter period. As for my fellow students in Stockholm, we are in this boat together and we have all supported each other. However, there are two persons in my class I specifically would like to thank: Saki Kobayashi and Veronika Chlumska. The former I have spent immense amount of time with discussing, brainstorming and appreciating 1930s and 1940s Swedish cinema and their stars. It has been a pleasure and motivation to have her as a peer. The latter’s kindness and help cannot be undervalued. Not only has she supported me morally, but also helped me with improving my English and proof-reading my text. I dedicate this thesis to my late grandma Siri. She was the one I always could discuss my special interests with; such as movie stars, history and everything in between. It feels unreal that I cannot sit down with you and discuss your opinion on Tutta Rolf and all the other stars of this period. However, I know that you have been with me with in spirit and mind during these months of thesis writing. Therefore, I dedicate this thesis to you. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................1 2. Literary Review ...................................................................................5 2.1. Star Studies ................................................................................................5 2.2. European Star Studies ..................................................................................6 2.3. 1930s Swedish Cinema ................................................................................7 3. Stardom: A Theoretical and Historical Framework ...............................9 3.1. Stardom .....................................................................................................9 3.2. European Stardom .....................................................................................10 3.3. Swedish stardom .......................................................................................12 4. Method and material .........................................................................15 5. Tutta Rolf ..........................................................................................17 5.1. Background, origin and personal life .............................................................17 5.2. The Stage .................................................................................................19 5.3. The Screen ...............................................................................................25 5.4. Additional material .....................................................................................31 5.4.1. Emergence to stardom ..........................................................................31 5.4.2. Extraordinary/Ordinary .........................................................................34 5.4.3. Professional image ...............................................................................38 5.4.4. Youthfulness ........................................................................................40 5.4.5. Physical Features .................................................................................41 5.4.6. Norwegianness ....................................................................................41 5.5. Hollywood .................................................................................................43 6. Conclusion .........................................................................................47 Appendices ............................................................................................52 Appendix 1 - Abbreviations ................................................................................52 Appendix 2 - Estimated Audience Figures ............................................................53 Filmography ..........................................................................................54 Stage Productions .................................................................................55 Sources .................................................................................................56 1. Introduction “Hela Sveriges Tutta Rolf”1 was a nickname bestowed upon Swedish-Norwegian actress Tutta Rolf, who during her short but intense career became one of the biggest stars in Swedish cinema during the 1930s. She debuted at a Norwegian theater, but became a successful star on the Swedish vaudeville stage after being “discovered” by her future husband, Ernst Rolf.2 Following her cinematic feature film debut in Love and Deficit (Kärlek och Kassabrist, Gustaf Molander, 1932) and starring role in We Who Use the Servants’ Entrance (Vi som går köksvägen, Gustaf Molander, 1932), she became one of the most famous actresses in Sweden. She would end up of making 14 films in Sweden during her seven year cinematic career. In 1935, she travelled to Hollywood to make Dressed to Thrill (Harry Lachman, 1935) for Fox Film Corporation, but the film’s failure made her return back to Sweden again. She was also a popular theater actress and gramophone artist. Thus, she was at the epicenter of Swedish entertainment life in the 1930s, where she collaborated with some of the most famous entertainers of the decade. Despite Tutta Rolf’s great fame in the 1930s, she is rarely spoken of today. There have not been any extensive discussions about Rolf and her career in either an academic context or in any non-scholarly work. Since the 1910s, movie stars have been one of the main drawing powers within the cinema industry. They are performers who have managed to attain stardom and popularity through their perceived talent and charisma. Although they are real people, the image of a star is what is being exposed to the audience for consumption. Therefore, the image has to be constructed through different media texts that were controlled by Hollywood’s star system in the US film industries, where they constructed and exploited the images of stars for commercial purposes. The star systems in other countries varied in organization and extent, but primarily had Hollywood as their model. As a star of 1930s Swedish cinema, Tutta Rolf is situated within two fields where there exist sizeable research gaps within cinema studies: Swedish star studies and 1930s Swedish cinema. Star studies rose to prominence