Axel Strøbye

Matador is a Danish TV series produced and shown between 1978 and 1982. It is set in the fictional Danish town of Korsbæk between 1929 and 1947. It follows the lives of a range of characters from across the social spectrum, focusing specifically on the rivalry between the families of two businessmen: The banker Hans Christian Varnæs, an established local worthy, and social climber Mads Skjern, who arrives in town as the series opens. The name Matador was taken from the localised edition of the boardgame Monopoly, also the series' tentative English title. In addition, in contemporary Danish a "matador" is often used to describe a business tycoon, in the series referring to the character of Mads Skjern and his craftiness as a self-made entrepreneur. Directed by famed Danish film maker Erik Balling, Matador was the idea of author Lise Nørgaard who wrote the bulk of the episodes alongside Karen Smith, Jens Louis Petersen and Paul Hammerich. The series is one of the most well-known and popular examples of Danish television and represents the peak of longtime development of Danish TV drama by the public service channel Danmarks Radio. The series has become part of the modern self-understanding of Danes, partly because of its successful mix of melodrama and a distinct warm Danish humour in the depiction of characters, which were portrayed by a wide range of the most popular Danish actors at the time; but also not least because of its accurate portrayal of a turbulent Denmark from around the start of the Great Depression and through Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark in World War II.

The series follows the residents of an apartment building on Copenhagen's Christianshavn, as they go about their daily lives and challenges. There is Olsen, a mover with an old fashion view of the world, Clausen who runs the local pet shop, Egon the career focused assistant, their wives who work hard to keep their spouses lives together, the young couple Tue and Rikke who recently moved in, the hard working caretaker Meyer, who never puts in to much effort, and of course Emma, the innkeeper of Rottehullet, where all the important decisions are made while running up the bar tab. The series was produced by Nordisk Film for Danmarks Radio TV station between the years 1970-77. The series' first director was Ebbe Langberg, then Erik Balling and Tom Hedegaard respectively. The series was conceived by an author team of well-known Danish authors such Leif Panduro, Benny Andersen, and Lise Nørgaard.

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Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.

A French housekeeper with a mysterious past brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite meal to a circle of starkly pious villagers in late 19th century Denmark.

A London art broker goes to Copenhagen where he requires the services of a secretary fluent in Danish, English, and German. He falls deeply in love with the woman, despite the fact that he knows virtually nothing about her. She insists on not being married in a church, and after they are married, some bad things from her past begin surfacing in subtly supernatural ways, and he must find the best way to deal with them without destroying their relationship.

In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.

A crime melodrama set in the world of horse racing. A trainer is wrongfully accused of doping a horse and loses his license. When he begins to investigate the matter himself, a series of shady dealings are uncovered.

Sømanden Otto (Brandenburg) har bugseret sit gode skib ”Julia” ind i Skilteskoven. Her nyder han freden og roen, alene med sin trofaste følgesvend, papegøjen Bounty (Søren Thorup), og ugentligt besøg af Landhandelens Karen-Marie (Karin Jagd), indtil borgmesterens datter ”Henry” (Amalie Ihle Alstrup) farer vild, og søger nattely på skibet… Duftforhandleren Viggo Velva (Axel Strøbye) har dog ikke tænkt sig, at Otto skal blive i granskoven. Han forsøger, på alle (lovlige og ulovlige) måder, at overtage skoven, for at kunne brænde den ned, så han kan bruge duften af afbrændt gran til sit nyeste projekt ”Jul på Dåse”. I bunden af skibet ”Julia”, det sted Otto kalder Sumpen, bor de tre nisser; Kogle, Multe og Stub (LINIE 3). De gør alt hvad der står i deres magt for at hjælpe Otto, Henry og Karen-Marie mod Velvas miljøfjendske planer. Og det bliver ikke lettere, da Velvas nevø, popsangeren Willy Vox (Tommy Kenter), dukker op…

Egon plans to exploit knowledge gained during his latest term of incarceration. By stealing the unmanipulated financial records of DanInvest he obtains the majority of the stocks in the department store Magasin du Nord, just in time for their closing sale. The attempt to get the red suitcase that will save the day they rob the main vault at the EEC headquarters in Brussels and end up hijacking a tank.

Criminal genius Egon Olsen presents his accomplices Benny and Keld with yet another infallible plan that can only end badly. The booty is a red suitcase containing values ​​worth five million. The sinister mastermind Bang-Johansen carries the suitcase. The Olsen Gang follows him to Paris, where they put their cunning and carefully organized plan into motion.

When a boring collage professor is mistaken for his cousin, he gets into all kinds of trouble, with hilarious results.

As usual, Egon has an ingenious plan. And, as usual, it works just fine until one of the gang members makes some kind of funny error. This time, however, even Egon's life is in danger, for some international criminals try to get rid of him by throwing him into a container filled with acid.

A bunch of wagons are crossing the border. It's the Karla Circus, which, after a rough season in Germany, is gonna try its luck in Denmark. Mrs. Karla, the beloved and respected circus director, goes through passports and papers with the customs officers... everything's fine, so the circus caravan can keep going to the next town. One of the circus employees is caught harboring a vagrant in his wagon. But when it turns out that the vagrant is an excellent flute player, he becomes an asset to Circus Karla.

Some criminal EU ministers plan to turn Denmark into a gigantic fair ground and holiday paradise. Egon gets his hand at some important documents which could both make him rich and take care of Denmark's future.

Max (Søltoft) is a popular teacher at a public school who needs a new schoolmaster. In an effort to entice him to take the vacated position, the boys hire a stripper to seduce the sexually inexperienced scholar. The wife and daughter of the former headmaster also wish to tutor the teacher in their own private lessons in human sexuality.

The Olsen Gang has finally made it. They are in Mallorca, having fulfilled their dream. Almost, that is. They don't have any money, so Egon has to open a safe at a restaurant to get some. As usual, however, Egon ends up in prision. When they return to Denmark, he has a new plan.

Egon escapes from the psychiatric ward, where he has been incarcerated since the gang's last coup. Keld and Benny pick him up, and when Egon, as always, is planning the big heist, the Olsen Gang is once again on the move.