# Erik Balling

Erik Balling (29 November 1924 – 19 November 2005) was a Danish TV and film director. He created two of Denmark's most popular TV-series, Matador and Huset på Christianshavn.
His feature film Qivitoq (1956) was nominated for a Golden Palm at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, and for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film. His 1962 film Den kære familie was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival.
Together with Henning Bahs, he also created the hugely popular series of Olsen Gang feature films.

## Biography

Balling started working for the largest and oldest Danish film production company, Nordisk Films Kompagni, in 1946. He later became the boss of the company.
His made his directing debut with Adam & Eva (1953), which was nominated for a Bodil-award as Best Film.
In 1956 he directed Kispus, which was the first Danish movie filmed in color.
The most popular films directed by Balling were the feature film comedies about a trio of small-time crooks, the Olsen Gang. There were 13 episodes of this movie series between 1968 and 1981, starting with Olsen-banden. They were remade in several languages.
In 1998, Erik Balling received an Honorary Robert Award.

## Filmography

| Work | Year | Credit | Notes |
| The Olsen Gang's Last Trick | 1998 | Script | Feature |
| Mer' Matador | 1998 | Himself | TV documentary |
| Bryggeren | 1996 | Story | TV series |
| Murder in Paradise [da] | 1988 | Script | Feature |
| Murder in the dark [da] | 1986 | Script | Feature |
| In the Middle of the Night | 1984 | Direction | Feature |
| Anthonsen [da; de] | 1984 | Direction | TV series |
| Kurt and Valde | 1983 | Screenplay | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang Long Gone | 1981 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang's Escape over the Fence | 1981 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang Never Surrenders [da; de; no; pl; sv] | 1979 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang Goes to War [da; de; no; pl; sv] | 1978 | Direction | Feature |
| Matador | 1978 | Direction | TV series |
| Bandefører Balling | 1978 | Appearance | TV documentary |
| The Olsen Gang Outta Sight [da; de; no; pl; sv] | 1977 | Direction | Feature |
| The Moelleby Affair | 1976 | Script | Feature |
| It all adds up | 1976 | Script | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang Sees Red | 1976 | Direction | Feature |
| Superfos Glasuld – et isoleret tilfælde [da] | 1976 | Direction | Commercial |
| The Olsen Gang on the Track | 1975 | Direction | Feature |
| The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang | 1974 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy | 1973 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang's Big Score | 1972 | Direction | Feature |
| Our Home is Our Castle | 1971 | Direction | Feature |
| One of those things [da] | 1971 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang in Jutland | 1971 | Direction | Feature |
| Viva the revolution! | 1970 | Direction | Feature |
| Huset på Christianshavn | 1970 | Direction | TV series |
| The Olsen Gang in a Fix | 1969 | Direction | Feature |
| One Saturday Evening [da] | 1968 | Direction | Feature |
| The Olsen Gang | 1968 | Direction | Feature |
| Martha | 1967 | Direction | Feature |
| I Belong to Me | 1967 | Direction | Feature |
| Relax Freddie | 1966 | Direction | Feature |
| Strike first Freddy | 1965 | Direction | Feature |
| Halløj i himmelsengen [de] | 1965 | Direction | Feature |
| Landmandsliv | 1965 | Direction | Feature |
| Death Comes at High Noon | 1964 | Direction | Feature |
| Sommer i Tyrol | 1964 | Direction | Feature |
| Hvis lille pige er du? | 1963 | Direction | Feature |
| Den kære familie | 1962 | Direction | Feature |
| 79 of Station | 1962 | Direction | Feature |
| Cirkus Buster | 1961 | Direction | Feature |
| Poeten og Lillemor i forårshumør | 1961 | Direction | Feature |
| Forelsket i København | 1960 | Producer | Feature |
| Poeten og Lillemor og Lotte | 1960 | Direction | Feature |
| Tro, håb og trolddom | 1960 | Direction | Feature |
| Poeten og Lillemor | 1959 | Direction | Feature |
| Helle for Helene | 1959 | Producer | Feature |
| The six-day bicycle race | 1958 | Script | Feature |
| The Girls Are Willing | 1958 | Production manager | Feature |
| A woman not wanted | 1957 | Producer | Feature |
| Jeg elsker dig | 1957 | Producer | Feature |
| Kispus | 1956 | Direction | Feature |
| Qivitoq | 1956 | Direction | Feature |
| På tro og love | 1955 | Script | Feature |
| Kongeligt besøg [da] | 1954 | Direction | Feature |
| Adam and Eve | 1953 | Direction | Feature |
| We Who Go the Kitchen Route | 1953 | Direction | Feature |
| Vi arme syndere | 1952 | Direction | Feature |
| Mød mig på Cassiopeia | 1951 | Production manager | Feature |
| Cinderella | 1950 | Director: Danish version | Feature |
| For frihed og ret [da] | 1949 | Assistant director | Feature |
| Israel | 1949 | Direction | Documentary |
| Ditte, daughter of man | 1946 | Production assistant | Feature |
| Diskret Ophold [da] | 1946 | Assistant director | Feature |

## Literature

* Christian Monggaard [da], Balling – Hans liv og film, Informations Forlag, 2011. ISBN 978-87-7514-279-8.
* Karen Thisted [da], Erik Balling : manden med de største succeser i dansk film, Møntergården, 1996. ISBN 87-7553-555-6.
* Erik Balling – Som barn var jeg voldsomt hidsig, Aschehoug, 1998. ISBN 87-11-11180-1.
* Erik Balling – Gedächtnisbilder: Über ein Leben, die Olsenbande und all die anderen schöne Filme, Mosamax Verlag, Dresden 2016. ISBN 978-3-9817140-0-5