En fallitt / Ein Bankrott

Norway is in economic crisis. A neighbour of wealthy merchant Tjælde has already declared bankruptcy and his own company is hopelessly in debt. Not only are Tjælde’s wife and daughter completely in the dark, he has so far managed to conceal the looming bankruptcy from his business partners. But then a lawyer named Berent shows up at his door. The bank has hired him to collect from the merchant … This TV adaptation of the 1875 stage play, with period set design and costumes, was very modern in 1979. It was shot with multiple cameras, and dispensed with a happy ending. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s drama was the first time that industrialist and bankers were portrayed on a Scandinavian stage. The depiction of financial crimes provided Thomas Mann with a model for the bankruptcy of the merchant Bendix Grünlich, Tony Buddenbrook’s husband, in his family saga. Mann saw the play in Munich and was so impressed that, even 50 years later, he could recite entire passages by heart.