Erkki Karu

Erkki Karu (1887-1935) challenged the stagebound work of early Finnish film by promoting more naturalistic playing and by shooting outdoors in his country's scenic forests and lakes. Together with theater actor Teuvo Puro and art director Karl Fager, he founded the first major movie production company in his country (Suomi-Filmi) . He produced 40 titles and directed 18, concentrating on swiftly paced comedies and melodramas that were not too heavy.The resulting films were so well liked by local viewers that the business stayed afloat during a period when there was much competition from foreign imports. Several of his movies, which had not previously been seen in the US, were presented in the spring of 1998 in a series called Baby It's Cold Outside at New York City's prestigious Museum of Modern Art.