Karl William Marcus (formerly Söderström) (12 January 1917 Liverpool, England – 10 October 1989 Espoo, Finland) was a Finnish-British film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer who used the stage name William Markus.[1][2]
Marcus was born in Liverpool, England, to a Finnish father, Captain, Lieutenant Commander Karl Ilmari Söderström and an English mother May Isabel Blance Cope.[3][1] His mother languages were English, Finnish, and Swedish.[1] He had a dual citizenship in Finland and the United Kingdom.[1]
His acting career started in 1944, and he changed his surname from Söderström to Marcus.[1][4]
Traveler's Oases (1953) is a short film directed and starred by Marcus.[5] The story tells of a Finnish family, which lives in the United States of America.[5] The family visits famous Finnish cities and landmarks.[5]
Marcus was a pioneer in the Finnish film industry because he introduced British humour in his films for the Finnish audiences.[1] Autuas Eversti (The Blessed Colonel, 1958) was censored because the Colonel came to life and rose from the coffin.[1][6] The coffin scene was too much for Finnish officials at the Finnish Board of Film Classification.[1] Eventually, the film was released from censorhip after removing unwanted scenes.[7]
The increasing amount of censorship in the Finnish film industry affected Markus' other film, Verta käsissämme (Blood on our Hands) in 1958.[1] The film was censored four times.[8] It is assumed that the Finnish Board of Film Classification tried to censor the entire film because the film showed Finnish war prisoners in a Soviet concentration camp.[1] Finland's foreign policy was heading towards Finlandization[9] Public outrage and pressure released the film from censorship.[1]
Marcus acted in the British film, The Wooden Horse in 1950.[4] The film was the third most popular film at the British box office in 1950.[10]
He acted in 14 films between 1944 and 1957.[11] He was a writer in six productions.[11]
He founded Tuotanto William Marcus & Co, which he owned between 1959 and 1989.[1] The production company produced films and advertisements for Finnish and foreign companies.[1]
Director
Den heliga ilskan 1965
Karl 1963
Det förrädiska hjärtat 1963
Ett fat amontillado 1963
Lumisten metsien tyttö - Girl of the Snowy Forests 1960
Verta käsissämme - Blood on our Hands 1958
Autuas eversti - The Blessed Colonel 1958
Miriam 1957
Rakas varkaani - My Dear Robber 1957
Neiti talonmies - Miss Janitor 1955
Rakkaus kahleissa - Love in Chains 1955
Taikayö - Magical Night 1954
Matkailijan keitaita - Traveler's Oases 1953
Writer
Det förrädiska hjärtat 1963
Ett fat amontillado 1963
Autuas eversti - The Blessed Colonel 1958
Miriam 1957
Neiti talonmies - Miss Janitor 1955
Matkailijan keitaita - Traveler's Oases 1953
Actor
Rakas varkaani - My Dear Robber 1957
Matkailijan keitaita Traveler's Oases 1953
Forsfararna 1953
On lautalla pienoinen huvila - Small Villa on the Ferry 1952
Suomalaistyttöjä Tukholmassa - Finnish Girls in Stockholm 1952
^Markus, William (5 September 1958), Autuas eversti (Comedy), Pentti Siimes, Hillevi Lagerstam, Anneli Sauli, Suomen Filmiteollisuus, retrieved 13 November 2023
^"Autuas eversti *". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^Markus, William; Toivo Särkkä; Volodja Semitjov; Kauno Laine; Armas Vallasvuo; Kurt Vilja; Einar Englund; Karl Fager; Pentti Taivainen (1958). Verta käsissämme (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomen Filmiteollisuus.
