These twin films illustrate the close business relationship of the Norwegian chocolate producer Freia (founded in 1889) and its Swedish sister company Marabou, established in 1916 by the owners of Freia. The name of the Swedish branch was taken from the company logo showing a marabou stork, a symbol that was used by both companies and appears in commercial films for both Freia and Marabou.
It is well known that the two companies collaborated on the advertising front during the silent era. The Swedish film archive holds elements preserved from a more traditional commercial film, with separate animation segments that were used to create different versions for Freia and Marabou.
The Policeman’s Dream and Carolus Rex, however, are two completely separate films, with individual touches, even if they bear a striking conceptual and narrative resemblance; obviously they were each produced with knowledge of one another. Both are short fiction films that tell the story of a statue coming to life and getting a taste for chocolate. In The Policeman’s Dream the statue is of the Danish-Norwegian king and founder of today’s Oslo, Christian IV; in Carolus Rex the statue is that of the Swedish warrior king Karl XII.
It is interesting how the two statue kings have distinctly different personalities: while Christian IV is cheerful and kind, using a goofy language somewhere between Danish and Norwegian, Karl XII is grand and frightening (women cower and hide, and he even wolfs down his chocolate bars with their wrappers on). The two films also differ in production values. While the Norwegian film contains some directing problems and continuity mistakes, the Swedish one gives a much more professional impression, right down to the level of detail, such as the actor’s dark make-up giving the illusion of bronze.
About the DCP for Konstabelens drøm: The original print of this title has not survived. The only analogue footage is an acetate print cropped to sound format. The print was digitized in 2018.
About the print for Carolus Rex: A 35mm viewing print and the duplicate negative from which it was struck were donated to the Swedish Film Institute some decades ago as part of a larger collection of historic film commercials

Tina Anckarman & Magnus Rosborn