History Film / OlsenBanden

** In the Swedish movies, Sickan does it thrice (movies 2, 3 and 5) with fairly convincing results apart from the LarynxDissonance. Harry joins in on it in movie 5 as well, [[IncrediblyConspicuousDrag with slightly less convincing results.]]

* Kjeld Jensen: The [[TheDitz stupid]] and [[LovableCoward nervous]] guy. By far the less competent of Egon's accomplices. In Norway the name is spelled "Kjell," and in Sweden he is a Finn named "Rocky" who gets PutOnABus after the second movie due to ActorExistenceFailure.

* LovableCoward: Kjeld/Rocky.

** Rocky (the Swedish Kjeld) vanished from the Swedish movies after the second one when the actor died from cancer. In the third movie, he was revealed to have moved "back home" to Finland, taking his family with him and removing their characters as well, and his place in the gang was taken over by Dynamit-Harry.

* The Swedish version diverged from the others quite a bit. All the characters were renamed, and consequently the ProtagonistTitle had to change to ''Jönssonligan''. Further, while the first three movies recreated earlier entries of the Danish series (albeit taking place in Stockholm instead), the last five movies used mostly original plots and changed several of the characters. This version also spawned a few comics drawn and written by Per Demervall, as well as two {{Point And Click Game}}s (called ''Jönssonligan: Jakten på Mjölner''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang: The Search/Hunt for Mjölner[[/labelnote]] and ''Jönssonligan går på djupet''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang Plunges the Depths[[/labelnote]]) released in 1999 and 2000. Like the Norwegian version, it received a SpinOffBabies version called ''Lilla Jönssonligan'' ("The little Jönssongang''). It was also rebooted ''twice'' (to date), in 2015 and 2020.

* The Swedish version diverged from the others quite a bit. All the characters were renamed, and consequently the ProtagonistTitle had to change to ''Jönssonligan''. Further, while the first three movies recreated earlier entries of the Danish series (albeit taking place in Stockholm instead), the last five movies used mostly original plots and changed several of the characters. This version also spawned a few comics drawn and written by Per Demervall, as well as two {{Point And Click Game}}s (called ''Jönssonligan: Jakten på Mjölner''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang: The Search/Hunt for Mjölner[[/labelnote]] and ''Jönssonligan går på djupet''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang Plunges the Depths[[/labelnote]]) released in 1999 and 2000. Like the Norwegian version, it received a SpinOffBabies version called ''Lilla Jönssonligan'' ("The little Jönssongang'').

* BreakingOutTheBoss: Never happens, surprisingly enough. Egon can break his way into pretty much everywhere but never even once tries to break out of Vridsløse prison.
** Vanheden and Harry do break Sickan out of prison during transfer in one of the Swedish movies.
** Also in the seventh Swedish movie, Vanheden and Harry attempt to break Busé (who replaced Sickan in the sixth movie and was arrested at the end of it) out. As he had written his new plan on his cellmate Herman Melvin's back, he brings him too and lets him go over the prison wall first, but Busé is caught before he can escape as well. Thus leaving the gang with a new leader once again.

** In the Swedish movies, Sickan does it thrice (movies 2, 3 and 5) with fairly convincing results. (Until he opens his mouth, that is.)
** In movie 2, Kjeld does it, even introducing himself as „the young girl who cleans the room“.

* GoMadFromTheIsolation: [[spoiler: Sometime between the 4th and 5th Swedish movie, Vanheden, Harry and Doris move to Spain. Sickan can't join them because there is a warrant for his arrest, so he can't travel and stays behind in Stockholm. Where we see him, explaining his next plan to his absent companions, returns their catchphrases to himself and even correcting Vanheden about the use of his nickname.]]

** Also at the beginning of the 5th Swedish movie, see GoMadFromTheIsolation, just above.

* HypocriticalHumor: In the first Swedish movie, the gang robs Wall-Enberg while disguised as police with uniforms and a cop car they stole from the police station. When they run out, Sickan yells at Vanheden for leaving their car unlocked, and Vanheden replies "Nobody would steal a cop car, right?" Cue the trio looking up into the air in realisation for a moment.

* LargeHam: Egon in particular, but everybody get their scenery chewing moments - which is part of the movies' charm. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] at one point, where Egon hides from some policemen by pretending to be a mannequin holding a sign saying "Gamle krukker" ("Old jars"); "krukke" (jar) is Danish slang for a LargeHam.

* LastNameBasis/FirstNameBasis: Ragnar Vanheden and Charles-Ingvar Jönsson from the Swedish series have an odd case of using both tropes at once. Charles-Ingvar always calls Vanheden that in the films yet suddenly switches to calling him Ragnar in the games, whereas Vanheden always calls Charles-Ingvar either [[InSeriesNickname Sickan or (more rarely) Charlie]].

* MultipleChoicePast: In a minor way, this is provided with the Norwegian SpinoffBabies movies, the ''Olsenbanden Jr.'' series, which takes its parent series' StatusQuoIsGod tendency and runs with it to create more of a NegativeContinuity effect:

* NoodleIncident: In the first Swedish film, a policewoman tells Vanheden: "Cars." (As in, "I'd like to buy '[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahlgrens cars]]', please.)" He immediately tenses up and claims that "That's all behind me now, not my area anymore, my bro Leopold did it!" with the films never clarifying what event he is talking about. (Considering that he also claims that his own car has good bang for its buck [[TheAllegedCar even though the trunk won't close properly and the front falls apart at the slightest provocation]], he may just have "worked" as a used car salesman.)

* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Vanheden in the Swedish version. He has a tendency to stand very close to other characters, and early in the third movie he pats Harry on the hip to get him to hurry up and then Sickan on the cheek to express his approval in very short order.

* OutGambitted: Usually, Egon gets Out-gambitted by the BigBad and then outgambits him back.
* TheOtherDarrin:
** Nearly the whole cast of the Norwegian and Swedish series, obviously. But also internal in the Danish series where Bang-Johansen's interlocutor in the later movies, Hallandsen, was played by a new actor each time.
** In the Norwegian movies, Holm went through no less than four actors. The last one went on to play [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals Hermansen Senior]] in the ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movies.

* PetTheDog: The first Swedish movie's plan requires a city bus, meaning that the gang needs to steal one, which they do when the driver needs to stop for a bathroom break. However, Sickan and Vanheden are nice enough to leave the driver a lunch by the side of the road. After the initial shock wears off, the driver shrugs and sits down to eat. (One of the Danish movies has a similar scene.)

* RightBehindMe: Happens in ''Jönssonligan dyker upp igen'' (the fourth Swedish movie); just as the other characters discuss his flaws and declare that "Sickan is over", the camera pans out to reveal he has entered the building. Despite the other characters obviously acting guilty once they realise this, Sickan ultimately doesn't seem to care.

** While we're at Egon's releases: These also follow a standard pattern. Becomes [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] when, each time there's something not looking quite as it should, we get a brief shot of what the scene should look like.

** According to IMDB, the nickname Sickan is a reference to Sickan Karlsson. For a more specific example from the Swedish series: in the first film Vanheden gives Sickan a thumbs up and tells him "Gröna sidan upp, va?" ("Green side up, alright?") which references a (then popular) radio comedy act by Hans "Hasse" Alfredson.

* TakeThat: The third ''Jönssonligan'' film features a scene where Vanheden directly mentions politican Ove Rainer while discussing what tax plans to make for the millions they are trying to earn; a direct reference to Rainer having been accused of making investments with the purpose of lowering his own taxes as much as possible.

* ThirdPersonPerson: In the Swedish version both Harry and Vanheden rarley slip into this, which is especially odd in Vanheden's case as he refers to himself by his ''last'' name.

->''"How dare you!? Shut up!! I won't stand for it!! It is the same every time!! It is the same every single time!! I have a plan -- a BRILLIANT plan -- and then I am surrounded by dog-brains and dumbasses, lousy amateurs, pathetic nincompoops, ridiculous fart-flappers, talentless blockheads, impotent porridge-peasants, nursery teachers, and Social Democrats!!"''

''Olsen-banden'' (English: ''The Olsen Gang'') is a series of Danish crime comedy movies revolving around Egon Olsen and his gang and their (mostly unsuccessful) crimes. The series consists of 14 movies (the first is from 1968 and the last from 1998). Around the time of the fourth movie, Egon started to commit his burglaries using highly unusual plans, involving creative use of everyday items, as well as social engineering by playing on broad stereotypes. These plans would become the most defining and popular trait of the series. At the same time, a significant amount of social and political commentary was introduced. In a clear criticism of the capitalistic society, the number of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, as well as impoverished and alcoholic characters, rose dramastically.

* The Swedish version diverged from the others quite a bit; all the characters were renamed - as a consequence, the adaptation also goes by the new ProtagonistBasedTitle ''Jönssonligan'' - and after the first three movies recreated earlier entries of the Danish series (although taking place in Stockholm instead), the last five movies used original plots and changing several of the characters. This version also spawned a few comics drawn and written by Per Demervall, as well as two {{Point And Click Game}}s (called ''Jönssonligan: Jakten på Mjölner''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang: The Search/Hunt for Mjölner[[/labelnote]] and ''Jönssonligan går på djupet''[[labelnote:Translated]]The Jönsson Gang Plunges the Depths[[/labelnote]]) released in 1999 and 2000. Like the Norwegian version, it received a SpinOffBabies version called ''Lilla Jönssonligan'' ("The little Jönssongang'').

* Yvonne Jensen: Kjeld's wife, who often inadvertently screws up their schemes. Fans often consider her Egon's true nemesis. Indeed, the death of her actress back in 1987 was the reason why the series was originally cancelled. (She was named "Valborg" in Norway and "Eivor" in Sweden.)
* Børge Jensen: Kjeld and Yvonne's son. Sometimes assists the gang in their schemes. (Named "Basse" in Norway and "Bill" in Sweden)
* "Dynamit"-Harry: Benny's brother (cousin in the Swedish version), an alcoholic and demolition expert who occasionally helps the gang out. In the original Danish series he only appears in two movies, but he got a much larger role in both the Norwegian and Swedish versions; in the Norwegian series he appears, and usually plays a major role, in seven of the fourteen movies (and is at least a supporting character, if not a main one, in all six ''Olsenbanden Jr.'' movies), and in the Swedish series he becomes a full-time member of the gang, replacing Rocky from the third movie on.
** The Swedish version also introduces Harry's girlfriend, Doris, whose home seems to become the gang's main base of operations from the third movie on. She tends to get roped into the gang's schemes, seemingly without either noticing or caring about the illegal aspects of it.
* Detective constable Jensen: A policeman who is often tasked with tracking down the gang. He has grown unenthusiastic and disillusioned after realising that he can only deal with minor criminals, while the greater injustices taking place in the higher echelons of society are beyond any reach. In times of great agitation however, he will display zealous dedication to justice. Despite being an enforcer of the law, he has great respect for Egon due to his skills, and because Egon sticks to what Jensen call "illegal crimes". This in opposite to the "legal crimes" of powerful people like Bang-Johansen who can not be put behind bars without causing a lot of problems, such as pulling several ministers down with him. (Named "Hermansen" in Norway and "Persson" in Sweden.)

* Bang-Johansen/Hallandsen/Holm Hansen: The recurring BigBad in many of the movies. A corrupt authority figure with villainous schemes of his own. This character is subject to an unusual and confusing gag. In most of the movies where he appears he has one of those three names and is supposedly a new character who has nothing to do with any of the previous incarnations (''Jönssonligan'' did not follow this, instead opting to have the equivalent - only using the name Wall-Enberg - be the same character, a shady executive, in all his appearances). To further add to the confusion, they are all played by the same actor and have the same personality. None of the other characters have ever made any comments on this - however, in Danish film series at the time it was normal for actors to return in different roles, and there is a number of other recurring actors in Olsen-Banden too. Most frequently, he takes on the role of a CorruptCorporateExecutive, but he has also been a corrupt civil servant and a criminal nobleman. Frequently hires the gang to help him, just to betray them later, with the help of:
* Bøffen (literally: The Steak): Bang-Johansen's [[TheDragon dragon]] whose complicated plans to eliminate Egon usually backfires onto himself. He is a very large and fat man, usually armed with a blunt weapon such as a monkey wrench. Interestingly, he is never referred to as "Bøffen" within the movies, where he's just called "Him" and notably "Det dumme svin/The bastard" by Benny.[[note]]This last point is averted for the Swedish version of the character, who occasionally is called Biffen by other characters and [[NamedByTheAdaption also gained the last name Johansson in the comics and games.]][[/note]] He is the only character to have been played by the same actor in both the Danish and Norwegian versions of the movies, namely Ove Verner Hansen.

* AbsoluteCleavage: In ''Jönssonligan Dyker Upp Igen'', Doris wears a ''very'' low cut dress specifically for this trope (see DistractedByTheSexy below), which is unusual since the series didn't really use sex appeal otherwise.
* AccidentalMisnaming: In the Swedish movies, "Sickan" will always [[InsistentTerminology correct anyone calling him Sickan to call him "Charles Ingvar"]]. His brother "Sivan" at first encourages people to call him Sivan, but only to be as little as his brother as possible[[note]]he is very aware he is by nature a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to his brother, and has spent most of his life forcing himself ''not'' to be one[[/note]]. Once he gives up on that, correcting people to calling him Sven-Ingvar it is.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: It's hard to imagine that, even with lenient criminal law, someone like Egon will only be imprisoned for 8-10 months after having committed well over 20 crimes.
* AscendedExtra: Harry in the Norwegian and Swedish series, possibly thanks to the fact that both Norwegian and Swedish moviemakers had the role played by a popular and beloved comedian (Harald Heide-Steen Jr in Norway and Björn Gustafson in Sweden). As such, in the Norwegian series the movies featuring him usually upgrade him to titular character, and in the Swedish series he's a permanent member of the gang from the third movie on.

* BadToTheLastDrop: Movie 13 features Egon replacing the beers of some security guards with raspberry lemonade (which is the same drink lemonade is, only with raspberries replacing lemons). The guards find it so awful that they quit their job over it.

** The incompetence of his two underlings is usually one for Egon, inevitably triggering an angry rant.

** Occasionally, these rants crosses the line with Kjeld, usually when insulting Yvonne, triggering his own rant or a very threatening TheReasonYouSuckSpeech directed towards Egon.
*** Crosses over to BewareTheNiceOnes at times. Kjeld doesn't get angry often, but when he does, it usually shuts Egon right up.
** Also for Egon, Yvonne accusing him of not knowing how the world works because he spends all his time in prison.

* BrotherChuck: Børge's siblings, who vanishes into thin air after the first movie.

** In one of the movies Benny and Kjeld break in to a kiosk when they are noticed by three drunk Norwegian tourists - played by the actors who played the gang in the Norwegian series.

** The first three Swedish junior movies have the same issue with being placed somewhat incorrectly regarding the ages of the character, but at least still take place in the past. The fourth, final one doesn't even try, instead taking place in the modern day.

* ClockKing: Egon is famous for memorizing the schedules, shifts, routines and routes of guards and other people standing between the gang and the thing they want to steal so that they can elude their attention. Consequently his catch-phrase is "Det hele er timet og tilrettelagt." ("It's all timed and organized.")
** Charles "Sickan" Ingvar Jönsson from the Swedish movies as well, since this trope is basically the entire premise of the series. He even has a similar catchphrase: "Tajmad och klar i minsta detalj!" (Timed and cleared to every detail).

** In the original Danish movies, the main cop character was the bumbling Mortensen, who was replaced with the far smarter but more cynical Jensen from the fifth movie on. In the Norwegian version, however, the switch never happens and the original cop, here named Hermansen, remains in the series. Interestingly enough, it actually works very well... since Hermansen is based on two very different characters, in the movies it simply comes across as him undergoing a lot of CharacterDevelopment. He starts out eager and bumbling, but as the years (and the movies) go by he starts losing his enthusiasm and naivete, growing increasingly smarter, more experienced and more cynical.

* ConMenHateGuns: Discounting the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness that's the pre-credit scene of movie 2 (and that's a water pistol), the gang never use a weapon.

** The fifth and sixth movie in the Danish series end with the gang actually going to Mallorca. So the sixth and the seventh movie opens on Mallorca.

* CoolTrain: First, there was a small train that was used in the 3rd movie. Then, the production team has gone crazy and made movie 7 plot completely about trains. Oh, and when Kjeld dreams about what he's going to get with his share of the millions, it's a model railway.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Wall-Enberg from the Swedish films, who's crimes range from Money laundering and smuggling, to ''treason''. He's only arrested and punished in the first Movie however, in the others the evidence of his wrongdoings are either stolen by the Jönssons or vanish.

* DiscoDan: While the series clearly takes place in the seventies, certain sections of society all seem to be decades behind, in clothes and thinking, from an era of all men wearing hats and suits. The plain-clothes of police seems to be very similar sets of plaid suits, with petit-fours for the upper echelon. Much comedy is derived from the contrast between the liberal ways of the seventies and the characters who are perpetually about two steps behind it.

** Movie 13 provides us with Egon assuming the identity of Egonne in order to pass as a maid in a hotel.

** Sickan does it thrice (movies 2, 3 and 5), with rather more convincing results.
** And in one of the ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movie, a twelve year old Egon spends a short while disguised as a girl... and pulls it off quite well, after a couple of false starts.
* DistractedByTheSexy: While in Paris, Egon decides to hire a prostitute as an additional helping hand. However a combination of interlanguage communication problems leads Benny to stop helping Egon with a concurrent heist, thus forcing the team to make another one.

** In ''Jönssonligan Dyker Upp Igen'', the gang utilizes an unknowing Doris for this purpose (the only time in the Swedish movies they do), to distract Wall-Enberg while they infiltrate his illegal casino.
* TheDitz: Harry's girlfriend Doris in the Swedish version. Though she is good-natured and pretty, she has a tendency to overlook the incredibly obvious signs of what Harry's friends are dragging him into, and thinks the loot in the fifth movie is from a settlement Sickan got for wrongful arrest. (Although the fourth film seems to play with it in that she does manage to talk the police out of the building when they visit her looking for the gang.)

* DownerEnding: At the end of the 13th movie, [[spoiler: Egon is put into the psychiatric division of the prison as an incurable criminal. While it's common for Egon to end up in prison at the end of a movie, not only is it implied to not be temporary this time, but it was also supposed to be the last movie (and was for 17 years). If a 14th movie hadn't eventually been made, Egon would canonnically have spent the rest of his life in prison.]]

*** In the first movie, the gang discusses Egon's plans in a certain pub. In the second movie, [[spoiler: Egon's presence happens to be linked to the interior being destroyed, twice, making the keeper unfriendly to Egon]], and thus gang switches to bringing some beer to Kjeld's home.
*** The early movies don't feature Jensen, bringing us instead TheKlutz Mortensen (or him and his clones, given the series loads of similar characters). He gets suspended in the fourth movie, due to the chief getting the mistaken impression that he has gone insane, so Jensen's appearance is not that sudden.

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Sort of, in the Jr films, especially the Swedish ones. It's not actually set in school, but during summer vacation, but nearly all the eventual characters are there, even future villains Wall-Enberg and Biffen.

* ForeignQueasine: [[SelfDeprecation Danish Remoulade]] in movie 13, which Egon replaces another sauce with (note: they're in France then) to cause mass fainting and thus provide a distraction.
* ForeignRemake: The Norwegian and partly the Swedish series. The Norwegian movies were sometimes even made parallel with their Danish counterparts so they could reuse some of the sets.

* FunWithAcronyms: Movie 13 features security company KBG, which extends to something roughly translatable as Kopenhagen Body Guards. The company features a red star in their logo, in case of somebody missing the reference.

* ImpossibleInsurance: In one movie, the gang are working for a CorruptCorporateExecutive who owns an insurance company, tasked to steal a MacGuffin containing sensitive information for him. Once they retrieve it, however, he decides that it would be cheaper to just kill them and take the MacGuffin, rather than pay them the two million he promised. Narrowly escaping an attempt on his life, Olsen - knowing that nobody ELSE would be willing to pay for the information - comes up with a plan: He takes out a life-insurance with the company, with a 5.000.000 payout. Thus, it would no longer be economical for the Corrupt CEO to kill him, since it would cost as much as negotiating, while involving more dangers. But when he shows it off to the CEO, the latter fast get over the surprise and points him to the 'small print', which shows the exceptions to the policy, many of which could be easily used for arranging an 'accident'. Cue Egon tied up on a conveyor-belt over a vat of acid.

** In movie 3, Bøffen and Harry actors play very different characters then they usually do.

* InfractionDistraction: Common element of Egon's plans.
* InNameOnly: The 2015 movie „Jönssonligan – den perfekta stöten“ is about car-thief Charles-Ingvar Jönsson wanting to avenge his uncle's death with the help of Dynamit-Harry, con man Ragnar Vanheden and safecracker Rocky, who happens to be Charles-Ingvar's former [[UnresolvedSexualTension girlfriend]] on CorruptCorporateExecutive [[DistaffCounterpart Wallentin]]

* InstitutionalApparel: Egon is wearing a grey and blue striped variant at the beginning of movie 14. The prison band at the end of movie 10, wear black and white stripes.

* JustGotOutOfJail: Egon, OnceAnEpisode

** Mafioso Motzarella from the 2nd Danish movie.
** Also Sonia from the 4th.

* LargeHam: Egon in particular, but everybody get their scenery chewing moments - which is part of the movies charm.
** This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] at one point, where Egon hides from some policemen by pretending to be a mannequin holding a sign saying "Gamle krukker" ("Old jars"). "Krukke" (jar) is Danish slang for a LargeHam.

* LimitedWardrobe: The gang nearly always wear the same clothes, even on summer hot Mallorca.

* LockedInTheDungeon: Egon in movie 14.

* MickeyMousing: One of the most famous scenes of the series is in "Olsen Banden Ser Rødt" (The Olsen Gang Sees Red) when the gang break into the royal theater of Copenhagen while the orchestra is playing the Overture to the Danish national play "Elverhøj". It's even Mickey Mousing in-universe as well, as the break-in requires many noisy tools and explosives, and Egon has brought a note sheet so that he can time the crime perfectly to the music so they won't be heard. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuAevxbgjc8 It's quite brilliantly done]].
** The Overture was actually rearranged for the movie to match the scenes. Most people didn't noticed but it certainly confused the orchestra who played the roles of themselve and who probably would could have played the original even in sleep.
** At least, a [[IncrediblyLamePun literal]] case of OrchestralBombing!

* NamesTheSame: In the Danish movies, at least four big guard dogs are named „Buster“.

* NiceHat: Egon's bowler hat to the point where it have become a symbol of the serie itself.
** His Swedish equivalent Charles Ingvar's beret, to the point where in the third Swedish movie Harry realises Charles is in danger when he sees the beret on the ground.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The recurring villain in the Swedish films, CorruptCorporateExecutive Wall-Enberg, is a ''very'' un-subtle jab at the Wallenberg family, one of Sweden's most influential "old money"-families, as well as possibly one at Anders Wall, an at that time very famous corporate raider.

* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Vanheden in the Swedish version. He has a tendency to stand very close to other characters, and in the third movie he pats Harry on the hip to get him to hurry up and then Sickan on the cheek to express his approval in very short order.

* PricelessMingVase: Subverted with a literal vase in eighth movie. For the first time, it slides out of palms of Børge's fiancee (her shaky hands were already [[ForeShadowing hinted at]]). The Gang decides to play with it as with a jigsaw puzzle, and then they notice it's a MadeInChina knockoff. [[spoiler:Then, the knockoff vase gets broken by the vase merchant. He does it to show it's a knockoff though. And then played straight when Egon [[TooDumbToLive gives the genuine vase to Børge's fiancee to hold for a moment...]] ]]

* PunnyTitle: The fourth Swedish film, ''Jönssonligan dyker upp igen'', has one. To elaborate, while "dyka upp" usually means "to show up", "dyka" as a word tends to mean "dive" - fitting for a film with the cover showing the protagonists underwater and the climax featuring several divers.

** A propos of Egon's forgetfullness: Both this and his decreasing vision in movie 8 are used for gags in one movie and then dropped. Even the very old Egon from the last movie reads without glasses and seems to have an excellent memory. Instead, he has become hard of hearing.

* SpinoffBabies: All three versions have had spinoffs with the gang as children, set in TheFifties. A bit of FridgeLogic since several of the original actors where already in their thirties at that time.
** The final Swedish SpinoffBabies movie throws all continuity out, as it takes place in the early 2000s, decades after the adult films took place.

** Actually subverted in most of the Swedish movies, where only a few have them losing the loot. In the others, they usually end up frittering the money away on the high life between movies, which is why they're always up for another coup.
* StoryArc: One of sort happens with movies 12 and 13. Danish movie 12 follows with preview of movie 13; meanwhile movie 13 begins with some kind of summary of events in movie 12, and its ending makes sense only if you remember plot details of the 12th one.
** Specifically: [[spoiler: when Egon gets caught, he gets sent to an insane asylum instead of the jail, which is foreshadowed at the beginning of the previous movie; meanwhile, Benny and Kjeld take care of a coat which was swapped with the coat of the subject of a minor plan at the end of the previous movie, and it turns out the money which they wanted to steal in first place]].
* StrictlyFormula: The vast majority of sequels run on a simple plot: Egon gets hired to make a small heist, then his employer decides to dispose of him by somehow calling the cops' attention of him or attacking instead of paying, then Egon decides to take revenge by stealing the MacGuffin back. Apparently this was used because ´sit allowed the screenplayers to put multiple heists in one movie.

* SuspectIsHatless: Played with in the Norwegian 1977 installment. Bøffen grabs Egon´s money and runs away with it, whereupon Valborg (Kjeld´s wife in Norway) calls the police, describing him as "somewhat fat and ordinary". The police actually runs with it, and when Bøffen gets arrested at the end of the movie, the policeman who arrests him gives the same description. The officer in charge concludes with delight: "That´s him!"
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: In the Swedish ''Jönssonligan'' series, Egon's Swedish counterpart, "Sickan" Jönsson, only appears in the first five movies. In the final three, he's [[PutOnABus had a nervous breakdown and been placed in the psychiatric ward]], and the gang has a different leader for each subsequent movie. In chronological order, they are: Dr. Max Adrian Busé (Sickan's psychiatrist), Herman Melvin (Buse's cellmate) and Sven-Ingvar "Sivan" Jönsson, Sickan's brother. The writers ''did'' go to the effort of having Melvin and Sivan have twists related to their similarities and differences to their predecessors (Melvin ''isn't'' the criminal genius Sickan and Busé was -- he mostly relies on a plan Busé told him while they were cellmates. Sivan is by nature a similar character to his brother, but has spent much of his life trying to be different to distance himself from his criminal brother, and doesn't give in to his tendencies until a while into his starring movie).

* TelevisionGeography: ''Jönssonligan får guldfeber'' has the ClockTower scene set at Stockholm City Hall. The problem is that the main tower there doesn't have a clock.
** The original ClockTower scene from the Danish ''Olsen Banden går i Krig'' as well. Bang-Johansen has his office behind the balconies under the clock in the Copenhagen City Hall Tower. In RealLife, there are no offices there, it is open to the public. The real clock, while it does exist is also smaller than its portrayal in the movie.

* TheCaper: Central plot element of every movie, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness bar two]].

** In the fifth Jönssonligan movie, Wall-Enberg uses a team of criminals, siblings called "Ödlan"(Lizard) and "Brorsan"(Bro/Big Brother), a dwarfish, pale man, and a tall, brawny guy respectively, in his plan to steal the Kings Cross from the Palma cathedral. They show up throughout the movie doing his bidding prior to that.
** Two-man gangs shows up in two of the Danish movies: Kongen og Knægten in ''Olsen Bandens Store Kup'' (where they steal the money from the gang) and Archibald Hansen and Bøffen i ''Olsen Banden Deruda''' (where they work for Holm-Hansen and tries to eliminate Egon).
* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Two parallel scenes from the first and 13th Danish movies, with Ulla and Parisian prostitute Suzanne respectively. Both women appear like this in the front of Benny and in the both cases it's heavily implied [[SexyDiscretionShot it ended very nice for him]].

* UniversalDriversLicense: Benny drives whatever vehicle which may be at hand ranging from his old car over a forklift and a brewer's dray to a little train. The actor, Morten Grunwald, later noticed that the only thing he didn't get to drive was a plane but that was probably the economy which sat the limit.

%%* UsedCarSalesman: implied with Vanheden in the Swedish version; he immediately tenses up when a policewoman asks him "Cars?" and claims that "That's all behind me now, not my area anymore, my bro Leopold did it!" He also claims that his own car has good bang for its buck even though the trunk won't close properly and the front falls apart at the slightest provocation.

* WeNeedADistraction: Kjeld will often do the task of distracting people. To example by telling a guard that he has an appointment at twelve o clock - just before midnight. And when the guard tells him to come again tomorrow he does so - a few minutes after midnight!
* YesMan: Benny frequently plays this role to Egon.

Norway and Sweden both made their own version of the series, though where the Norwegian version stuck very closely to the Danish one, using the same plots, mostly the same characters and largely the same names (with a couple of notable exceptions, and the gang name was written as one word, "Olsenbanden," as opposed to the Danish hyphenated "Olsen-banden"), the Swedish version renamed all characters and, by extension, the series to ''Jönssonligan'' and went off in its own direction after the third movie, using original plots and changing several of the characters. The Swedish version also spawned a few comics drawn and written by Per Demervall, as well as two {{Point And Click Game}}s (called ''Jakten på Mjölner'' and ''Jönssonligan går på djupet'') released in 1999 and 2000.

Norway also has an arguably more well-known version called Olsenbanden Junior, which is about [[SpinoffBabies the trio during their childhood days]].[[note]]The Swedish version alao received this kind of spin-off, but that version was not as successful in comparison[[/note]]

* Egon Olsen: Criminal mastermind and [[SafeCracking expert safe-cracker]] [[ClockKing whose plans often relies heavily on correct timing and scheduling]]. Named "Charles-Ingvar 'Sickan' Jönsson" in Sweden.

* Kjeld Jensen: The [[TheDitz stupid]] and [[LovableCoward nervous]] guy. By far the less competent of Egon's accomplices. In Norway the name is spelled "Kjell," and in Sweden he was a Finn named "Rocky" and was PutOnABus after the second movie.

Other major characters are:
* Yvonne Jensen: Kjeld's wife. Often inadvertently screws up their schemes. Fans often consider her Egon's true nemesis. Indeed, the death of her actress back in 1987 was the reason why the series was originally cancelled. (She was named "Valborg" in Norway and "Eivor" in Sweden.)

* AbsoluteCleavage: In ''Jönssonligan Slår Till Igen'', Doris wears a ''very'' low cut dress specifically for this trope (see DistractedByTheSexy below), which is unusual since the series didn't really use sex appeal otherwise.

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Egon gets roughly the same less-than-a-year-sentence whether he's being convicted of attempted armed robbery, forgery or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking throwing a stone into a shop's window]].

* BatmanGambit: How else would one use these implements?

** In one of the movies Benny and Kjeld break in to a kiosk when they are noticed by three drunk Norwegian tourists - played by the actors who played the gang in the norwegian series.
** In ''Olsen-bandens sidste stik'' ("The Olsen Gang's last trick") Egon accidentally opens a door to a room where two old men are writing on typewrites: Erik Balling and Henning Bahs, the creators of the series as well as director and special effect maker respective.

* CoolCar: The third Swedish movie has a heavily armed truck used to transport a goverment data chip between military bases. Part of the plan to steal the chip involves damaging the cars side with a sledge hammer, so they can tinker with it while its being repaired.

* CouchGag: The movies always opens with a scene where Egon is released from prison and is met by Benny and Kjeld, but with slight variations in each movie (Benny and Kjeld are late or do not show up, Egon does not want to leave prison, because his plan is not finished etc.)

** Sickan does it twice (movies 2 and 5), with rather more convincing results.

** In ''Jönssonligan Slår Till Igen'' (Jönssonligan Strikes Again), the gang utilizes an unknowing Doris for this purpose (the only time in the Swedish movies they do), to distract Wall-Enberg while they infiltrate his illegal casino.
* TheDitz: Harry's girlfriend Doris in the Swedish version. Though she is good-natured and pretty, she has a tendency to overlook the incredibly obvious signs of what Harry's friends are dragging him into, and thinks the loot in the fifth movie is from a settlement Sickan got for wrongful arrest.

** Some of the early elements got a proper closure, though.

* RedHerring: When Egon lays out the plan in the 12th movie, he goes into detail about the shady dealings of the insurance company and its CEO, only to then say „But that doesn't interest us at all“ and focus on a different character and take it from there.

* Bøffen (literally: The Steak): Bang-Johansen's [[TheDragon dragon]] whose complicated plans to eliminate Egon usually backfires onto himself. He is a very large and fat man, usually armed with a blunt weapon such as a monkey wrench. Interestingly, he is never referred to as "Bøffen" within the movies, where he's just called "Him" and notably "Det dumme svin/The bastard" by Benny. He is the only character to have been played by the same actor in both the Danish and Norwegian versions of the movies, namely Ove Verner Hansen.

* RemovableSteeringWheel: In the Norwegian version of ''Olsenbanden og Dynamitt-Harry'', Harry tries to drive while heavily intoxicated. After realizing that he's failing miserably, he removes the steering wheel and tells Benny to TakeTheWheel.

* PetTheDog: The first Swedish movie's plan requires a city bus, meaning that the gang needs to steal one, which they do when the driver needs to stop for a bathroom break. However, Rocky is nice enough to leave the driver a lunch by the side of the road. After the initial shock wears off, the driver shrugs and sits down to eat.
** One of the Danish movies has a similar scene.

* PricelessMingVase: Subverted with a literal vase in eighth movie. For the first time, it slides out of palms of Børge's fiancee (her shaky hands were already [[ForeShadowing hinted at]]). The Gang decides to play with it as with a jigsaw puzzle, and then they noticed it's a MadeInChina knockoff. [[spoiler:Then, the knockoff vase gets broken by the vase merchant. He does it to show it's a knockoff though. And then played straight when Egon [[TooDumbToLive gives the genuine vase to Børge's fiancee to hold for a moment...]] ]]

* PutOnABus: Børge after the eighth movie, ''Olsenbanden ser rødt,'' at the end of which he gets married. He's absent for most of the rest of the series, but [[TheBusCameBack does appear in the eleventh and fourteenth movies.]] Actually an example of RealLifeWritesThePlot. The actor had problems with drugs and real crimes and ended up hiding from the producers. He was, however, clean when fourteenth movie was made.

* ShoutOut: To ''StarWars'', of all things. In ''Olsen Banden - deruda'''(1977) the Gang breaks into a bank disguised as three boxes on wheels. When Kjeld is separated from the others at one point, his box starts bopping up and down and squeaking like an agitated R2-D2.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: In ''Olsen Banden På Sporet'' ("The Olsen Gang on the Trail") Yvonne decides to report Bøffen to Jensen and Holm for the theft of the gang's (stolen) money. The only description she gives them is that Bøffen is "kind of tubby and ordinary". Much later in the film, when Holm hears that a "tubby and ordinary" man has been arrested, he immediately exclaims "That's him!!".

* SuspectIsHatless: Played with in the Norwegian 1977 installment. Bøffen grabs Egon´s money and runs away with them, whereupon Valborg (Kjeld´s wife in Norway) calls the police, describing him as "somewhat fat and ordinary". The police actually runs with it, and when Bøffen gets arrested at the end of the movie, the policeman who arrests him gives the same description. The officer in charge concludes with delight: "That´s him!"

* UsedCarSalesman: implied with Vanheden in the Swedish version; he immediately tenses up when a policewoman asks him "Cars?" and claims that "That's all behind me now, not my area anymore, my bro Leopold did it!" He also claims that his own car has good bang for its buck even though the trunk won't close properly and the front falls apart at the slightest provocation.

Norway and Sweden both made their own version of the series, though where the Norwegian version stuck very closely to the Danish one, using the same plots, mostly the same characters and largely the same names (with a couple of notable exceptions, and the gang name was written as one word, "Olsenbanden," as opposed to the Danish hyphenated "Olsen-banden"), the Swedish version renamed all characters and, by extension, the series to ''Jönssonligan'' and went off in its own direction after the third movie, using original plots and changing several of the characters. Norway also has an arguably more well-known version called Olsenbanden Junior, which is about [[SpinoffBabies the trio during their childhood days]].

** Slips into GratuitousGerman in the Danish and Swedish movies when Egon/Sickan pretend to be Germans at different points, leading to gems like „Köstliche Instrumente“ („delicious instruments“ instead of kostbar/valuable)

** Surprisingly enough, somewhat averted in the last Swedish movie: A Sicilian mafia boss and his son speak a horribly mangled Italian with half the words being italianised versions of Swedish words that somehow ends up being harder to understand with any knowledge of Italian.

** Also in the seventh Swedish movie, Vanheden and Harry attempt to break Busé (who replaced Sickan in the sixth movie and was arrested at the end of it) out. As he had written his new plan on his cellmate Herman Melvins back, he brings him too and lets him go over the prison wall first, but Busé is caught before he can escape as well. Thus leaving the gang with a new leader once again.

*** Sickan: "Jag har en plan, tajmad och klar in i minsta detalj" ("I have a plan, timed and finished to the smallest detail"), "Charles Ingvar Jönsson!"

* HypocriticalHumor: In the first Swedish movie, the gang robs Wall-Enberg while disguised as police with uniforms and a cop car they stole from the police station. When they run out, Sickan yells at Vanheden for leaving their car unlocked, and Vanheden replies "Oh come on, who would steal a cop car?"

* InNameOnly: The 2015 movie „Jönssonligan – den perfekta stöten“ is about car-thief Charles-Ingvar Jönsson wanting to avenge his uncle's death with the help of Dynamit-Harry, con man Ragnar Vanheden and safecracker Rocky, who happens to be [[BigWhat Charles-Ingvars former]] [[UnresolvedSexualTension girlfriend]] on CorruptCorporateExecutive [[DistaffCounterpart Wallentin]]

** Mafioso Motzarella from the 2nd Danish movie
** Also Sonia from the 4th

* KarmicThief: Egon occasionally steals from people have committed much worse crimes than he ever will.

* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Bøffen, Bang-Johansen and Holm were all introduced in the sixth movies ''Olsen Bandens sidste bedrifter'' ("The Olsen Gang's Last Archievements) which as the name suggest should have been the last. The serie was however continued and they all became regular characters.

* MakesSenseInContext: Probably most outstanding line in that department that series provided goes like this: "We've got to get there unnoticed. Therefore, we're gonna get a tank."

** His Swedish equivalent Charles Ingvar's beret.

* NoodleImplements: Subverted Most of Egon's plans involve all sorts of baroque requisites, but they are always shown used in surprisingly coherent and intelligent (if somewhat WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes) ways. A typical example: "We need one boat. The boat has to have an extremely high mast. In order to arrange this, we need a wrench, rope, a soup-bone and a very small dog." What the gang does is distract a marina watchman's Alsatian with the bone, and replace the Alsatian with a small dog. While the guard tries to figure out what happened, they board a boat and sail off. The wrench and rope are used to steal a flagpole from a nearby garden and tie it to the mast, leaving them with a one-man vessel high enough to raise a movable bridge, which, in turn, will stop the armored transport they intend to rob where they want it.

* OutGambitted: Usually, Egon gets OutGambitted by the BigBad and then [[OutGambitted outgambits]] him back.

** Nearly the whole cast of the Norwegian and Swedish series, obviously. But also internal in the Danish series where Bang-Johansen's interlocutor in the later movies, Hallandsen, were played by a new actor each time.

* PetTheDog: The first Swedish movies plan requires a city bus, meaning that the gang needs to steal one, which they do when the driver needs to stop for a bathroom break. However, Rocky is nice enough to leave the drivers lunch by the side of the road. After the initial shock wears off, the driver shrugs and sits down to eat.

** While we're at villains, the TapOnTheHead also counts. In one movie Egon already anticipates it and hands over his NiceHat [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to prevent damage to it.]]

** In the ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movies, on a few occasions Hermansen and Holm find themselves needing a vehichle like a bus or a boat, and Holm borrows one from his uncle. Said vehicle is always stuck in reverse and can only go backwards, whereupon Holm will quote his uncle and say "even if it goes backwards, it still goes forwards!"

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: [[spoiler: In the sixth movie, Kjeld and Benny disguise themselves as police officers to take Egon, supposedly their prisoner to [[BigBad Holm-Hansen]], the CorruptCorporateExecutive of the week. While explaining that Egon supposedly confessed having committed a break-in for Holm-Hansen,]] Benny keeps refering to [[spoiler: Egon]] as „dilettanten“ (the amateur), instead of „delinkventen“ (the delinquant). Egon is not amused.
** UpToEleven in the Swedish version, where Vanheden gets it wrong even after Sickan already corrected him once.

* DiscoDan: While the series clearly takes place in the seventies, certain sections of society, most criminals, including the gang, the police and the upper classes, all seem to dress and act like it is about 50 years earlier.

** In the original Danish movies, the main cop character was the bumbling Mortensen, who was replaced with the far smarter but mose cynical Jensen from the fifth movie on. In the Norwegian version, however, the switch never happens and the original cop, here named Hermansen, remains in the series. Interestingly enough, it actually works very well... since Hermansen is based on two very different characters, in the movies it simply comes across as him undergoing a lot of CharacterDevelopment. He starts out eager and bumbling, but as the years (and the movies) go by he starts losing his enthusiasm and naivete, growing increasingly smarter, more experienced and more cynical.

* AxCrazy: Bøffen is often ''very'' enthusiastic about his work.

* Detective constable Jensen: A policeman who is often tasked with tracking down the gang. He has grown unenthusiastic and disillusioned after realising that he can only deal with minor criminals, while the greater injustices taking place in the higher echelons of society are beyond any reach. In times of great agitation however, he will display zealous dedication to justice. Despite being an enforcer of the law, he has great respect for Egon due to his skills, and because Egon sticks to what Jensen call "illegal crimes". This in opposite to the "legal crimes" of powerful people like Bang-Johansen who can not just be put behind jails without causing a lot of problems, such as pulling several ministers down with him. (Named "Hermansen" in Norway and "Persson" in Sweden.)

* {{Cameo}}: Many small roles were played by well known Danish actors, some times even after having had other major roles earlier in the serie.
** In one of the movies Benny and Kjeld break in to a kiosk when they are noticed by three drunk Norwegian tourists - played by the actors who played the gang in the norwegian serie.

* Egon Olsen: Criminal mastermind and [[SafeCracking expert safe-cracker]] [[ClockKing who's plans often relies heavily on correct timing and scheduling]]. Named "Charles-Ingvar 'Sickan' Jönsson" in Sweden.

* Detective constable Jensen: A policeman who is often tasked with tracking down the gang. He has grown unenthusiastic and disillusioned after realising that he can only deal with minor criminals, while the greater injustices taking place in the higher echelons of society are beyond any reach. In times of great agitation however, he will display zealous dedication to justice. Despite being an enforcer of the law, he has great respect for Egon due to his skills, and because Egon sticks to what Jensen call "illegal crimes". This in opposite to the "legal crimes" of people like Bang-Johansen who can not just be put behind jails without causing a lot of problems. (Named "Hermansen" in Norway and "Persson" in Sweden.)

* ByTheBookCop: Holm

** Yvonne's casual announcement of the arrival of the police

->''"How dare you!? Shut up!! I won't stand for it!! It is the same every time!! It is the same every single time!! I have a plan -- a BRILLIANT plan -- and then I am surrounded BY dog-brains and dumbasses, lousy amateurs, pathetic nincompoops, ridiculous fart-flappers, talentless blockheads, impotent porridge-peasants, nursery teachers, and Social Democrats!!"''

* GiveMeBackMyWallet: Not quite a textbook example in the 7th Swedish movie. Herrman Melvin is an incredibly skilled and possibly compulsive pickpocket. During a heist, Harry cannot find a tool. Vanheden turns to Melvin, asking for it. When he gets it, he follows it up with "And the wallet", which Melvin hands him immediately.

* MythologyGag: In the 2015 Swedish movie, Charles-Ingvar's uncle and original partner in crime Ralf is clearly designed to resemble the Carles-Ingvar of the original movies, although older.

** In the Norwegian movies, Holm went through no less than four actors. The last one went on to play [[InexplicablyIndividualIndividuals Hermansen Senior]] in the ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movies.

*** Ingrid: "Det sier tanta mi, og hu veit hva hu snakker om!" ("That's what my aunt says, and she knows what she's talking about!") Generally following some negative opinion on men in general. "Det gjelder deg óg, Benny!" ("The same goes for you too, Benny!")

** In the Norwegian movies, Holm went through no less than four actors.

*** Hermansen Sr: "Det kan De notere Dem, Holm." ("You can make a note of that, Holm.") "Hva skal jeg gjøre med Dem, Holm?!" ("What am I going to do about you, Holm?!")
*** Ingrid: "Det sier tanta mi, og hu veit hva hu snakker om!" ("That's what my aunt says, and she knows what she's talking about!") Generally following some negative opinion on men in general.

** In the various SpinoffBabies versions, Harry-as-a-kid has similar, more kid-friendly addictions -- in the Danish and Norwegian versions, he's addicted to liquorice, while the Swedish version is addicted to fruit juice -- but they're still treated [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything very similar to his alcoholic tendencies in the parent series, especially when he's getting abstinences.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: The junior version of the gang in the Norwegian ''Olsenbanden Jr'' movies. While the younger Egon is still a schemer primarily motivated by self-interest, with Benny and Kjell as his accomplishes, they're harmless mischief-makers at worst and downright heroic at best. The heists and plans are as elaborate as ever, but are generally performed trying to expose the ''real'' criminals... or occasionally perhaps just cheat on a math test or snatch some extra snacks from the greedy head of the orphanage.