After Karu
After the departure of Karu, Suomi-Filmi's future looked bleak. With their financial difficulties and lack of directing talent many expected the company to declare bankruptcy. However, Suomi-Filmi managed to avoid disaster by hiring promising young filmmaker Risto Orko as their chief director and head of production. Orko had previously worked as an assistant director for the company, but was expected to leave with Karu after aiding him in founding Suomen Filmiteollisuus. In the end, the confident Orko couldn't resist the chance of being the top man in the company, when leaving could've meant being always overshadowed by Karu. Orko ended up staying in the company for more than six decades, transitioning from directing to acting as the CEO from 1945 to 1976. From the 1970s to the early 1990s Orko was still the majority stockholder in the company (with the rest of the stocks being held by the rest of his family).
After his appointment Orko had to work hard and fast to re-invigorate the finances of Suomi-Filmi. During the 1930s and the early half of the 1940s Orko directed 13 films – a stark contrast with his later career, when he only directed three. The third film Orko directed, Siltalan pehtoori (1934), became a huge success, and the first Finnish film to reach a million viewers – in a country with a population of around three and a half million at the time. The film has been credited as saving Suomi-Filmi and returning it to a sound financial base.
In 1935, Suomi-Filmi hired another promising young director, Valentin Vaala, as their second main director. Vaala started his career with the company with Kaikki rakastavat (1935), a romantic comedy which brought Ansa Ikonen and Tauno Palo together on the screen for the first time. During his career with the company Vaala directed 39 films, among the most popular were Juurakon Hulda (1937), Niskavuoren naiset (1938), the two Mika Waltari adaptations Gabriel, tule takaisin (1951) and Omena putoaa... (1952), and Nummisuutarit (1957).
Other directors who worked for Suomi-Filmi during this period included Orvo Saarikivi, who directed among others Miehen Kylkiluu (1937) and Tottisalmen perillinen (1940). Saarikivi later on moved to Suomen Filmiteollisuus.
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