Herbert Grevenius Movies
- 1957
On the strength of his earlier hit One Summer of Happiness, Swedish filmmaker Arne Mattson's Flickan I Frack obtained good bookings outside Scandinavia. A very slight piece, the film charts the misadventures of a young lady (Maj-Britt Nilsson) whose father refuses to buy her a new evening gown. Defiantly, our heroine attends a fancy dress ball in her brother's tuxedo (the film's English language title is The Girl in Tails). Stirring up a scandal in her provincial hometown, the girl soon becomes a national cause celebre. The period ambience of the story (it is set at the turn of the century) is enhanced by Mattson's use of Strauss waltzes on the soundtrack. Flicken I Frack was also released as The Girl in Black. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maj-Britt Nilsson, Folke Sundquist, (more)
- 1950
In this melancholy romance, a not-so-young ballerina recalls an earlier, tragic love affair. The heroine, Marie (Maj-Britt Nilsson), spends a summer with her possessive Uncle Erland (Georg Funkquist), who lives with his cancerous wife on an island near Stockholm. While staying with her uncle, who may have intimidated her into a sexual relationship, Marie befriends an innocent youth, Henrik (Birger Malmsten), with whom she soon falls in love. As the glorious summer comes to an end and autumn approaches, harkening Marie's return to the mainland and her dancing career, the lovers express their love to each other. But a fatal swimming mishap brings an end to the affair. Marie continues with her life, but she fails to come to terms with the tragic past. Later, Marie receives the diary that she kept during that memorable summer. She thereupon returns to the island, where she again meets her ghoulish Uncle Erland. Repulsed by his cynicism, Marie determines to recover her joy of living. She returns to Stockholm and shares the diary with her lover, a smarmy journalist (Alf Kjellin). In the concluding scene, she expresses her regained exuberance while dancing. A pivotal film in Ingmar Bergman's oeuvre, Sommarlek marked his maturation as a master filmmaker capable of evocative imagery and poignant expression. Of particular note are the unsettling scenes between Marie and her ominous uncle, framed and lit to emphasize the disturbing nature of their relationship. Maj-Britt Nilsson's performance as Marie is also remarkable, enhanced by Bergman's increasing mastery of the close-up. The splendid achievement of Sommarlek signalled a long succession of masterworks that ensued until Bergman's withdrawal from filmmaking in the 1980s. ~ Les Stone, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maj-Britt Nilsson, Alf Kjellin, (more)
- 1949
A couple's relationship begin to unravel during a rail trip through Europe in this drama, an early work from legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Rut (Eva Henning) is a former ballet dancer whose career has been sidelined due to an injured knee, while her husband Bertil (Birger Malmsten) is a slightly prickly academic. Rut and Bertil are traveling though Germany from Switzerland while their friends at home are celebrating the rowdy annual observance of Midsummer; much of Europe is still mired in poverty and disarray in the wake of World War II, and their vacation generates more tension between the two than positive feelings. As the couple's train rolls through the ravaged nation, flashbacks introduce us to other characters in the drama -- Raoul (Bengt Eklund), a military officer with no conscience who has an affair with Rut, and Viola (Birgit Tengroth), a friend of Rut from her days in dancing school who had a fling with Bertil and has fallen into a deep depression over her romantic and sexual confusion. Torst (aka Thirst) was adapted from a short story by Birgit Tengroth, who also appeared in the film as Viola. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eva Henning, Birger Malmsten, (more)
- 1948
This Swedish melodrama was released in the U.S. as Strange Harbor. Based on Joseph Kjellgren's play Unknown Swedish Soldier, the film takes place at the time of the Spanish Civil War. Adolph Jahr plays an utterly apolitical captain, hired to ship a load of armaments to Spain. After much soul-searching, the Captain decides to enter the ongoing battle himself. This main storyline is set against a waterfront background of intrigue, treachery, murder, and occasionally romance. The nominal leading lady is Hona Wieselmann, a Danish actress making her first appearance in a Swedish production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adolf Jahr, George Fant, (more)
- 1947
The English-language title of this Swedish wartime drama is Soldiers Reminder. Elof Jahrle stars as Jocke, a young conscript trying to make the best of things in the turbulent year of 1940. Jocke's duty to his country makes almost as many demands on his time than his duty to his true love, well played by Harriet Philipsson. The film was adapted by Herbert Grevenius from his own play, which was one of the major hits of the 1945-46 Swedish theatrical season. Thus the film version of Krigama Erluran had a built-in following even before the turning of the first camera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
The titular clock in this Swedish drama keeps time throughout the life of young Lennart Heijken (Lauritz Falk). Upon reaching maturity, Lennart's plans for a cushy military career and a blissful marriage are dashed when his parents are killed in a train accident. Forced to take over the management of the family farm, Lennart proves to be an ineffectual administrator, while his wife Viveka (Vibeke Falk) reveals herself as a selfish spendthrift. One mishap dovetails into the next, leaving Lennart a bitter, disillusioned shell of a man. Symbolically, the most disastrous moments in Lennart's life are heralded whenever the normally reliable Clock of Ronneberga mis-chimes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauritz Falk
- 1946
Literally translated, the title of this early Ingmar Bergman effort is It's Raining on Our Love. Though hardly representative of the best that Bergman would have to offer, the film was highly regarded by critics and moviegoers alike when it first appeared in 1947. Put simply, the story theorizes that just because someone commits a criminal act, that someone isn't necessarily a criminal. Barbro Kollberg plays the unfortunate soul whose solitary indiscretion seriously jeopardizes his future happiness. The plot Det Regnar pa Var Karlek is "explained" throughout by an ersatz stage manager, the sort of theatrical device that Bergman would abandon as he became a more self-confident filmmaker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbro Kollberg, Birger Malmsten, (more)
