Elsa Carlsson Movies

This effective literary drama is one of the later films in the long career of Swedish director Anders Henrikson whose cinematic work began in 1936 and continued through 1965. The film is based on two stories by writer August Strindberg, ~On Payment~ and ~The Doll's House~ (not Ibsen's famous play, but Strindberg's parody of it). In the first story, a tragedy, director Henrikson takes on the role of a sexually unassertive husband who has to somehow contend with his wife's dislike of sexual contact. In the second story, Mai Zetterling stars as the primary female character in a comedy about love, marriage, and conflict between a husband and wife. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The seemingly insatiable postwar demand for romantic comedies in Sweden resulted in such frothy fare as Konsten att alska. The title translates as How to Love, and the one who learns how is heroine Wanda Rothgart. The "teacher" is leading man Sture Langervall, who by film's end has learned a few lessons himself. At 76 minutes, Kosten att Eiska is surprisingly short for a Swedish film, but long enough to support a solid plot, credible characters and plenty of laughs. Variety's film reviewer opined that the film might even have a chance in the European and U.S. markets (though, apparently, no English-dubbed versions presently exist). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Swedish comic actor Adolf Jahr was a box-office favorite of the 1930s thanks to a series of "Adolf" comedies in which he played a dumb sap who made good. In Samvetsomma Adolf (Adolf the Slacker), Jahr is cast as an amiable dimwit who tries his best to avoid military service. Alas, the army manages to catch up with him, whereupon Adolf makes himself a barracks nuisance by pulling off all manner of pranks, with irascible sergeant Weyler Hildebrand as his perennial victim. The fun really begins when Hildebrand falls in love with Adolf's pretty cousin Elsa Carlson. If it seems that Weyler Hildebrand has all the best dialogue, it's probably because he co-wrote the script. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi