Anders Henrikson Movies

This erotic murder mystery finds a wealthy old man despised by his family. When he is murdered, the disinherited family members are the prime suspects. The main focus of the film is Lotte Tarp, who appears in various states of undress and makes love in a few scene that have little to do with the plot. The film seems to suffer from bad editing and dubbing, with the nudity being one of the only redeeming qualities of this disjointed exploitation feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Froken Julie (Miss Julie) is adapted from August Strindberg's trenchant one-act play of the same name. The title character, a young woman of prestige and property, is played by Anita Bjork. Taught by her mother to hold all men in contempt, Miss Julie nonetheless enters into an affair with misanthropic valet Jean (Ulf Palme). Their passion for one another is tempered by their mutual animosity, and the results are catastrophic. Playwright Strindberg's intense dislike for womanhood will probably alienate half the audience of Miss Julie, but director Alf Sjoberg's handling of the material is masterful--so much so that this film, together with Frenzy (1947), cemented Sjoberg's international reputation as a filmmaker of distinction (despite the efforts by American censors to "water down" the film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For his first film in two years, Anders Henrikson doubles as star and director in Nyckeln och Ringem. The title translates as The Key and the Ring, and the story is based on a novel by August Brunius. Henrikson plays John Berger, whose comic interaction with his large family provides most of the film's best moments. As indicated by the title, the course of true romance is affected by two vital props, a key and a ring. The matchless Eva Dahlbeck makes an excellent impression in a somewhat smaller role than usual, though her thunder is stolen by leading lady Hilda Borgstrom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As was customary in his 1940s films, Anders Henrikson both directs and co-stars in Asa-Hanna. The film concerns the trials and tribulations of a "typical" Swedish family over a period of several years. Adept at both comedy and drama, Henrikson was in his dramatic mode throughout this picture, which adopts a somber, almost funereal tone early on. Edvin Adolphson and Aine Taube are seen as the family's patriarch and matriarch, respectively. Though highly regarded at the time of its first release, Asa-Hanna is little known today, and is often deleted from the "official" lists of Henrikson's films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released in America as The Road to Heaven, Himlaspelet is regarded as not only one of director Alf Sjoberg's finest films, but as one of the most impressive achievements of the Swedish cinema. Described by one observer as a Scandanavian Pilgrim's Progress, the story deftly combines nationalism, religious spiritualism and entertainment value in equal portions. The film's framework involves a naïve farm lad who seeks justice from Above after his father is burned as a witch. When he feels that God has failed him, he hardens into a flint-hearted idolator of material gains. After a lifetime of greed and treachery, the now-aged protagonist is given one last chance at redemption-not by God, but by Satan! As the elderly farmer digs through his past misdeeds, Biblical images parade across the screen, all of them eminently appropriate to the situation at hand. It is abundantly clear throughout that Himlaspelet was a source of inspiration for scores of future Swedish filmmakers-notably Ingmar Bergman, whose own The Seventh Seal owes a great deal to the tone and texture of the Sjoberg classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

French playwright Francis de Croiset's heavily plotted Il Etait Une Fois formed the basis of the Swedish A Woman's Face (En Kvinnas Ansikte). Ingrid Bergman plays a woman embittered by the horrible scar on her face, the result of a childhood mishap. Feeling unworthy of the "good" world, Bergman becomes a criminal. Given a new countenance by plastic surgeon Anders Hendrikson, Bergman decides to start life all over again, only to become enmeshed in a complicated crooked scheme, engineered by smarmy aristocrat Georg Rydenberg. A Woman's Face was purchased by MGM and remade in 1941, with Joan Crawford in the lead; most cineastes consider the Swedish version as the better of the two by far-and what a terrific ending! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title of this Swedish comedy, which translates as 65, 66 and I, refers to the serial numbers assigned to three militiamen. One of the three is a reluctant impostor, a wealthy businessman who dons a military uniform when his own clothes are stolen. The only person who knows his true identity is a young lieutenant, and he's not about to talk lest he jeopardize his previously forbidden romance with the businessman's daughter. Forced to take orders rather than give them for the first time in his life, our middle-aged hero finds that he's actually happier as a lowly private than as a captain of industry. The humor level in 65, 66 Och Yag is as broad as the businessman's behind, and just as funny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Swedish Intermezzo was the film that brought Ingrid Bergman to the attention of Hollywood. Bergman plays a fresh-faced music student who falls in love with Gosta Ekman, a very-much-married violin virtuoso. Ekman leaves his wife to live with Bergman and to tour with her on the concert circuit. His daughter's near-fatal accident awakens Ekman to his familial responsibilities. Streamlined from 88 minutes to 70, the plot of Intermezzo was transferred intact to the 1939 American version of the same name, which served as Bergman's Hollywood debut. To avoid confusion, the original Intermezzo was retitled Interlude for its U.S. distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide