Torsten Lilliecrona Movies

Two Living, One Dead examines the pitfalls of hero worship, and the culpability of the media in fostering misguided adulation. A robbery and murder is committed in a British pub, during which Bill Travers, a friend of the dead man, apparently acts with rare courage. His companion Patrick McGoohan, also apparently, did not lift a finger to help during the holdup. Travers is lauded publicly as a hero, while McGoohan is condemned as a coward. When the truth comes out, Travers is exposed not only for his feet of clay but for his intimate involvement in the fatal incident. Two Living, One Dead is an undeservedly obscure work from a major British director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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

Jazzgossen (The Jazz Boy) is the filmed biography of famed Swedish showbiz entrepreneur Teddy Anker. During the Roaring '20s, socialite Anker (played by Hasse Ekman, who also directed), diverts his family millions into managing a nightclub, promoting prizefights, inaugurating a movie company, and various and sundry other forms of entertainment-industry largesse. Losing his fortune in the financial crash of the early 1930s, Anker picks himself up, dusts himself off, and starts all over again. The story ends during WWII when, despite Sweden's neutrality, Anker vows to do his bit for the war effort. Several of Teddy Anker's contemporaries play themselves, including musican Karl Gerhard, who originally popularized the title song. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An innocent youth finds love and, eventually, heartbreak in this film, which ranks among Ingmar Bergman's simplest and most unaffected. Harry (Lars Ekborg), the unworldly, unhappy hero, suffers at his job and in his personal life. Then he falls in love with the superficial Monika (Harriet Andersson), who shows little capacity for sensitivity but radiates carnality. Defying the repressive, degrading ways of adult society, the couple flees from the city, their responsibilities, and their problems by stealing a boat and retreating to an island, where they live free of inhibitions or social restrictions. But when the glorious summer comes to an end, the young couple is compelled to return to the city, where their relationship soon disintegrates. Monika gives birth to their child but shows little parental inclination, preferring to sleep late and lounge about. Harry, meanwhile, tries to provide support. Bored, Monika eventually finds another lover, whereupon Harry moves his child from their filthy apartment and determines to make a better life. With its agreeable lead actress and its unadorned style, Sommaren med Monika constitutes one of Bergman's most immediate and accessible films. Harriet Andersson, who became a Bergman regular, shows an unabashed sexuality that would serve her well in subsequent films, and she reveals a canny ability to maintain audience interest, if not sympathy, for a character that is ultimately unappealing, even repellant. Bergman allows Andersson's performance to dominate the film. He generally abstains from emphatic lighting or provocative angles, preferring to accommodate his actress with rich close-ups and sunlit portraits. Andersson's compelling performance, together with the film's idyllic island setting and Bergman's unfailing direction, renders Sommaren med Monika an impressive, noteworthy work. ~ Les Stone, Rovi

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, Rovi

In this early feature from Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman, Gosta (Bengt Eklund) is a sailor with the merchant marine who has decided to take some time off from sailing after eight years at sea. Working the docks until he can find a better job, one Saturday night Gosta visits a dance hall and meets Berit (Nine-Christine Jonsson), a beautiful but troubled young woman. Berit has a history as a juvenile delinquent and has served time in a home for girls, where she met her close friend Gertrud (Mimi Nelson). Berit soon becomes infatuated with Gosta, and his strong, well-grounded nature seems to be the stabilizing influence she needs. However, in time Gosta learns about Berit's checkered past and meets her mother (Berta Hall), who makes no secret of her contempt for her daughter. Gosta begins having second thoughts about his relationship with Berit after she unwittingly involves him in the death of Gertrud, who succumbs after receiving an illegal abortion. Hamnstad (aka Port of Call and Harbor City) marks the first time Bergman worked with cinematographer Gunnar Fischer, who would photograph many of his most memorable films of the 1950's. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi