Hilda Borgström Movies

The title of this Swedish romantic drama translates as When the Rain is Falling; it was released in the US as Sunshine Follows Rain and in England as When the Rain Follows the Dew. Director Gustav Edgren adapted the screenplay from the bestselling novel by Margit Soederholm. Set in rural Sweden, the plot is a simple one, concerning the romance between a farm girl and an itinerant fiddler. The story is sentimental in the extreme, but handled with taste and class by a superb cast. Helping to "sell" the film in the US was the presence in the cast of up-and-coming film favorites Alf Kjellin and Mai Zetterling, who'd previously been teamed in Alf Sjoberg's Torment (1944). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

Sigurd Wallen is both star and director of the Swedish domestic drama Familjen Andersson. Wallen plays Kalle Andersson, the laundry-owner patriarch of the titular family. Kalle's social-climbing wife Maria (Elsa Carlsson), hoping to emulate her wealthier relatives, begins spending money with reckless abandon, hoping to buy her way into high-society. On the verge of bankruptcy, Kalle decides to teach his wife a lesson by forcing her to assume control of the family business. Way out of her depth in matters of finance and maintenance, Maria is only too happy to return to her previous middle-class existence. Suffice to say that this film is very dated. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Swedish Goranssons Pojke was inspired by Charlie Chaplin's The Kid (1920) -- and like the earlier film, was directed by its star, in this case Weyler Hildebrand. The story concerns the relationship between carefree junk dealer Goransson (Hildebrand) and an abandoned urchin named Pelle (Tom Olsson). Their blissful existence is shattered when Pelle's long-lost mother returns to claim the child. There's pathos and heartbreak aplenty before a happy ending can be realized, and while Hildebrand isn't precisely Chaplin, he strives to please. The film's English-language title was Goransson's Boy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Also known as Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness, The Phantom Chariot was the most famous of Swedish director Victor Sjöstrom's pre-Hollywood films. Based on a novel by Selma Lagerlöf, the film is predicated on an ancient Scandanavian legend. It is said that each year, on St. Sylvester's Night (New Year's Eve), a phantom chariot materializes to carry off the souls of those who have sinned. On one such occasion, David Holm (played by Sjöstrom) is forced to recall his past misdeeds, especially his brutal treatment of his wife. Holm's only hope for salvation lies in his performing a spectacular act of selflessness. As the chariot approaches, Holm despairs: how can he possibly be redeemed before the clock strikes twelve? Sjöstrom's masterful direction is superbly complemented by Julius Jaenzon's multi-exposure cinematography. When artists like Victor Sjöstrom and Mauritz Stiller were lured away by Hollywood, their exodus very nearly brought the wrath of "The Phantom Chariot" on the entire Swedish film industry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Originally released in Sweden as Musik I Morker, Night is My Future is a seminal effort from director Ingmar Bergman. Blinded during a wartime training accident, aspiring-musician Birger Malmstein refuses all efforts by well-meaning outsiders to help him. Malmstein hires Mai Zetterling as his companion and "eyes," though he still fiercely defends his independence. They become closer as both Malmstein and Zetterling learn about new aspects of life from each other. Disappointed in his efforts to make a living as a pianist, Malmstein enrolls in a school for the blind, assuming that Zetterling will be waiting for him when he graduates. Upon learning that Mai already has a boy friend, Malmstein attempts to kill himself. Only when he gets into a fistfight with Zetterling's beau does Malmstein feel as though he's "whole" again. Night is My Future is based on a novel by Dagmar Edqvist; while entertaining, it is frankly an "entertainment," with few of Bergman's distinctive touches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi