Julia Caesar 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, 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

Military comedies were as popular in Scandinavia in the postwar era as they were in America -- perhaps even more so. Soldat Bom stars comedian Nils Poppe, who also penned the script. The film traces his various misadventures in uniform, his frequent tiltings with the "brass" and civilian authority figures, and his luck (or lack of it) with women. Inga Landre is very easy on the eyes as Poppe's leading lady. Soldat Bom did quite well financially in Sweden, but business tended to trail off in other countries. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This broad Swedish comedy was based on the popular Scandinavian comic-strip character Private Karlsson. Though the title translates as Private Karlsson on Leave, the film gets many of its laughs by satirizing army-camp protocol and discipline. Gus Dahlstrom plays the title character, getting into all sorts of jams when he mingles with the civilians. Non-Swedish audiences tended to find some of the routines dull and offensive, but domestic audiences howled with hilarity. Like most service comedies of the era, Nittioettan Karlssons Permis struck its most responsive chord with ex-servicemen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi