Sigurdur Sverrir Palsson Movies
- 1996
This Icelandic biopic looks at a little known Icelandic composer Jon Leifs. He was born in Iceland in 1899, but spent much of his life in Germany just before WWII. The film begins in the 1930s after he has married the daughter of an industrialist, Annie, who is also a concert pianist. This era was frustrating for Leifs because few are performing his works. He is also feeling blackballed for his refusal to join the Nazi's Composer's Council. That Annie is Jewish does not help. As the political heats up, Annie leaves, but Leifs decides to stay. Desperate to have his music performed, he finally joins the Council. Annie calls him a sell-out. Eventually he goes back to Iceland where he is not well-received by other musicians. Leifs then returns to Europe to protect Annie. To get her and the family to safety he must make another dubious bargain with the Nazis causing Annie to leave him for good. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Nostalgic and suitable for families with older children, this Icelandic drama is based on a best-selling, distinguished children's book and offers a realistic look at the 12th summer in the lives of several middle class boys. For them it is an idyllic time filled with lots of fun until the troubled teen Helgi shows up to terrorize them. Benjamin (the narrator), Andres and Baldur know how to avoid Helgi, but neighborhood newcomer Roland doesn't. One day he stands up to Helgi, who retaliates by dousing Roland with lighter fluid and setting him ablaze. Fortunately, the old widow Guolaug is there to save the boy and send Helgi packing. Unfortunately, vengeful Helgi does something awful to her, causing the boys to form an order of avenging knights. The idea catches on and soon boys all over the city have joined such orders. Unfortunately, not all the new orders work for good. Meanwhile Helgi and the widow Guolaug eventually become friends after the teen nearly dies trying to save the old woman from a terrible house fire. The disaster inspires the neighborhood "knights" to start a campaign to help her rebuild the house, but this creates infighting within the group and ultimately leads to an even greater tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This intelligent children's movie from Iceland has considerable appeal for adult audiences as well as it tells the non-sentimental story of an 8-year-old boy who is determined to find a way to buy a puppy to replace his grandfather's beloved and recently deceased dog. The boy begs his nearly impoverished parents for permission to earn the money to buy the dog. It is granted and the lad works his little tail off to get it. Eventually he succeeds, but times are tight at home and suddenly they change their minds. The broken promise devastates the lad, who grabs the pup, puts it in his bike basket and takes off. During his 50-mile journey, he meets many new people and, has great fun seeing new places. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In this Icelandic comedy, it seems like Axel (Bjorn Fridbjornsson) has a simple problem. His mother wants him to find her television's remote control, and she's convinced that he's responsible for it being missing. However, right away you know something is strange about her phone call: she is threatening to let his goldfish swim out of the drain of the bathtub he's been keeping them in if he doesn't find it. It turns out that Axel didn't have anything to do with it being missing, and that his sister's boyfriend stole it, and it was melted in a house fire. Fine. Now he'll just get one from the dozens his friend the bootleg electronic merchant has in his warehouse. Alas, it is not to be. Every small effort he makes in the direction of acquiring a remote control sends him deeper and deeper into bizarre and frantic situations. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Helga has a vivid imagination, which is a great boon to a girl isolated on a remote farm on the west coast of Iceland. Her main sources of entertainment are the stories her older brother tells her at bedtime, and her grandmother's tales about an ancient curse which affects the region. Her father is away at sea on his fishing boat a lot, and Helga has plenty of time to while away the hours by constructing a vision of 14th-century Iceland and the source of the curse. When she learns that an oceanographer is coming to visit the region, she imagines how it might be if he came to where they are located, and her fantasies roam through the centuries even into the future. However, she is horrified to discover that, though her capacity to imagine realities is powerful, she cannot affect the present that way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Vaneck, Tinna Gunnlaugsdottir, (more)
- 1986
In a drama filled with symbolism about the relationship between men and beasts (in this case reindeer), Helgi (played by Trostur Gennarsson) is a young writer with a problem. He and his girlfriend settle near a fjord in a remote area, where he should be able to pursue his craft without being disturbed. But he continually obsesses about the fact he was abandoned by his mother as a child -- she left him to take up with a man who specialized in reindeer research. Consequently, Helgi often dreams about herds of reindeer. As the writer's mind wraps around his childhood trauma, he comes to identify the man who stole his mother away with a particular reindeer. After that blurry conflation, he slips deeper into his odd psychosis. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edda Heidrun Backmann, Johann Sigurdarson, (more)
- 1985
As a microcosm of larger antagonisms and issues, this is a successful comic look at a U.S. military maneuver in Iceland and the reactions the foreign presence engenders in the local population. After the U.S. soldiers bivouac on a sandy beach on Iceland's coast, the citizens in the area start speculating about what they are doing there -- does it involve nuclear weapons? Do they just want to have a good time and some R & R or are they looking for a legendary hidden treasure? Along with these speculations come the anti-NATO protesters (two), whose offensive tactics are limited to exploding firecrackers near the encampment -- an approach that leads to some misunderstanding.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edda Bjorgvindsdottir
- 1984
Icelandic stage performer Oskar Jonasson wrote and directed this Icelandic-Danish comedy about flaky middle-aged salesman Finnbogi (Johann Sigurdarson) and his wife Lisa (Olafia Hronn Jonsdottier), who mortgage their home to buy a stale, crumbling bakery. Neither has a crumb of knowledge about cakes, pastries, bread, and baked goods, but they have enough crust to take on the competition. Relishing the thought of profits, they slice the price of hot dog rolls by half. Soon the dough is rolling in. There's yet another finger in the pie after elderly cake-baking Karolina joins the team. However, Karolina's sourdough daughter, owner of a large modern bakery, doesn't cater to her new rivals. If they were leaven town the next day, she'd be happy. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ólafia Hronn Jonsdottir, Johann Sigurdarson, (more)
- 1982
A vicious cycle of revenge amongst Icelandic farmers during the 10th century provides the basis for this dark drama. The trouble begins when a husband grows jealous after eavesdropping on two conversing women. He responds with a murder which results in a spiral of tragedy until the pacifistic Gisli is outcast and forced to live alone in the mountains with a bounty on his head. The reward is substantial, and so the young man must be careful. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The story of the outlaw Gisli is indeed a saga of epic, sweeping proportions in both landscape, and complexity of warring families. Back in 10th-century Iceland - dramatized as a land where people live in earthen-like shelters and have herds of ponies, a very sharply hewn sense of honor matches the weapons used to defend said virtue. When a jealous husband overhears a conversation that he understands to impugn his honor, he murders the supposed offender and touches off a never-ending, ever-widening circle of men killing each other to keep their names intact. Gisli is marked for assassination and has to flee for his life, avoiding the trackers who are hunting him for their own revenge. Single-handed combat and larger battles loom on his horizon, as the story leads into a higher and higher body count. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tinna Gunnlaugsdottir
- 1980
This intriguing drama by Agust Gudmundsson is a perceptive portrayal of a father-son relationship in all its multiple dimensions. The father has been a farmer throughout his long life, and although the son works on the farm, as he grows older his desire for change grows stronger. After the father dies, a part of the past dies with him. Yet the son stays on the farm with his fellow workers for awhile longer, torn between an inner drive to go live in the city and loyalty to his heritage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigurdur Sigurjonsson, Jon Sigurbjornsson, (more)
- 1956
MGM's Invitation to the Dance was the fruition of Gene Kelly's long-standing dream to create a plotless "concert" feature. Eschewing dialogue, Kelly tells three stories entirely through the medium of dance. The first sequence is a mime-like Pagliacci story, with Kelly as the Clown and Igor Youskevitch and Claire Sombert as the Lovers. The second vignette, "Ring Around the Rosy," tells the story of a bracelet as it is passed from owner to owner. The best is saved till last: "Sinbad the Sailor," wherein Kelly shares screen time with a plethora of animated cartoon characters, courtesy of MGM house cartoonists William Hanna and Joe Barbera. Carol Haney appears briefly as Scheherezade, and also posed for the writhing cartoon serpent. Considered totally unsellable by the MGM higher-ups, Invitation to the Dance was shelved upon its completion in 1952, and didn't see the light of day for nearly four years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevitch, (more)
- 1956
In this comedy, an ad man attempts to promote his brother-in-law's new cleaning machine. He is backed by a member of the Purity League. It isn't easy, but he eventually helps the product go public. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Adapted from a novel by Bernard Victor Dyer, Port Afrique offers an unusual screen romantic team in the form of two-fisted Phil Carey and ethereally beautiful Pier Angeli. Carey plays Rip Reardon, a WW2 veteran who returns to his "second home" in Morocco for a reunion with his wife. Upon arrival, Reardon discovers that his wife was murdered, though the police insist that she died by her own hand. Smelling a cover-up, Reardon conducts his own investigation, which leads him through some of the seedier portions of Port Afrique. Along the way, he meets and briefly romances nightclub singer Ynez (Angeli), who may or may not have had something to do with his wife's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Maria Pier Angeli, Philip Carey, (more)
- 1955
In this comedy, two rabid football fans begin an unstoppable train of events when they physically harass a referee. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Alan Ladd once more journeyed to England to make a film for Columbia's British counterpart (Warwick Studios), and the result was the lively swashbuckler The Black Knight. Ladd plays John, a young swordmaker who aspires to join the Knights of the Round Table. Unfortunately, he is falsely accused of cowardice and banished from his community. Thanks to the secret tutelage of one of Arthur's knights, John is able to train himself in the art of combat, and soon reemerges as the vengeance-seeking Black Knight. In this guise, he is able to bring a group of traitors to justice, rout a band of invading Saracens, and rescue his lady love Linet (Patricia Medina) from certain doom. Anthony Bushell, who was soon to completely forsake acting in favor of producing and directing, costars as King Arthur, while the villains of the piece are essayed by Peter Cushing and future Dr. Who Patrick Troughton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Ladd, Peter Cushing, (more)
- 1954
The "little lady" in this British melodrama is the amply proportioned Mai Zetterling. The actress plays prima ballerina Nina Gordon, who is exploited by her avaricious husband Mark (Terene Morgan). During a celebration of Nina's triumphal debut at the Royal Opera House, she discovers that Mark is not only greedy, but unfaithful. She becomes so upset by this that she drives off madly into the night, breaking her leg in a motor accident. Told that she'll never dance again, Nina is callously abandoned by Mark. With the help of a kindly doctor (Guy Rolfe), Nina is able to walk once more--and to live her life vicariously through her talented daughter (Mandy Miller) When Mark reenters Nina's life, intending to take control of the daughter's dancing career, it is he who emerges the loser--and how! Dance Little Lady was one of several ballet dramas produced in the wake of the phenominally successful The Red Shoes (1948). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, (more)
- 1954
In this comedy, the routines of two British army barracks are disrupted when they are invaded by a Hollywood film unit while their CO is away. Trouble ensues when he returns unannounced. Now the filmmakers must convince him to allow them to keep filming. To do so, they employ the charms of a full-bodied blonde starlet. Filming finally resumes, but then a larger military impresario decides to drop by for a snap inspection; the film crew is unable to offer an acceptable explanation for their presence in the camp. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1954
While off on a drunken toot, three British naval officers attach an old baby carriage and a pawnbroker's sign to the stern of a foreign naval vessel. The next morning, a zealous officer spots the curious appendage and comes to the conclusion that the "pram" and sign are actually part of a sophisticated, top-secret radar device. Instantly, the British navy brass demands that their ships be outfitted with the same device -- and so it goes, with one bureaucratic misunderstanding after another snowballing into a major "international incident." You Know What Sailors Are top-bills Akim Tamiroff as the president of a mythical Foreign country, but the film belongs to Donald Sinden as the well-meaning young officer who precipitates the whole affair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Akim Tamiroff, Donald Sinden, (more)
- 1953
- PG
The second of Disney's British-produced "historicals" (the first was Robin Hood, the last was Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue), The Sword and the Rose eschews historical accuracy in favor of wall-to-wall adventure and eye-filling pageantry. The film takes place in the court of King Henry VIII (James Robertson Justice), whose sister Mary Tudor (Glynis Johns) has fallen in love with soldier of fortune Charles Brandon (Richard Todd). Mary appoints Brandon Captain of the Guards, which rests not at all well with her erstwhile suitor, the Duke of Buckingham (Michael Gough). Rather than foment court intrigue, Brandon decides to move on to America, only to end up in the Tower of London when Mary tags along with him, disguised as a boy. Mary is ordered by Henry to wed the aging King of France (Jean Mercure), who promptly dies, leaving the girl at the mercy of the evil Dauphin (Gerard Oury). When rescued by the Duke of Buckhingham, Mary is informed that Charles is dead, but in fact her true love still lives, as he proves beyond doubt in a climactic battle with the duplicitous Duke. Sword and the Rose was based on Charles Major's novel When Knighthood Was in Flower, previously filmed in 1923 with Marion Davies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, (more)
- 1949
A supernatural tale based on a short story by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, this is the portrayal of a poor Captain in the Russian army in the nineteenth Century. His comrades in arms play cards nightly, but he cannot afford to join them until one night he dreams that he has gained from a mysterious aging countess her secret for winning at faro--a secret which legend has it she has sold her soul to obtain. This story has been filmed at least a dozen times, but this is by far the best version. Eight of the versions were silent films and another version was done as recently as 1965. A period piece, the settings and costumes are superb. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans, (more)
- 1945
Sleeping Car to Trieste is a remake of one of the best railroad melodramas of the 1930s, Rome Express. The film's "maguffin" is a diary containing important political information. Stolen from a diplomat in Paris, the diary finds its way on board the Orient Express. Already, the two thieves have double-crossed each other, and among the passengers there are plenty of interested parties-heroes and villains alike-who hope to claim the diary for their own purposes. When one of these parties is murdered, police chief Jolif (Paul Dupuis) takes charge of the case, but there's still many a plot twist to come before the guilty are punished and the innocent rewarded. An inordinate amount of footage is devoted to the wisecrackery of Bonar Colleano, cast as yet another stereotyped American. The climax of Sleeping Car to Trieste is a classic, endlessly imitated by future-and lesser-Orient Express espionagers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Kent, Albert Lieven, (more)
