Film is a classic murder mystery told in a tight and controlled manner by Balling, always moving the plot along and thusly managing to sidestep the pitfalls his stock characters could so easily fall into by themselves had they been left in the hands of a lesser director.
Poul Reichardt plays the unfortunate author of crime novels who on a dark, wet, and cold evening runs out of petrol and so happens upon murder most foul in one of those houses deep in the forest such films are aplenty with. As the murderer puts him out of play without revealing him or herself after our hero discovers the body, he comes to the morning after only to be told there was no murder but a suicide. The police won't be told otherwise and so begins our hero's quest to prove it was in fact murder.
Reichardt is teamed up with Helle Virkner, a pairing that would later become iconic although in a much lighter setting as the Olsens in Huset på Christianshavn - yet again guided successfully by Balling. Virkner is effective if at times a bit over the top as the slightly rebellious young literary reviewer decked out in black. Her profession is as on the nose as is the conflict it's meant to spur between the pair via her bad review of his latest crime mystery.
Virkner's character quickly reveals the main suspects, herself one. And so, we're off. The characters in this murder mystery aren't all that interesting, but they serve their purpose well enough, superbly supported by one of Bent Fabricius-Bjerre's more atypical scores creating a foreboding atmosphere heightened by the film being shot in black and white.
This type of film is interesting not because it breaks new ground - it doesn't, but because it was a rare venture into a genre mostly avoided but the Danish film industry. That we saw another murder mystery two years later in 'Gys og gæve tanter', an excellent pairing with this film for an evening of light horror, was unexpected but as the rising score of both films here on IMDb suggests, very welcome.
A traditional and well told murder mystery by the incomparable Erik Balling - beloved by the people, overlooked by the those who should revere him most. If, like me, you're increasingly impressed by Balling's output, this film is a must so don't hesitate if you get the chance.
