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Reviews
På slaget åtte (1957)
Norwegian old school Hitchcock crime thriller
This is a very rare example of a Norwegian Hitchcock-style crime thriller in the same genre as "Rope" and "Dial M for Murder". It is about a lawyer who comes up with a devious plan to kill his half sister and frame another man for the crime. The film features something as unusual as a Norwegian "femme fatale". There is a nerve throughout the movie, and in spite of the film's many weaknesses, it is never boring.
I enjoyed this film immensely, and I was surprised that it is not better known in Norway. The film is basically an American/British style crime thriller set in Oslo. It is not an "intellectual" film, but it is worth watching if you can get it. As far as I know the film has not been released on DVD in 2010. I saw a VHS version.
Tørres Snørtevold (1940)
Norwegian Rags-to-riches story
This film is very pleasant to watch. It features Alfred Maurstad, probably the first leading man in Norwegian sound film. Tørres Snørtevold is the story of how a poor farmer is thrown out of his home by the landlord. The farmer's son then sets out to become rich and to get his revenge on the man who threw him and his father into the street. He meets a number of fascinating characters as he climbs the social ladder, and all of them are well acted. The film is a comedy version of the novel "Jacob" by Alexander Kielland, one of Norway's major writers.
This is a very nice little film, and i would recommend it if you can get a subtitled version. As of 2010, however, the film has not been released on DVD in Norway.
En herre med bart (1942)
Enjoyable 1940s RomCom
The title of this film "En herre med bart" translates as "A Gentleman with mustaches". It is the the story of a married couple, a hardworking lawyer and his wife. The wife is fed up with the marriage and wants a divorce, something the husband won't let her have.
She then comes up with a devious plan. She gets one of her most beautiful friends to rush into her husband's office and disturb him. After a lot of intrigue, she ends up changing into a new dress in his office and at just that moment, the wife rushes in and misunderstands everything on purpose. The wife uses this as an excuse to ask for a divorce.
To calm his nerves the husband leaves his home and travels to a spa in the country. Here he encounters both his wife, her friend and a gentleman with mustaches with whom both women have become infatuated. Now the four of them have to work things out between them.
This is a Norwegian classic and it features two of Norway's most well known theater actors, Per Aabel and Wenche Foss, as the husband and the wife. The film is light hearted fun.
Omringet (1960)
Norwegian war time drama about radio operators
This 1960 drama by Arne Skouen, who made the Oscar nominated Nine Lives (1957), takes us to war time Oslo. A young man is sent from London to Oslo to become a radio operator for the resistance. He hides out at a birth clinic and runs the radio from the attic of the clinic. The man he was sent to replace, however, refuses to leave Oslo because he has made a girl pregnant. The gestapo knows this, yet the resistance man risks the safety of the whole resistance network to be able to see his child.
This film is not nearly as good as Nine Lives. My objection to it comes from the fact that the resistance fighters act irrationally when it comes to this issue of fatherhood. This film is really about resisting the Germans and the reasons for doing so represented by the birth clinic and the children. However, this theme seems to make the resistance fighters annoyingly sentimental about fatherhood. It also takes away some of the cynicism which is necessary for running an underground network. This film is a far cry from Melville's L'armée des ombres (1969).
But the film is quite enjoyable even so. The title, "Omringet", translates as "Surrounded".
Pastor Jarman kommer hjem (1958)
Norwegian film noir
Pastor Jarman Kommer Hjem is something as rare as a cross between a French poetic realist film and a film noir. I say "rare" because Norway with its limited film production, does not have many films in this genre. The film was made by Arne Skouen, perhaps best known for his film Nine Lives (1957) released the previous year. This film is his creative follow-up to that Oscar nominated film.
The title of the film "Pator Jarman kommer hjem" translates as "Reverend Jarman Returns". The film begins with the return from America of the Reverend Jarman, his wife and son. On the return trip to Oslo he is called to the bed of a dying sailor. The sailor gives Jarman a watch and tells him to return it to its rightful owner and "to sort out" something. Jarman, being conscientious, promises to do so. When Jarman tries to return the watch to the woman he was referred to, she rejects him. Gradually we understand that there is a mystery attached to the watch, including an unsolved murder. Jarman wants to stay true to his word, and starts out to set things right.
The film brings us into contact with a wealth of colorful characters, stranded sailors and bums. Most of the action takes place in a maritime setting on the docks. The film received mixed reviews when it was released. But, the major Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, gave it 5 out of 6. However, time has been kind to this old classic and the characters in the film seem even more interesting today than they did at the time. Today the world of sailors and bums on the docks has gone from Norwegian ports. Also, this film is special because it belongs to a genre which is rarely represented in Norwegian cinema.
I would recommend this film if you can get it.