Mr_Gesundheit

Most Edvard Persson-fans agrees that "Kalle på Spången" is his best movie. And he is good in it, it's just too bad that no one else is. Maybe that's what happens when you try to make a movie that's completely made out of one particular actor's personal charm. The other actors are quite unknown, Mim Persson, the woman who plays Stina is mostly known for being Edvard's wife. There are four songs in the movie, of which three became really famous; "Jag har bott vid en landsväg," "Kalle på Spången" and "Lite grann från ovan." Edvard's character is a most jovial and sympathetic man, who pays great tribute to food, drink, the good old times and his home region. Of course is he the "hero" that manages to work everything out. He has all the good lines and gets to sing all the songs. That's typical for Edvard Persson, who used to say when he was entering the stage: "Ok, let's put all the light at me."

The inn Spången, where almost everything takes place, is a real inn in the southern regions of Sweden.

I love this movie. I mean, Kajan Hjelm's optimistic hero with the unbeatable "Söder-accent", it's all just so honest! The whole movie is honest. The character "Skutpelle" is so much a John Botvid-role it can be. Now, this movie is not at all up-to-date, and no one can possibly identify him- or herself with any of the characters, but there's no need for that! You just lay back and make yourself comfortable, and enjoy the love story of Kajan and Ankan, John Botvid's silly voice, the singing and sailing, the long and adventurous journey from Stockholm to Strängnäs. This is Kajan Hjelm's biggest role in his way to short career, I don't know what happened to him. Maybe he just wasn't a good adult-actor. But still the greatest Swedish child-actor of the forties, there's simply no doubt about it!

This movie is most underestimated! I find it quite funny, a good old comedy that is much better than the critics says. Nils Poppe is one of the greatest Swedish comediennes ever, and John Botvids silly, nasal voice and drowsy look always make me smile. Elof Ahrle though, must have been his own biggest fan, since he always put himself in the leading part. Gustav Lövås, as we fans of old Swedish movies recognize as "Sjökvist" in the Åsa-Nisse-movies, appears in a minor role as the owner of a toy store, in a scene with a lot of slapstick. The plot is quite messy, and the end is a bit of a disappointment, but I laughed a lot on the way to it. Elof Ahrle plays an author with a negative idea about women, and is chased by a women's association, led by Julia Ceasar, and Nils Poppe and John Botvid tries to help him. It's sure worth a look if you have nothing better to do!