Tärningen är kastad (1960)

Director:

Rolf Husberg

Writers:

Kerstin Ekman (writer)
Vic Sunesson (writer)

Release Date:

15 February 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Television

Cast

Åke Falck	...	Jerk Domare
Anita Björk	...	Rebecka Striid
Sven Lindberg	...	Holger Palm, cameraman
Gio Petré	...	Monica Sunndberg
Gunnar Sjöberg	...	Leonard Brett
Sif Ruud	...	Elly Larsson, cleaning-lady
Sigge Fürst	...	Simon Odd
Toivo Pawlo	...	Hilding Björk
Allan Edwall	...	Dag Seren
Olof Thunberg	...	Didrik Cornelius
Jan Malmsjö	...	Leif Hagman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marie Ahlstedt	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Sten Ardenstam	...	Wardrober at the restaurant (uncredited)
Sten Lonnert	...	Ballet master (uncredited)
Tilly Stephan	...	Waitress (uncredited)

Directed by
Rolf Husberg

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kerstin Ekman		writer
Vic Sunesson		writer

Original Music by
Torbjörn Lundquist
Hilding Rosenberg

Cinematography by
Rune Ericson

Film Editing by
Lennart Wallén

Production Design by
Jan Boleslaw

Makeup Department
Sture Höglund	....	makeup artist
Inga Lindeström	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Sven Lindberg	....	production manager

Sound Department
Lars Lalin	....	sound

Other crew
Gösta Petersson	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Sandrews

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Riksdagshuset, Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Sandrews

Murder he wrote...

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

**Here might be spoilers**

Jerk (mind you, this is not an English speaking movie, so do not read anything into that name :) ) Domare is a professional writer that writes murder-stories for national TV. The movie begins in an argument among the members of the cast and production team if Domare's last "murder" is plausible. Finally they agree that it is and the episode is aired. The troubles begin later that night when one of the team is found dead at the studio, murdered exactly as Domare wrote. In addition, Domare is found at the murder scene and becomes the prime suspect. But he manages to strike a deal with the detective, an old friend, not to arrest him so he can solve the mystery by himself. He quickly concludes that it is very possible that the murderer is one of the members in his TV-show. Slowly the true relationships between all members start to resolve (and yes, everyone is somehow connected to someone else in this team) while more murder attempts occurs. Domare must stop the murderer to acquit himself and stop the murderer.

Though I'm Swedish I'm not very fond of Swedish movies, in fact I use to avoid them as I find they was rather boring (especially ones from the 80s and 90s). But I watched this one and I am glad I did. As I explained above this is a murder mystery, told from the perspective of the suspected Domare as he investigates. The story is told in a good way that slowly reveals bits of information, that may or may not be leading in the right direction. The acting is good, with many well-known (in Sweden anyway) actors and actresses, and the suspense was gradually built up in the movie.

I must say there is not very much to complain about, if anything, I might have wished for a not so abrupt ending. The movie might have been a little longer, cultivating that suspense even more, offering more pieces of information in the rather complex interactions between all characters. As it was I felt I did not fully understand all connections between all the people. I hope this neglect of sharing of information was intentional and not a mistake, as it certainly added to the mystique of the movie. But a little more could they have shared.

All in all, a surprisingly good movie. Watch this one, do not mind it is old or in black and white. A really good murder story is all about the story anyhow. Much better than many later Swedish movies!

7/10