The prolific and highly celebrated Swedish playwright (August Strindberg (1849-1912) wrote a number of plays which have become standards in the repertory of European theater, including Miss Julie, which in 1950 was made into a classic film by Alf Sjoberg. This movie is a straightforward filming of one of Strindberg's lesser known one-act plays, Fordringsagare. It depicts the complex relationships among three people - - Tekla (Bibi Andersson), a well-known woman novelist, her husband Adolf (Tomas Bolme), a crippled artist, and her former husband Gustav (Keve Hjelm). Gustav is bitter over Tekla's unflattering portrayal of him in one of her novels, and he sets out to destroy her current marriage. The entire film takes place in an almost empty hotel where Tekla and Adolf are residing. The format is a series of two character scenes, in which sometimes the third character spies on the others unseen. Strindberg's dialogue is faithfully and beautifully rendered by the trio of outstanding actors. This is essentially the filmed record of a play, and as such will be highly prized by fans of the playwright.
by Clarke Fountain
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