Swedenhielms Reviews

Swedish scientist Gosta Ekman is a poor man who lives only for his work. His three grown children (Bjorn Berglund, Hakan Westergren, and Tutta Rolf) have been raised in large part by Karin Swanstrom, Ekman's housekeeper and sister-in-law. Westergren is engaged to Ingrid Bergman (quite good in this early appearance), a rich girl who is willing to support her fiance. When he refuses this offer out of pride, Bergman appeals to Ekman who tells her his son must do what his feelings tell him. Ekman learns that his foster brother, Sigurd Wallen, against whom he holds a longstanding grudge, has some promissory notes with Ekman's forged signature. These could be embarrassing, particularly since the culprit appears to be Westergren. With his son about to be exposed as a forger, Ekman is embarrassed and nearly gives up the Nobel prize he is to be awarded. Westergren is trying to protect his brother (Berglund), whom he suspects of the phony signature, but the real culprit is Swanstrom, who had been frustrated by the financial impracticality of the family. She explains that this was the only way to get money to run a proper household. All is resolved, and Ekman goes back to his research. This is a well-made Swedish feature, played with feeling and maintaining a delicate balance between the drama and comedy of the situations with great skill. The photography is quite good with direction and acting to match. Packed with emotion, the film maintains a consistently high level that never falters. (In Swedish.)