Skadeskutt (1951)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Edith Carlmar

Writer:

Otto Carlmar (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Child | Mental Institution | Mental Illness | Pregnancy | Human Relationship

Cast

Carsten Winger	...	Einar Wang
Eva Bergh	...	Else Wang
Sigrun Otto	...	Elses mor
Gunnar Simenstad	...	Rolf Lunde, doctor
Einar Vaage	...	Asyldirektøren
Anders Sundby	...	Overlegen på 6 avd
Oscar Egede-Nissen	...	Reservelegen på 6 avd
Brita Bigum	...	Liv, sykesøster
Ragnvald Wingar	...	Alkoholikeren
Klara Wang	...	Oversøster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sverre Andersen	...	Barekeeperen
Nona Bækken	...	Fru Aasen, pasient
Otto Carlmar	...	Direktøren for boligbygg
Daggen Dybberg	...	Wangs kontordame
Veronica Foyn Christensen	...	Inger, sykesøster
Kåre Hegseth	...	Enger, doctor
Egil Hjorth-Jenssen	...	Andersen, pasient
Gunnar Hjorth-Jenssen	...	Falk, arkitekt
Lilly Larson-Lund	...	Kvinnelegen
Levor Lie	...	Nordlie, ingeniør
Arne Riis	...	Holst, ingeniør
Astri Rogstad	...	Aud, sykesøster
Agathe Running	...	Barnepiken, pasient
Alfhild Stormoen	...	Wangs tante
N. Tinholt	...	Karlsen, pleier
Svend von Düring	...	Sandberg, pasient
Ingrid Øvre Wiik	...	Frk. Brun, pasient (as Ingrid Øvre)
Tore Winger	...	En arbeider

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Norway

Language:

Norwegian

Color:

Black and White

Certification:

Norway:11 (2000) | Norway:16 (Original rating) (1951)

Company:

Carlmar Film

1951 view on the mentally ill

Einar and Else have found happiness together, in a marriage that lacks only one thing; a child. Einar, who has a tendency towards melancholy, enters a deep depression, bordering to the psychotic, and the handling of this is the plot of the film.

One thing about watching a Norwegian film from 1951 is the stiff way they talk and the generally theater like acting. But this one even has a political element, easily fascinating 55 years after (and counting). I can't bring myself to doubt the general concern, implied in the film, for the way people with mental disorders are viewed in society (a theme discussed widely in the film is the "fear most people feel for the insane"). But then again - the glorification of electric shock therapy is just - insane, no pun intended. "It's like antibiotics for the soul". People really did believe that.

Anyway, Edith Calmar was one of the first recognized female Norwegian film directors, among other things was the first Norwegian AND a very early woman, to direct film noir. I wouldn't really call this film film noir, but you can certainly recognize some of the aesthetic.