Moln över Hellesta

Rolf Husbergs 1956 film Moln över Hellesta possibly takes its cue from Hitchcock's Rebecca as much as from its literary original by Margit Söderholm. Count Carl Anckarberg (Birger Malmsten) brings his fiancée Margareta Snellman (Anita Björk) home to his family estate for the first time. But ominous clouds are gathering in the form of a mysterious past. The count's previous fiancée drowned in the nearby lake seven years ago and as Margareta moves in to one of the guest rooms strange things begin to happen, someone is lurking in the shadows, seemingly intent on scaring her away from Hellesta. There is a ghostly face, nightly visits to her room and a near disastrous car mishap, she is even locked in the local church. Margareta learns that these incidents echo the events leading up to her predecessor's untimely death. There is even rumors about a curse, or a ghost haunting any fiancée of the count. And in the greenhouse even the roses never bloom… However, not easily discouraged the crafty Margareta embarks on her own investigation between the seemingly never-ending dinners, breakfasts and coffees of high society life. Can she solve the puzzle before it is too late and she becomes another casualty of the curse of Hellesta? All in all Husbergs film is certainly clichéd and it does move along at an all too pedestrian pace, but it's its virtually brimful of redeeming traits. For one the setting is marvelous, filmed at the beautiful Hofsta estate, in Björkvik, Södermanland. Secondly Torbjörn Lundquist (known for his music for the thrillers of Arne Mattsson) supplies a lovely score. Furthermore the cast is highly amiable, and especially Anita Björk excels as the fearless amateur detective. Birgitta Andersson has an early supporting role as the friend of the dead fiancée, and does a colorful job with a small part. Bullen Berglund and Sif Ruud also bring their typical charm to the film. A minor criticism would be that Malmsten is perhaps a bit on the woody side to be a believable romantic interest for the adventurous Björk, but all in all his performance is adequate. To sum it up, Moln över Hellesta exceeds it limitations on pure charm and the beauty of the scenery to make it an attractive little piece of matinée thrills.