Fools in the Mountains

I don't know if John Cleese have seen this film, but I really wouldn't wonder if this could have been the inspiration to the most classic of all British Comedy's, Fawlty Towers,.

Fjols til Fjells (translates into: Fools in the mountains) is a beloved Norwegian comedy from 1957, which are moving around the fabulous long and thin comedian Leif Juster, which had a special way with words and facial expressions. This film us a farce with no deeper meaning, but just plain family fun.

We're at a small mountain hotel, where Poppe is portier in a fatal way, just like Basil Fawlty did 15 years later at Fawlty a Towers. Just as long and thin, and just as stupid and easily frustrated, but over all well meaning. He assumes just like Basil did some years later, and both have a huge following in Norway.

The plot is that portier Poppe is moving towards a nervous breakdown, during a stressful winter holiday time. He has some issues with the new unexperienced but well meaning bellboy, and a guest is popping up one minute, just to disappear the next, confusing Popper in a major WAP. He of course mistakes two resembling lookalikes, which are very different guests, which again both thinks Poppe is raving mad, while Poppe thinks the guy is lying or delusional.

There's so much in common with these two figures and their hotels, it's difficult to see that this is a coincidence. The film is one of the biggest cinema successes in Norway, and is every year around Christmas shown on the TV-channels.

Worth to mention is that you find Liv Ullmann in her first film role, in a minor role as guest, and a lot of others well known Norwegian actors. A joy to watch though utterly stupid, filmed in an interesting place with a large gallery of guests.