De Düva: The Dove (1968)

This short film is a parody of some of Ingmar Bergman's best known films, including Wild Strawberries (Smultronstaellet) and The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet). The dialog, seemingly in... See full summary »

Directors:

George Coe, Anthony Lover

Writer:

Sidney Davis

Stars:

Pamela Burrell, George Coe, Sidney Davis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pamela Burrell	...	Inga
George Coe	...	Viktor
Sidney Davis	...	Death (as Sid Davis)
Madeline Kahn	...	Sigfrid
Stan Rubinstein	...	Olin
Tom Stone	...	Gustav
Peter Turgeon	...	Uncle Anders
David Zirlin	...	Chauffeur

Storyline

This short film is a parody of some of Ingmar Bergman's best known films, including Wild Strawberries (Smultronstaellet) and The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet). The dialog, seemingly in Swedish, is actually a Swedish-accented fictional language based on English, German, Latin, and Swedish, with most nouns ending in "ska". The principal character, Professor Viktor Sundqvist, 76, is being driven to a lecture at the university, when dove droppings splatter the car's windshield. Detouring at his uncle's old house, his mind wanders back to his youth, when Death came to a family picnic to claim his sister, Inga. Knowing that Death is a gambler, Viktor has Inga challenge Death to a single-point game of badminton for her life. While they are playing, a dove flies above, soiling Death's cape, and distracting him enough to miss the birdie. Having won the game, Inga is free, and she and Viktor run off for a swim in the lake.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | bird droppings | pigeon | columbidae | columbiformes | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Madeline Kahn.

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Quotes

Viktor: I have a hernia.

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Connections

Spoofs The Seventh Seal (1957)

User Reviews

"Younger" viewers

It stands as a tribute to this hilarious film short that people have been leaving stellar reviews of it here for over 10 years; everybody wants to chime in and I am no different in that respect.

The key difference in my exposure to this film, though, is that I first saw it on HBO. We had HBO relatively early, around 1975, and along with movies (that had been in the theaters ONLY 9 MONTHS AGO!!) there were some special little treats and one of them was "De Duva." I had never seen a Bergman film in my life; I was only 12 years old. My brothers were 11 and 10, yet we LOVED this movie. Of course the jokes about dove crap were our favorites, but we totally "got it." So while there is a contingent that is nostalgic for this classic after seeing it in art houses (I'd have been 6 years old and no art house patron), there are those of us who look back fondly on "De Duva" from 1975.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Dove

Company Credits

Production Co:

Audio 300, Coe-Davis Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1