#Nils Aréhn

[byneddiedingo]

Victor Sjöström in The Outlaw and His Wife (Victor Sjöström, 1918)

Cast: Victor Sjöström, Edith Erastoff, John Ekman, Nils Aréhn, Jenny Tschernischin-Larsson, William Larsson, Artur Rolén, Sigurd Wallén. Screenplay: Victor Sjöström, Sam Ask, based on a play by Jóhann Sigurjónsson. Cinematography: Julius Jaenzon. Production design: Axel Ebensen.

The Outlaw and His Wife is a standard domestic melodrama made memorable by fine performances under the restrained direction of Victor Sjöström, who doesn't allow the usual stagy gesticulations that contemporary viewers often find ludicrous in silent films. Sjöström himself gives a fine performance in the role of the outlaw, Ejvind, who in the middle of a severe famine stole a sheep to feed his family and had to flee after breaking out of jail. He appears one day in a small Icelandic village under the assumed name Kári, and soon wins the heart of Halla (Edith Erastoff), a widow who runs a prosperous farm. Halla's brother-in-law, Björn (Nils Aréhn), also has designs on Halla, and when he discovers that Kári is a wanted man, Ejvind is forced to become a fugitive. Halla gives up everything to join him, and when we see them again they are living happily in the mountains with their small daughter. They are joined by Arnes (John Ekman), who is also on the run, but when Arnes begins to lust after Halla, trouble brews, compounded by the fact that Björn has never relinquished his pursuit of the couple. The film's story, based on a play by Jóhan Sigurjónsson, gains depth from the wild natural setting -- northern Sweden posing as Iceland -- in which the strong simple emotions of the tale seem integral. Sjöström makes the most of the mountain scenery, the waterfalls and hot springs, which are well-photographed by Julius Jaenzon. Sjöström did his own stunt work in a particularly hazardous scene in which Ejvind dangles on a rope from a cliff.

[davidosu87]

[docrotten]

The Phantom Carriage (1921) – Episode 85 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“Though horse and carriage are always the same, the driver is not. The last soul to die each year - the one who passes over at the stroke of midnight - is destined to be Death's driver for the following year.” Sounds like a good gig except they left out the “one night is like 100 years” part. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and listener guest host Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff - as they travel to Sweden for a silent ride in The Phantom Carriage (1921).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 85 – The Phantom Carriage (1921)

On New Year's Eve, the driver of a ghostly carriage forces a drunken man to reflect on his selfish, wasted life.

IMDb

  Director: Victor Sjöström

Writer: Victor Sjöström; Selma Lagerlöf [based on the novel Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! (Körkarlen; 1912) by the Nobel prize-winning Swedish author] 

Cinematography by: Julius Jaenzon (as J. Julius)

Editorial Department: Eugen Hellman - color timer: negative cutter (as Eugén Hellmann)

Cast

Victor Sjöström as David Holm

Hilda Borgström as Anna Holm

Tore Svennberg as Georges

Astrid Holm as Edit

Concordia Selander as Edit's Mother

Lisa Lundholm as Maria

Einar Axelsson as David's Brother

Nils Aréhn as Prison Chaplain

Tor Weijden as Gustafsson

Simon Lindstrand as David's Companion

Nils Elffors as David's Companion

John Ekman as Police Constable

Victor Sjöström’s The Phantom Carriage is a groundbreaking silent film for both its narrative structure and its multiple exposure visual effects. This episode’s Grue-Crew marveled at the depth of the character development. They’re also wowed by the effective use of up to four-layered multiple exposures. The film also incorporates social problems of the times - alcoholism and tuberculosis - that resonate with ills of the current times. Of course, the crew discusses the legendary scene that inspired the “Heeere’s Johnny” scene in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980).

The Grue-Crew universally regard The Phantom Carriage as a remarkable film. It is currently available to stream on the Criterion Channel and on physical media as a Criterion Blu-ray disk.

Chad, Whitney, and Jeff give a big Grue-Crew thank you to Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff for her insightful contributions to this episode … and for reading the book! 

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. The next episode in their very flexible schedule, chosen by their next super-secret guest host, will be Onibaba (1964), a Japanese film written and directed by Kaneto Shindô, loosely based on a Shin Buddhist parable.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”

Check out this episode!