''Dante's Mysteries'' (Swedish: ''Dantes mysterier'') is a 1931 Swedish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Paul Merzbach Paul Merzbach (27 November 1888 – September 1943) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. Merzbach worked in the Austrian and Germany film industries during the early stages of his career. He worked initially on scripts, but in 1924 he ...

and starring

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

Elisabeth Frisk Elisabeth Frisk (October 24, 1909 – February 27, 1986) was Swedish stage and film actress active in the 1920s and 1930s. Gustafsson p.114 She played the female lead in nine films from 1929 to 1934 during the early sound era. Filmography * '' Pa ...

and

Zarah Leander Zarah Leander (; 15 March 1907 – 23 June 1981) was a Swedish singer and actress whose greatest success was in Germany between 1936 and 1943, when she was contracted to work for the state-owned Universum Film AG (UFA). Although no exact record ...

.Bock & Bergfelder p.279 It was shot at the

Råsunda Studios Filmstaden was a film studio situated in Råsunda, Solna Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. History Filmstaden was once one of the most modern film studios in Europe. It was built in 1919–1920 on the basis of designs by Swedish architec ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Arne Åkermark Arne Åkermark (1902–1962) was a Swedish art director who worked on around a hundred and eighty films during a thirty-year career. In 1948 Åkermark was employed in Britain for Ealing Studios epic '' Scott of the Antarctic''.Barr p.199 Selec ...

. It marked the film debut of Leander who went on to be a star of German cinema.

Synopsis

The plot revolves around a famous conjurer who performs his most famous tricks at a fashionable

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Cast

as Self *

as Dante's Wife / Young Chinese Girl *

as Grand Café Guest / Singing Demon *

Eric Abrahamsson Eric Abrahamsson (13 April 1890 – 3 November 1942) was a Swedish actor and comedian. He appeared in over fifty films between 1917 and 1942. He often worked with fellow comedian Ludde Gentzel. Selected filmography * '' A Man There Was'' (19 ...

as First crook *

Gustaf Lövås Gustaf Lövås (born Karl Gustaf Andersson; 28 December 1894 – 10 November 1968) was a Swedish stage and film actor.Gustafsson p.87 Many of his later screen appearances were in the long-running '' Åsa-Nisse'' series in which he played the recur ...

as Second crook * Eric Gustafson as Café Grand Maître d' *

Charlie Almlöf Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the Charlie's Angels (franchise), ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Ba ...

as Journalist *

Georg Fernqvist Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * G ...

as Journalist * Alexander Field as Crook *

Paul Hagman Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Journalist *

Frithiof Hedvall Friðþjófur (variations: Fritiof, Frithiof, Fritjof, Frithjof, and Fridtjof) is a Scandinavian masculine given name derived from Old Norse friðr (“peace”) + þjófr (“thief”). Maybe a kenning (a metaphorical phrase used in Old Norse poe ...

as Grand Café Guest *

Sune Holmqvist Sune may refer to: * Lalah Sune, a fictional character in ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' * ''Sune'' (book series), a Swedish children's book series * Sune (''Forgotten Realms''), a fictional deity in ''Forgotten Realms'' * Sune (name), a given name Se ...

as Bellboy * Helge Kihlberg as Grand Café Guest * Eva Leckström as Dancing Girl With Matches * Gunhild Sundelies as Grand Café Guest * Ulla Söderbaum as Dancing Girl With Matches

References

Bibliography

* Bock, Hans-Michael and Bergfelder, Tim. ''The Concise Cinegraph: An Encyclopedia of German Cinema''. Berghahn Books, 2009.

External links

* 1931 films Swedish drama films 1931 drama films 1930s Swedish-language films Films directed by Paul Merzbach Swedish black-and-white films Films set in Stockholm 1930s Swedish films {{1930s-Sweden-film-stub