''The Man Who Quit Smoking'' () is a 1972 Swedish

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Tage Danielsson Tage Ivar Roland Danielsson (; 5 February 1928 – 13 October 1985) was a Swedes, Swedish author, actor, comedian, poet and film director. He worked together with Hans Alfredson in the comedy duo Hasse & Tage. Early life Danielsson was bor ...

, starring

Gösta Ekman Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman (; 28 July 1939 – 1 April 2017) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and director. Career Ekman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to the Swedish actor and director Hasse Ekman and Agneta (née Wrangel). Ekman represent ...

Grynet Molvig Ann-Kristin "Grynet" Molvig (born 23 December 1942 in Rygge) is a Norwegian actress and singer. She made her name as a singer in the 1960, with acts such as Kjell Karlsen and Willy Andresen. Later, she also started performing in Sweden, often ...

Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt (24 February 1921 – 16 January 1992) was a Swedish comedian and actor. History He grew up in Kungsholmen in Stockholm, where there now is a street named after him. His father was a Social Democratic politician and Ca ...

and

Gunn Wållgren Gunn Wållgren (born Gunnel Margaret Haraldsdotter Wållgren; ; (16 November 1913 – 4 June 1983) was a Swedish stage and film actress. She is best remembered for her role in Ingmar Bergman's film Fanny and Alexander. Personal Life Gunn ...

. The film is known as a

Hasse & Tage Hasse & Tage () were a popular Swedish comedy duo featuring Hans "Hasse" Alfredson and Tage Danielsson. They are sometimes known as ''Hasseåtage'', a spelling created by the Swedish press in the 1960s, but never used by the duo themselves. Hist ...

film and is a great cult classic in Sweden.

Plot

The plot focuses on Dante Alighieri, a young man who loves smoking. When his father dies Dante inherits 17 million kr on one special condition: He must give up smoking in 14 days and then stay smoke-free for an entire year. If he fails, his uncle inherits the 17 million instead. Dante has a living hell while trying to quit, and hires a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

agency called Little Secret Service who he gives free hands to stop him from smoking. At the same time, his uncle (who has taken up smoking himself) does everything he can to make Dante smoke again.

Production

Tage Danielsson originally came up with the idea for this movie when he himself decided to quit smoking. If he made a movie about the subject he thought it would be too embarrassing if he ever started again. Another inspiration was

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

''. The main character is named Dante and his loved one is called Beatrice, just as in The Divine Comedy. The plot is also divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.

Cast

Reception

The film was the fourth highest-grossing film released in Sweden in 1972.

Awards

At the 9th Guldbagge Awards in 1973

won the award for Best Actor.

References

External links

* * 1972 films 1972 comedy films Swedish comedy films 1970s Swedish-language films Films directed by Tage Danielsson 1970s Swedish films Films scored by Gunnar Svensson {{1970s-Sweden-film-stub