Pekka Ja Pätkä Sammakkomiehinä
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Pekka and Pätkä as Frogmen () is a 1957 Finnish film directed and written by
Armand Lohikoski Armand Uolevi Lohikoski (January 3, 1912 – March 20, 2005) was a Finnish movie director and writer. He is best known as a director of a number of '' Pekka ja Pätkä'' movies. Career Before his career as a film director Armand Lohikoski had a ...
. It is the ninth film in the 13-part ''
Pekka Puupää Pekka Puupää is a Finnish text comic and film character, created by Ola "Fogeli" Fogelberg. The character appeared 1925–1975 in the popular comic ''Pekka Puupää'' and 1952–1960 in thirteen films ('' Pekka ja Pätkä'') produce ...
'' series produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus. The story continues in the following film ''
Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla Pekka is a Finnish male given name. It was most popular around the middle of the 20th century. As of 2013 there were more than 100,000 people registered with this name in Finland. The nameday is the 29th of June in the Finnish tradition and the 25t ...
''. In one of the scenes, Pekka and Pätkä perform as magicians, using the magic word "ananasakäämä", which later became famous through Timo Taikuri. Lohikoski directed all but the first and last of the ''Puupää'' films produced by Suomen Filmiteollisuus. He also wrote the scripts for many of them and appeared in small roles in four. ''Frogmen'' is considered by many critics to be the best in the series.Päivän elokuvia, Tv-maailma, 9/2012 p. 17 In the film, Pekka and Pätkä, as traveling musicians, are called up for military refresher training and end up representing the
Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...
in a boxing match against the
Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...
. A critic praised the film for its smooth progression and noted its multi-level humor, folk anecdotes, and emerging
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
culture.Arto Pajukallio, Elokuvat,
Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...
8.6.2011, p. D9
Another critic admitted that although the film "lacks any hint of intellect," it has a unique charm. Wilén's mermaid character was noted for her boldness.Päivän elokuvia, Tv-maailma, 22/2011 p. 21


Plot

Pekka and Pätkä form a two-man
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
. Before setting out on tour, they learn the song "Hippaa ja Hoppaa" from a music store's display and practice it on the street. On tour in
Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
and
Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
, their performances draw sparse and dissatisfied audiences. In
Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...
, with only one sleeping spectator, they return to
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
defeated. At home, they receive a summons for military refresher training and join a frogman course. While practicing swimming techniques in the outer archipelago, they discover a
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...
and take her along. They leave Helmi the mermaid waiting in a bathtub, where Justiina finds her, mistaking her for a large
pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
. Alarmed, she calls for the janitor Pikkarainen. Both are astounded by the mermaid. Helmi ends up as a "water maiden" at
Linnanmäki Linnanmäki (, colloquially ''Lintsi'', ) is an amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened on 27 May 1950 and is owned by the non-profit (, ), which operates the park to raise funds for Finnish child welfare work. In 2023, the foundatio ...
amusement park. The film also features a
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
match between the navy and the army. Eventually, the duo is discharged with thanks. While reading a newspaper on a park bench, two departing
UN peacekeepers Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the United Nations's Department of Peace Operations and an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is ...
knock them unconscious and switch uniforms. Pekka and Pätkä are then sent to
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (, ) , or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport serving Helsinki, the capital of Finland, as well as its surrounding metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region in Finland. The airport is located in t ...
, where a plane takes them to a Finnish UN peacekeeping camp in
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
.


Cast

*
Esa Pakarinen Feeliks Esaias "Esa" Pakarinen (9 February 1911 – 28 April 1989) was a Finnish actor, singer, accordionist and comedian, best known for the role of Pekka Puupää in the '' Pekka and Pätkä'' films from 1953–1960. He was also a skilled, self ...
- Pekka Puupää * Masa Niemi - Pätkä *
Siiri Angerkoski Siiri Saimi Angerkoski (born Pelkonen, later Palmu; 21 August 1902 – 28 March 1971) was a Finnish actress who had a long career on stage, but is especially known for her film roles. With 98 credits, she has done more roles in Finnish films than ...
- Justiina Puupää *
Armas Jokio The Arma people is an ethnic group of the middle Niger River valley, descended from Saadi dynasty, Moroccan invaders of the 16th century. The name, applied by other groups, derives from the word ''ar-rumah'' () 'fusiliers'.Nehemia Levtzion, N. L ...
- Janitor Pikkarainen * Sirkka-Liisa Wilén - Helmi, the mermaid * Pentti Viljanen - Sergeant Saastamoinen *
Pentti Irjala Pentti Irjala (23 September 1911 – 25 June 1982) was a Finnish actor. Career Since 1959, Irjala worked for the Finnish National Theatre. He appeared in over a hundred films, making him the actor with one of the longest careers in Finnish film ...
- Warrant Officer * Jussi Kumpulainen - Driver * Irja Kuusla - Mattsonska


External links

*
The film is available to watch at the Finnish Film Archive


References

{{Reflist Pekka and Pätkä films Finnish black-and-white films 1957 films 1950s Finnish films Finnish comedy films