''Ride Tonight!'' (Swedish: ''Rid i natt'') is a 1942 Swedish

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Gustaf Molander Gustaf Harald August Molander (18 November 1888 – 19 June 1973) was a Swedish actor and film director. His parents were director Harald Molander, Sr. (1858–1900) and singer and actress Lydia Molander, ''née'' Wessler, and his brother was t ...

and starring Lars Hanson,

Oscar Ljung Oscar Ljung (6 September 1909 – 29 April 1999) was a Swedish film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1935 and 1983. He was born in Landskrona, Sweden. Partial filmography * ''Järnets män'' (1935) - Sten Brändström * ''T ...

Gerd Hagman Gerd Hagman (4 July 1919 – 30 November 2011) was a Swedish actress. She appeared in more than 20 films and television shows between 1940 and 2007. Selected filmography * ''Blossom Time (1940 film), Blossom Time'' (1940) * ''The Fight Cont ...

and

Eva Dahlbeck Eva Elisabet Dahlbeck (8 March 1920 – 8 February 2008) was a Swedes, Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''Brink of Life'' (1958). Dahlbeck ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1941 novel '' Ride This Night'' by

Vilhelm Moberg Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume series ''The Emigrant ...

. Moberg himself adapted his novel for the screenplay. The film, like the original novel, alluded directly to events in occupied Europe during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and helped to bolster anti-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

sentiment in neutral

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

.Winkel & Welch p.271

Synopsis

In 17th century southern Sweden, a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

uprising takes place against German landowners.

Partial cast

* Lars Hanson as Jon Stånge *

as Ragnar Svedje of Svedjegaarden *

as Annika *

as Botilla *

Erik 'Bullen' Berglund Karl Erik "Bullen" Berglund (30 June 1887 – 27 April 1963) was a Swedish actor, director and writer. Berglund was one of Sweden's most popular male actors in Swedish films from the 1930s to the 1950s. He appeared in more than a hundred films. ...

as Lars Borre *

Hilda Borgström Hilda Teresia Borgström (13 October 1871 – 2 January 1953) was a Swedish stage and film actress. Biography Born in 1871 in Stockholm, Borgström made her film debut in 1912. She starred in leading parts in Victor Sjöström's silent film ...

as Mother Sigga * Nils Lundell as Ygge, the thief of Bläsemåla *

Erik Hell Erik Hell (11 August 1911 – 11 March 1973) was a Swedish actor. Hell was born in Kalliokoski, Finland, to a Norwegian father and a Finnish mother. He moved to Sweden with his family in 1918 during the Finnish Civil War. He married the actre ...

as Hans of Lenhovda *

Hugo Björne Hugo Björne (4 February 1886 – 14 February 1966) was a Swedish film and theater actor. Biography Ernst Hugo Alexis Björne was born in Varberg in Halland, Sweden. He made his stage debut in 1907 and belonged to the acting company of Hjalm ...

as Petrus Magni * Sven Bergvall as Archbishop *

Carl Ström Carl Johan Vilhelm Ström (18 June 1888 – 18 November 1957) was a Swedish film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1923 and 1955. Selected filmography * '' Iron Wills'' (1923) * '' Gustaf Wasa'' (1928) * '' Cavaliers of the C ...

as Klas Bock *

Gunnar Sjöberg Gunnar Sjöberg (25 March 1909 – 8 June 1977) was a Swedish film actor. Selected filmography * '' Russian Flu'' (1937) - Delegat från Sundsvall (uncredited) * ''John Ericsson, Victor of Hampton Roads'' (1937) - Seaman * '' Styrman Karls ...

as Foreign peasant *

Hampe Faustman Erik "Hampe" Faustman (born Erik Stellan Chatham; 3 July 1919 – 26 August 1961) was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in more than 20 films between 1940 and 1961. He also directed 20 films between 1943 and 1955. He was married to ...

as Bo Eriksson * Josua Bengtson as Danjel, inn-keeper *

Axel Högel Axel Erik Högel (23 March 1884 – 20 September 1970) was a Swedish stage and film actor.Kwiatkowski p.73 He was a prolific character actor in the theatre and in Swedish cinema. Selected filmography * '' Johan Ulfstjerna'' (1923) * ''Ingmar's ...

as Ola of Klavmo * Gunnar Collin as Matts Elling, peasant * Signe Lundberg-Settergren as Housewife

References

Bibliography

* Winkel, Roel Vande & Welch, David. ''Cinema and the Swastika: The International Expansion of the Third Reich''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2011.

External links

* 1942 films Swedish historical drama films 1940s historical drama films 1940s Swedish-language films Films directed by Gustaf Molander Films set in the 17th century Films based on Swedish novels Films based on works by Vilhelm Moberg Swedish black-and-white films 1942 drama films 1940s Swedish films {{1940s-Sweden-film-stub