''The Man from Majorca'' () is a 1984 Swedish

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

film directed by

Bo Widerberg Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Sweden, Swedish film director, screenwriter, writer, film editing, editor and actor. Biography Early life Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden. Career Bo Widerberg began ...

. It is based on the novel ''The Pig Party'' by

Leif G. W. Persson Leif Gustav Willy Persson (born 12 March 1945) is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. Persson has four children, one of whom, Malin Persson Giolito, is also a crime writer. Early life Leif Gustav Willy Persson was born on 12 March 1945 in Stock ...

. The film stars

Sven Wollter Sven Justus Fredrik Wollter (11 January 1934 – 10 November 2020) was a Swedish actor, writer, and political activist. Wollter is one of the most renowned Swedish actors, he was awarded Best Swedish actor twice. In his native country, he becam ...

and

Tomas von Brömssen Tomas Birger von Brömssen (born 8 May 1943) is a Swedish theatre, film, and television actor. von Brömssen was born in Örgryte and grew up in Gothenburg. His father, Birger von Brömssen, was a painter. He studied Scandinavian languages, inten ...

. The novel has big similarities with the Geijer affair (a rumor that the Swedish minister of justice had been with prostitutes, that the Swedish police had knowledge of it and had informed the prime minister). Leif G.W. Persson lost his job at the police because talking to a journalist about his knowledge about the Geijer case, but denied in the preface of the book (''Grisfesten'') which he wrote soon after, that it had any connections to the affair. Widerberg took inspiration from the 1971 American film '' The French Connection'', and ''The Man from Majorca'' share similarities with his previous thriller film: '' The Man on the Roof'' (1976).

won the award for Best Actor at the 20th Guldbagge Awards.

Plot

A robber calmly holds up a post-office in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Saint Lucy's Day Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. According to l ...

13 December. The policemen Johansson and Jarnebring are the first on the scene and they chase the robber, who escapes. Shortly after, someone dies in a car accident and a dead body is found at a graveyard. After a while it is clear that these incidents have something to do with the robbery, and when the policemen are investigating further, they are beginning to reveal a bigger scandal. Meanwhile it seems that there is a cover-up going on.

Cast

as Bo Jarnebring: Inspector on the investigation department *

as Lars Martin "Johan" Johansson: Jarnebring's colleague *

Håkan Serner John Gunnar Håkan Serner (1 September 1933 in Malmö – 25 October 1984 in Stockholm) was a Sweden, Swedish actor. Family He was nephew to Frank Heller, and stepfather to Malin Gjörup. Awards In 1977 Serner received the award for Guldbagge ...

as Andersson: Inspector * Ernst Günther as M. Dahlgren: Inspector and chief *

Thomas Hellberg Björn Thomas Hellberg (29 September 1941 – 22 January 2023) was a Swedish actor. Hellberg died on 22 January 2023, at the age of 81. Selected filmography *''Maria'' (1975) *'' The Man on the Roof'' (1976) *'' Buddies'' (1976) *'' The Assig ...

as Berg: Bureau chief *

Ingvar Hirdwall Lars Ingvar Hirdwall (5 December 1934 – 6 April 2023) was a Swedish actor. In Sweden he is best known for his role in the Martin Beck film series; internationally he was perhaps best known for his role as the lawyer Dirch Frode in the ''Mille ...

as Fors * Niels Jensen as Roger "Rogge" Jansson:

High school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

student, previously small criminal * Tommy Johnson as Rundberg: Inspector * Rico Rönnbäck as Kjell Göran Hedberg: Working at the

Swedish Security Service The Swedish Security Service ( , SÄPO , , formerly , RPS/Säk, until 1989) is a Sweden, Swedish Government agencies in Sweden, government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice (Sweden), Ministry of Justice. It operates as a security ...

Hans Villius (10 July 192322 June 2012) was a Swedish historian and popular TV and radio personality. Villius received his doctorate in history in 1951 with his dissertation ''Karl XII:s ryska fälttåg: Källstudier'' (" Charles XII's Russian campaign: A ...

as The

Minister for Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

* Sten Lonnert as Erik Harald Olsson: Alcoholic * Nina Gunke as Eva Zetterberg: Prostitute * Margreth Weivers as Alva Wiström: Witness on

Skogskyrkogården (; ) is a cemetery located in the Gamla Enskede district south of central Stockholm, Sweden. It was inaugurated in 1920 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. Its design, by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz, reflects th ...

* Gun Karlsson as Fru Forsberg: Witness to the post office robbery * Marie Delleskog as Janna: Jansson's sister

Trivia

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 ...

was originally chosen for the role of Dahlgren but was replaced by Ernst Günther due to illness just after three days of shooting. * Some scenes were filmed without permission from the Stockholm police, like the scenes in the subway, because Widerberg was too impatient to wait for the permit. There had been some disputes with the police regarding the helicopter crash scene in his previous thriller '' The Man on the Roof'' at

Odenplan Odenplan is a plaza located in the district Vasastaden in central Stockholm, Sweden. History Odenplan was named after the old Norse god Odin. Odenplan metro station, opened in 1952, and Stockholm Odenplan commuter train station on the Stoc ...

(also seen in this movie) and for that the film team had to borrow cars from the

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna i ...

police instead. * The movie was shot mainly on Mondays due to the schedules of the two leads who were both appearing in theatre at the time:

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

and

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Mondays were the only days that both were free. * Bo Widerberg wanted more realistic, risky, scenes for the car chase scene at Klarastrandsleden and filmed some additional scenes with the actors driving against real traffic. * There are similarities between ''The Man from Majorca'' and Widerberg's first thriller '' The Man on the Roof'' (actors, extras, clothes), but also similarities with the 1971 thriller '' The French Connection'' (two cops' police work, Christmas setting, quarrel between departments, car chase, unsettling ending), which also was an inspiration for this film.

References

Notes

* Stardust Allt om Film Magazine #2 2007, article "Sveriges bästa snutar" pp 72–73, It is media Svenska AB, Stockholm

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man From Majorca, The 1984 films 1984 crime films 1980s Christmas films 1980s Swedish films 1980s Swedish-language films Swedish crime films Swedish Christmas films Films based on Swedish novels Films directed by Bo Widerberg Films scored by Björn J:son Lindh Films set in Stockholm