HASSE EKMAN : A QUESTION OF AUTHORSHIP IN A NATIONAL CONTEXT Fredrik Gustafsson A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2013 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3421 This item is protected by original copyright Hasse Ekman – a Question of Authorship in a National Context Fredrik Gustafsson 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Fredrik Gustafsson, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 70 000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. 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Table of contents Abstract p. 4 Acknowledgements p. 5 Introduction p. 7 Methodology p. 9 Chapter 1 Literature Review, Theory and Context p. 11 1:1 Literature review p. 11 1:2 On authorship and auteurs p. 14 1:2:1 The history of the auteur p. 14 1:2:2 A definition of 'auteur' p. 18 1:3 National cinema p. 23 1:4 The social context p. 27 1:4:1 The 1930s – constructing folkhemmet p. 28 1:4:2 The 1940s – politics and war p. 32 1:4:3 The post-war years p. 35 1:5 Swedish cinema p. 40 1:5:1 The 1930s – beer and nation-building p. 40 1:5:2 A Swedish renaissance p. 44 1:5:3 Swedish cinema after television p. 53 Chapter 2 Hasse Ekman in the Renaissance p. 56 2:1 Hasse Ekman's early life p. 56 2:2 Ekman’s first films, experiments and versatility p. 57 2:3 Enter the theatre p. 64 2:4 Films in a time of war p. 69 2:5 First peak year p. 73 2:6 Urbanity, self-reflexivity and dialogue p. 80 2:7 Comedies and Generation 40 p. 87 2:8 Bergman arrives p. 92 2:9 Prison vs. The Girl From the Third Row p. 93 2 Chapter 3 The Early-1950s p. 98 3:1 Ekman on the stage p. 98 3:2 Ekman turns inwards p. 99 3:3 Parodies of Bergman and new partnerships p. 107 3:4 Autobiography and feminism p. 113 Chapter 4 The Final Years p. 118 4:1 Ekman after the arrival of television p. 119 4:2 Autobiographical games p. 123 4:3 The last films and voluntary exile p. 130 Chapter 5 Ideas and Legacy p. 135 5:1 Ekman and Sweden p. 135 5:2 Ekman’s view of the world p. 138 5:3 Influence and legacy p. 144 Conclusion p. 148 Filmography p. 153 Works cited p. 158 3 Abstract Hasse Ekman – A Question of Authorship in a National Context This thesis takes a historical approach to its subject and focuses on Swedish cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. The thesis argues that Swedish cinema experienced a renaissance in the 1940s, lasting approximately from 1940 to 1953. It further suggests that one of the most important filmmakers in this renaissance was Hasse Ekman. By focussing upon Ekman and this renaissance, a much-needed contextualisation of Ingmar Bergman will be achieved. Ingmar Bergman is one of the most well- known and well-researched filmmakers of all time, but there are still gaps in the material surrounding him, and one such gap concerns his cinematic origins. Bergman was a part of the 1940s renaissance, during which Bergman worked with, and was influenced by, other filmmakers and in particular Ekman. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the relevant literature and discusses ideas of authorship and national cinema. It also provides a historic overview of Swedish society and cinema during the 1940s and 1950s, providing the context needed to better understand the films of Ekman, and Bergman too. This part also looks at the 1930s to illustrate what came before this renaissance, and how the films of the 1940s differed from what had gone before. The second part is a chronological overview of Ekman's career from the late-1930s to his move to Spain in 1964. The last part is a discussion of Ekman's relation to Swedish society and his view of the world, based on close textual readings of his films. The aim of the thesis is to present, for the first time, a coherent and extensive overview of Ekman's career and body of work, while also situating it in the specific context in which it emerged, thereby shedding new light on an important, though neglected, episode in cinema history. 4 Acknowledgements In the mid-1990s Johanna Bäck, a colleague at a cinema in Stockholm, wrote her Master's dissertation in film. Very impressed (and envious) I thought that some day I must do that to. Eventually I did, and I found out that there was nothing to it. A bit of an anti-climax. So I thought that I should write a Ph.D. thesis. It took many years before I figured out what I wanted to write about, but when I knew that, I immediately got to work on it. That was autumn of 2009. Now I have finished, and this time it does not feel like an anti-climax. Many have helped me, inspired me, supported me in various ways, during the years of writing. I cannot name them all but, of course, my supervisor Elisabetta Girelli is first among them. A few that must be included are Ola Törjas, Maia Dexander, Martin Jansson and Marika Junström at the Swedish Film Institute, and Maaret Koskinen and Astrid Söderbergh Widding at Stockholm University. In St Andrews, my whole department and in Dundee, Brian Hoyle. In New York, Dave Kehr, in Edinburgh, Martine Beugnet, and in Hong Kong, Paisley Livingston. A lot of friends have been giving me much appreciated love, some more than I deserve, some just as much as I deserve, and they have made sure that my life was not all about the thesis. In Sweden and Denmark: Emilia Darsell, Johanna Engholm, Anna Harris, Lisa James-Larsson, Henrietta Rozenberg, Carolina Rung, Ellen Hoas Ströman, Sanna Svanberg, Susanna Wallgren and Annelie Wangler. In Scotland: Phoebe Allan, Alice Black, Masa Mrovlje and Kathleen Scott. In the US: Josefine Petersén. And then my parents Per-Arne Karlsson and Karin Gustafson, who have been extraordinarily supportive, my brother Tobias Gustafsson, Viveka Ekman, John and Elizabeth Black, who have provided me with food and shelter in St Andrews, my daily newspaper provider in St Andrews, Helen Kenn, my students at the University of St Andrews, 5 the staff at Costa in St Andrews I should also like to posthumously thank Alfred Hitchcock for being the reason why, many years ago, I devoted my life to film and film history, and Hasse Ekman for making the films that this thesis is inspired by. As promised, I have dedicated my thesis to Megan Dilly, who does better sand-surfing impressions than anyone else. 6 Introduction Film history is not something fixed and stable, it changes all the time.