Rasmus, Pontus och Toker

Last updated
Rasmus, Pontus och Toker
Directed by Stig Olin
Screenplay by Astrid Lindgren
Produced by Olle Nordemar
Music by Bengt Hallberg
Release date
1956
Running time
92 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish

Rasmus, Pontus och Toker is a 1956 Swedish film directed by Stig Olin and written by Astrid Lindgren.

Contents

Plot

Rasmus' sister Britta and her classmate Joachim are in love. Britta finds an album in which Joachim lists his ex-girlfriends (Magareta, Yvonne, Ulla & Brit) along with a photo. She explains that she would find it terrible if her photo was put into Joachim's album.

At the afternoon, Britta, Joachim, Rasmus and Pontus want to attend the show of the sword swallower Alfredo. Rasmus and Pontus don't have enough money to pay for the show. Therefore, they ask Alfredo to let them in for half of the price. Alfredo rejects rudely. Rasmus and Pontus secretly sneak into the show, are discovered by Alfredo and thrown out.

A while later, Ernst visits Alfredo. Ernst has just been released from prison. The antique dealer Paul has told Ernst where he can find the country's largest silver collection: It is at the house of Joachim's family. Ernst wants to steal it along with Alfredo.

When Britta and Joachim go to rehearsal for their band, one of Joachim's friends tries to kiss Britta. Britta immediately pushes him away, but Joachim believes that Britta is the one to blame. Britta and Joachim argue and end their relationship. Britta is afraid that Joachim puts her photo into the album of his ex-girlfriends. Britta tells her brother Rasmus about it. Rasmus promises to get the photo.

Rasmus and his friend Pontus want to break into Joachim's house and steal the photo. The same night that Alfredo and Ernst want to steal the silver collection. Rasmus and Pontus find the photo in Joachim's wallet and take it with them. When they leave the house, they see Ernst and Alfredo who are trying to escape with the stolen property. Rasmus and Pontus follow the criminals. A short time later they are discovered and locked up along with Rasmus' dog. Ernst quickly realizes how important the dog is to Rasmus. He threatens to kill the dog if Rasmus and Pontus tell the police about what they have seen. The criminals lock the dog up and want to return it to the boys on Thursday morning. Then the boys are allowed to leave.

Soon, Rasmus and Pontus find the stolen goods and exchange them with worthless objects.

On Thursday morning Rasmus and Pontus ask about their dog. The criminals tell the boys about an abandoned house where the dog is supposed to be. There the criminals lock Rasmus and Pontus in. The two boys can escape. Finally, they find the dog. They tell Rasmus' father, who is a police officer, about the thieves. The criminals want to offer their stolen goods to the antique dealer Paul, but discover that the stolen goods were exchanged by Rasmus and Pontus.

The thieves go back to Rasmus and Pontus. Rasmus and Pontus are back in the room, where there were locked up in. They tell the criminals they will show them the stolen goods. They lead the criminals into a dark house where the stolen goods are. The house turns out to be the police station and the criminals are received by the police.

Rasmus, Pontus and Britta go to the summer party. But Britta is sad. She misses Joachim. At the party, Rasmus secretly puts the photo that Joachim had into Britta's hand. Britta thinks Joachim had given it to her. On the back of the photo she reads: „She is the only one“. Britta is deeply moved and asks if that is true. Joachim wonders why Britta did not know that. Britta and Joachim kiss each other. Rasmus and Pontus watch the couple. They say that hopefully they will never be like that.

Cast

Background

The screenplay for Rasmus, Pontus och Toker was Astrid Lindgren's first stand-alone screenplay. [1]

At first Astrid Lindgren wrote the script for an audio play series. The script was later used and rewritten for the film. The book titled Rasmus, Pontus och Toker was first released after publication of the film. On December 12, 1956 Rasmus, Pontus och Toker premiered in Stockholm. The film was shot in Mariefred and the AB Sandrew-Ateljéerna Studios in Stockholm.

Rasmus Persson is played by the same actor, that portrays Rasmus Rasmusson in Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue or Rasmus Oskarsson in Luffaren och Rasmus but these are both not the same characters. This is a completely independent film.

Reception

Critical response

The Lexikon des internationalen Films says the movie is „well-made entertainment for children, with few flaws“. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrid Lindgren</span> Swedish childrens writer (1907–2002)

Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children, and for the children's fantasy novels Mio, My Son, Ronia the Robber's Daughter, and The Brothers Lionheart. Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality." Her opposition to corporal punishment of children resulted in the world's first law on the matter in 1979, while her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siv Ericks</span> Swedish actress

Siv Ericks, real name Siv Gustava Essy-Ehsing, was a Swedish actress who performed in 66 Swedish films over a 53-year career.

Vi på Saltkråkan is a Swedish TV series in 13 25-minute episodes from 1964. The script for the series was written by Astrid Lindgren, who later re-wrote it as a book, also titled Vi på Saltkråkan. Astrid Lindgren was closely involved in the filming and editing of the series, which took place on Norröra in the Stockholm archipelago. The series was produced and directed by Olle Hellbom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stig Olin</span> Swedish actor

Stig Olin, né Högberg was a Swedish actor, theatre director, songwriter and singer. He was the father of actress Lena Olin and singer Mats Olin (1947-2023). He was married to film actresses Britta Holmberg and Helena Kallenbäck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stig Järrel</span> Swedish actor

Stig Järrel was a Swedish actor, film director and revue artist. Järrel was one of the most popular actors in Sweden during his career, and also one of the most productive, participating in a total of 131 films. He also performed as an actor at various Swedish theatres and was a frequent guest on radio and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elof Ahrle</span> Swedish actor

Elof Ahrle was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in 80 films between 1920 and 1960. He also directed ten films between 1942 and 1950. He was married to actress Birgit Rosengren (1912-2011).

<i>Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue</i>

Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue is the third and last novel about the Swedish "master detective" Kalle Blomkvist, written by Astrid Lindgren.

Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue is a 1997 Swedish film. It is based on the novel with the same name, written by Astrid Lindgren. Another film was produced when the book was published in 1953, see Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olle Nordemar</span>

Olof Harry "Olle" Nordemar was a Swedish film director, film editor, film producer, cinematographer and screenwriter. Nordemar is best known as the producer behind Olle Hellbom's films based on novels by Astrid Lindgren. Nordemar edited and produced the Norwegian-Swedish documentary Kon-Tiki (1950) which received the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for 1951 at the 24th Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrid Bodin</span> Swedish actress

Astrid Bodin was a Swedish actress who appeared in over 120 films. Born on 10 July 1903 in Österunda, Sweden, she began her film-acting career with a small role in 1933's Djurgårdsnätter, starring Erik Berglund and Anne-Marie Brunius. She appeared mostly in smaller roles, many times un-credited. Her final performance was as an unnamed woman in Börje Nyberg's Svenska Floyd (1961), which was released on her 58th birthday, 10 July 1961. She died on 20 October 1961 in the Kungsholms area of Stockholm, Sweden, at the age of 58.

Kati is a Swedish novel series by Astrid Lindgren. It tells the story of Kati, who travels, first to America, then to Italy and Paris. The novels were translated into many languages including English, German, Spanish, French and Russian.

Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr is a 1966 Swedish film about Kalle Blomkvist, directed by Etienne Glaser and written by Astrid Lindgren. It is based on the play Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind.

Luffaren och Rasmus is a 1955 Swedish film directed by Rolf Husberg and written by Astrid Lindgren.

Scrap and the Pirates, also Skrallan and the Pirates is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.

The Tomten books are two children's books written by Astrid Lindgren. They are based on poems by Viktor Rydberg and Karl-Erik Forsslund.

Astrid Lindgren’s plays are a number of theater plays written by Astrid Lindgren in the 1940s to 1970s. Part of the plays are based on her books, other stories were only written for theater. Since almost all of Astrid Lindgren's works have been staged for theater, this page only deals with the plays, whose scripts were written by Astrid Lindgren. Many of these works were published in the Swedish books Sex Pjäser för barn och ungdom (1950), Serverat, Ers Majestät! (1955) and Praeser för barn och ungdom. Other Samlingen (1968). Most of these works have not been translated into English. These include stories about well-known characters such as Kalle Blomquist or Pippi Longstocking, which were only written for the theater and were not published as prose.

Rasmus and the Vagabond, also Rasmus and the Hobo is a children's book written by Astrid Lindgren.

<i>Young Blood</i> (1943 film) 1943 film

Young Blood is a 1943 Swedish drama film directed by Ivar Johansson and starring Agneta Lagerfeldt, Toivo Pawlo and Olof Widgren. It was shot at the Centrumateljéerna Studios in Stockholm. The film's sets were designed by the art director Bertil Duroj.

<i>The Boys of Number Fifty Seven</i> 1935 film

The Boys of Number Fifty Seven is a 1935 Swedish comedy film directed by Ivar Johansson and starring Julia Cæsar, Britta Brunius and Tord Bernheim. It focuses on the various residents of a boarding house in the Södermalm district of Stockholm.

References

  1. "Die Königin des Kinderbuchs: Astrid Lindgren".
  2. "Kalle und das geheimnisvolle Karussell".