''Release the Prisoners to Spring'' ( sv, Släpp fångarne loss, det är vår!) is a 1975 Swedish

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Tage Danielsson Tage Danielsson (; 5 February 1928 – 13 October 1985) was a Swedish author, actor, comedian, poet and film director. He is best known for his collaboration with Hans Alfredson in the comedy duo Hasse & Tage. Career After graduation from ...

. At the

12th Guldbagge Awards The 12th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1975 and 1976, and took place on 13 September 1976. ''Release the Prisoners to Spring'' directed by Tage Danielsson was presented with ...

the film won the awards for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

(

Margaretha Krook Margaretha Knutsdotter Krook (15 October 1925 – 7 May 2001) was a Swedish stage and film actress. She won the Eugene O'Neill Award in 1974. In 1976, she won the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress for the film ''Release the Prisoners to Spring''. ...

). The film stars Ernst-Hugo Järegård as the prisoner Harald Hansson, a break-in expert, who one day meets Frida and her friend and learns how to bake cookies. He considers a career change, especially when he falls in love with Flora, the daughter of a city judge. The film is a cult comedy by Hasseåtage. Memorable scenes in the film are the car chase with Järegård, the musical show number in the cell performed by

Jan Malmsjö Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö (born 29 May 1932) is a Swedish stage and film actor, musical star and singer. He is married to Marie Göranzon and father to Jonas Malmsjö. Biography Malmsjö was born in Lund, Sweden. He trained at the prestigious Roy ...

, and the show number carried out simultaneously in the exercise yard by Järegård, Malmsjö and Urban Sahlin; and practically every scene with Ekman as the prison governor. The film was meant to comment on the criminal system and view of criminals in society (both in Sweden and worldwide).

Cast

* Ernst-Hugo Järegård as Harald Hansson * Lena Nyman as Frida *

as her friend *

Gösta Ekman Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman (; 28 July 1939 – 1 April 2017) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and director. Career Ekman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was the son of the director Hasse Ekman and Agneta (née Wrangel). Ekman represented ...

as the prison governor; Frans *

as Flora, the judge's daughter *

as "the Professor" *

Georg Årlin Georg Adolf Wilhelm Årlin (30 December 1916 – 27 June 1992) was a Swedish film actor who appeared in 50 films between 1940 and 1988. Born in Rödeby, a southern Sweden locality in Blekinge County's Karlskrona Municipality, Georg Årlin di ...

as the judge *

Hans Alfredson Hans Folke "Hasse" Alfredson (28 June 1931 – 10 September 2017) was a Swedish actor, film director, writer, and comedian. He was born in Malmö, Sweden. He is known for his collaboration with Tage Danielsson as the duo Hasse & Tage and their p ...

as Erlandsson * Urban Sahlin as "the Monkey"

References

External links

* * * 1975 films 1975 comedy films Swedish comedy films 1970s Swedish-language films Films directed by Tage Danielsson 1970s prison films Best Film Guldbagge Award winners 1970s Swedish films {{1970s-Sweden-film-stub