''Rail Workers'' (Swedish: ''Rallare'') is a 1947 Swedish

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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Arne Mattsson Arne Mattsson (2 December 1919 – 28 June 1995) was a Swedish film director. Biography Born in Uppsala, the early films of Mattsson were mostly comedies. His biggest success was ''Hon dansade en sommar'' (1951, aka. ''One Summer of Happiness ...

and starring

Victor Sjöström Victor David Sjöström (; 20 September 1879 – 3 January 1960), also known in the United States as Victor Seastrom, was a pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor. He began his career in Sweden, before moving to Hollywood in ...

, John Elfström and Gunnel Broström.McIlroy p.71 It was shot at the

Råsunda Studios Filmstaden was a film studio situated in Råsunda, Solna Municipality in Stockholm, Sweden. History Filmstaden was once one of the most modern film studios in Europe. It was built in 1919–1920 on the basis of designs by Swedish archite ...

in Stockholm. The film's sets were designed by the art director Nils Svenwall. It is based on the 1946 novel ''Nordanvind'' by

Olle Länsberg Olle Länsberg (28 March 1922 – 28 September 1998) was a Swedish writer. He wrote for ten films between 1947 and 1973. Selected filmography * '' Port of Call'' (1948) * ''Skipper in Stormy Weather'' (1951) * ''Violence'' (1955) * ''The Ha ...

Synopsis

In 1902 a team of navvies work on the construction of a new railway line from Luleå on the Gulf of Bothnia in Northern Sweden to

Narvik ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ba ...

on the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...

, then under Swedish sovereignty. Valfrid, from Southern Sweden, is ostracised by the other workers and their informal leader Stora Ballong.

Cast

as Stora Ballong * John Elfström as Valfrid Andersson * Gunnel Broström as Viktoria *

Åke Grönberg Karl Åke Edvard Grönberg (26 March 1914 – 15 September 1969) was a Swedish film actor who appeared in nearly 100 films. Grönberg was a versatile stage personality of his day, performing as a singer, variety artist, actor, in musical show ...

as Calle-Ville *

Inga Landgré Inga Linnéa Landgré (born ''Lundgren''; 6 August 1927) is a Swedish actress who has worked in theatre, television and films since the 1940s. Early life and career Inga Landgré was born in Stockholm on 6 August 1927. Her father was a struggli ...

as Hildur *

Sven Magnusson Sven Magnusson (30 April 1908 – 30 September 1962) was a Swedish stage and film actor.Nash & Ross p.2530 He appeared frequently at the Helsingborg City Theatre. Selected filmography * ''Frida's Songs'' (1930) * ''The Atlantic Adventure'' (1934) ...

as Dynamiten *

Ingrid Borthen Ingrid Borthen (1913–2001) was a Norwegian-born Swedish stage and film actress. Goble p.271 She was involved with the Dramatist Studio of Sweden in Stockholm. She was married to the actor Ulf Johanson. Selected filmography * '' The Family S ...

as Svarta Björn * Bengt Eklund as Amos Forslund * Svea Holst as Stina *

Axel Högel Axel Högel (1884–1970) 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 Inheritance'' (1925) * '' Ka ...

as Baptist-Anders * Birger Åsander as Filip Bred * Henake Schubak as Sikkavaara Frans * Gösta Holmström as Bråk-Olle *

Sven Bergvall Sven Bergvall (25 May 1881 – 2 November 1960) was a Swedish actor. Biography Bergvall made his stage debut in 1901 and was since 1917 at the Dramaten. He acted in Swedish films from 1914 to 1954. He fought energetically for the actors' pro ...

as Blom *

Kolbjörn Knudsen Kolbjörn Knudsen (13 October 1897 – 8 January 1967) was a Swedish actor. He appeared in more than 30 films between 1928 and 1967. Selected filmography * '' Sin'' (1928) * ''Charlotte Löwensköld'' (1930) * '' Conflict'' (1937) * ''Gene ...

as Holmberg * Einar Söderbäck as Söder * Carl Deurell as King Oscar II * Arthur Fischer as Langar-Oskar * Martin Ljung as The King's adjutant *

Artur Rolén Artur Rolén (5 May 1894 – 1 May 1972) was a Swedish stage and film actor. Furhammar p.222 He acted prolifically in Swedish cinema for several decades as a character actor. He had a long-running role as Klabbarparn in the Åsa-Nisse comedy ser ...

as Artilleri-Emil * Keve Hjelm as Natan * Ivar Wahlgren as Railroad watchman * Tor Borong as Railroad worker

References

Bibliography

* McIlroy, Brian. ''World Cinema: Sweden''. Flicks Books, 1986. * Qvist, Per Olov & von Bagh, Peter. ''Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000.

External links

* 1947 films Swedish drama films 1947 drama films 1940s Swedish-language films Films directed by Arne Mattsson Films set in the 1900s Swedish historical films 1940s historical films Films based on Swedish novels 1940s Swedish films {{1940s-Sweden-film-stub