''Sankt Hans fest'' (St. John's Festival or Saint Hans' Celebration) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

film directed by

Toralf Sandø Toralf Sandø (April 6, 1899 in Flatanger – March 4, 1970) was a Norwegian film director and actor. He also read Olav Duun books for NRK Radio. Selected filmography * 1936: '' Vi bygger landet'' * 1937: ''By og land hand i hand'' * 1937: '' ...

. It premiered on April 7, 1947. It is based on the 1887 novel ''Sankt Hans Fest'' by

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and ...

Plot

The film follows the plot of the novel. The dour priest Kruse is played by

Tore Foss Tore Foss (21 February 1901 – 6 August 1968) was a Norwegian singer, actor and theatre director. He made his stage début at Chat Noir in 1927. He played at Balkongen from 1927 to 1928, and later worked for the National Theatre, Det Nye Teat ...

, who opposes the business establishment's town party, which is planned by

Johannes Eckhoff Johannes Nicolai Eckhoff (26 April 1919 – 26 October 2007) was a Norwegian actor. He made his stage debut at Trøndelag Teater in 1939, and has later worked for Centralteatret, Det Nye Teater and Riksteatret. He participated in the film ''Englan ...

as Garman,

Jon Lennart Mjøen Jon Lennart Mjøen (22 October 1912 – 3 January 1997) was a Norwegian actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in twelve films between 1936 and 1968. His film '' Stevnemøte med glemte år'' was entered into the 7th Berlin Intern ...

as Randulf,

Claus Wiese Claus Wiese (March 1, 1924 – September 7, 1987) was a Norwegian actor and American-based radio broadcaster. Wiese was born in Lillestrøm. He graduated from the Oslo Cathedral School in 1944 and worked as an actor with the Oslo New Theater f ...

as Holck,

Erling Drangsholt Erling Drangsholt (October 29, 1885 – November 20, 1950) was a Norwegian actor. Filmography * 1927: ''Den glade enke i Trangvik'', as engineer Vang * 1927: ''Madame besøker Oslo'', as Helge Wagelsten * 1933: ''Jeppe på bjerget'', as the Ba ...

as the bank manager, and

Sigurd Magnussøn Sigurd Konrad Magnussøn (December 14, 1889 – November 12, 1961) was a Norwegian theater director and actor. On August 14, 1912 he married the actress Abigael Heber. Magnussøn was a student at the Fahlstrøm Theater from 1906 to 1907. Fr ...

as the county governor. Pressure is placed on both sides by

Else Heiberg Else Cathrine Heiberg (November 5, 1910 – November 25, 1972) was a Norwegian actress. Heiberg started her professional career as a pianist and dance teacher, and she made her stage debut at Bergen's National Theater in 1934 in the role of a ...

, who is Randulf's wife.

Reception

A review of the film was generally positive, but it criticized the lighting. The review stated that the party committee should have been more jolly, and that the best among the actors was Egil Hjorth-Jenssen, who "stands in a special class as the chief 'rabbit.'"

Music

The song ''St. Hans vals'' (Saint John's Waltz) was written for the film by

Gunnar Sønstevold Gunnar Sønstevold (26 November 1912 – 18 October 1991) was a Norwegian composer. He was born in Elverum, and married composer Maj Sønstevold in 1941. He composed orchestral works, vocal music, chamber music, and music to a number of plays, ...

. It was recorded by the

Maj Sønstevold Maj Sønstevold (born ''Lundén''; 9 September 1917 – 14 March 1996) was a Swedish composer who lived and worked in Norway. Biography Maj Sønstevold was born in Sollefteå, Sweden. She studied piano in Stockholm and with Billy Mayerl in London. ...

Ensemble in Oslo on April 16, 1947. The song was released on a 78 rpm disc (Musica A-8515).

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Sankt Hans fest'' Norwegian black-and-white films 1947 films Films based on Norwegian novels Norwegian drama films 1940s Norwegian-language films 1947 drama films Films directed by Toralf Sandø