Das Mädchen auf der Schaukel

The movie wasn't a masterpiece. But it was worth the time spent watching it. Whether it was intentional or not, the movie's slightly off-kilter tempo and underdeveloped story line gave it an eerie, life-like feeling. The interactions between Karin and Alan reminded me of having an interesting conversation with someone you just met. You spend hours laughing, exploring the world's fascinations and revealing intimate details about yourself, but after the conversation ends, you really can't recall anything about the other person; you're left wanting for more. I suppose because I hadn't read the book I had no expectations about it. To me, the movie was about a man who simply marries uncertainty. Alan never really knew Karin completely. Similar to life, we never really know everything about Karin; where she was from or what was going on inside her head. We had vague glimpses, but nothing concrete. Do you really know your spouse? I mean, really? We are always off-guard; we could never quite grab hold of Karin. I admit the movie was hard to watch, but I had this desire to finish it out. After it was over, I wanted more; like the starving man who eats the meager portions on his plate. He doesn't really care who made his meal or what is in it, but he knows he'll need more of it. Also, about Meg Tilley's much maligned German accent. She didn't deliver the stereotypical Marlene Dietrich or Colonel Klink accent; she sounds like the some of the real Germans I know here in the west side of Germany.

THE GIRL IN A SWING is an odd little mystery film, directed by horror stalwart Gordon Hessler and based on a book by Richard Adams (of WATERSHIP DOWN fame) of all people. As I understand it, it follows the classic novel adaptation format of removing pretty much of all of the lyrical beauty and atmosphere of the prose, leaving it a very ordinary kind of mystery/romance.

The main problem with this movie is that it's so very slow. I find watching romance films a very boring experience, and 90% of this is romance. A handful of weird events and clues are thrown in to keep the viewer interested, but for the most part this is just about characters lounging around and declaring their love for one another. The film DOES benefit hugely from casting the lovely Meg Tilly (PSYCHO II) as the love interest. Tilly has an ethereal beauty that Hessler captures well on film, and it's a shame that she's not matched by Rupert Frazer who plays against her, although to be fair he doesn't have much to do as the insufferably straight leading character.

Hessler was making B-movie fun with the likes of THE OBLONG BOX and SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN some twenty years before this film so he knows his way around the camera, so it's just a pity that the material is quite dull. A series of erotic and sex scenes flesh out the narrative (quite literally in terms of Tilly's nudity) but the plot really only kicks in in the last twenty minutes and by then it's all over. THE GIRL IN A SWING has potential and a commendable atmosphere on occasion, but I'm afraid there's too little here to whet the appetite of all but the most dedicated cinema fans.

As the other reviews have stated, this is a somewhat dull film. The pace and dialogue are a bit much - or little- depending on your point of view. The big question though; does Meg Tilly get naked? Answer - Yes!!! That's about the most logical reason I can find to rent this one. Happy viewing...

Well, I liked this one a lot. To be sure, I was not shocked by the big revelation at the end, but I'm not at all sure I was supposed to be. I knew nothing of the film going in, so had no idea I was in for a bit of a ghost story. Meg Tilly was so beautiful. Easy to see why Alan Dresland (Frazer) would fall for her. I thought she utterly nailed this role. The secretiveness, the blossoming love, the creepy aura of something not quite right coming out, well, she knocked all of these out of the park. A lot has been made of her German accent in this role. It sounded fine to me. Granted, I'm a Texan, and speak no German (or Danish) at all.Yes I missed some of her dialogue, but I always miss a little of what people say in accented English. (OK, in a different accent than mine) She was fantastic, and I'm sorry I haven't seen more of her over the years.

Alan Desland is a cultivated English bachelor who has taken over his family's antique porcelain business. On a business trip to Copenhagen, he meets and immediately falls in love with Karin, a stunning German beauty. After only a couple of weeks they marry, honeymoon, and settle into life in Alan's hometown. At first their erotically charged relationship seems like paradise, but this, of course, cannot last. Karin has told Alan virtually nothing of her past, and her dark secret eventually manifests with supernatural trappings and threatens everything.

"The Girl in a Swing" is based on the 1980 novel by Richard "Watership Down" Adams. The film has one thing going for it; the script does an admirable job of lining up and hitting a good number of the novel's main plot points and scenes. Otherwise, this overwrought melodrama has little to recommend it.

There is so much to criticize--from the passionless direction to the insipid soundtrack, awful costuming, and poor casting. Meg Tilly in the role of Karin is particularly troublesome. While she is a fairly attractive woman, she does not project the sort of unearthly eroticism that the character requires. Worse, her muddled, affected German accent obscures most of her dialogue. When Tilly isn't screeching "Alan!" she is mumbling and slurring her most important lines. Director Gordon Hessler does little to salvage things, as he opts to film most of the important supernatural and erotic sequences in one of two modes--either flat or melodramatic.

While very few films adapted from novels can attain the dense subtext of their source material, such a film might at least evoke the essence of the story by establishing a strong mood consistent with the novelist's vision. This film, however, aspires to nothing so worthy. It neither succeeds as an adaptation of Adams' complex novel nor as a worthy cinematic effort in its own right.