Kullamannen

Some kids on summer vacation in a small coastal village in the south of Sweden invent, out of boredom, a sinister plot involving hidden war treasures and secret agents. Or do they in fact stumble upon a real conspiracy? Well chosen cast, excellent black & white cinematography, beautiful, moody 60's music and a perfect mixture of humor, suspense and even horror - this is a kind of film for teenagers that simply don't get made anymore. Produced by the legendary Olle Nordemar, also responsible for more or less all the great Swedish films and TV-series for kids during three decades, including all of Astrid Lindgren. This series is one of the very best but, sadly, it is not shown very often, not even in Swedish public-service TV.

This series was the starting point for a great career for the director Leif Krantz. Kullamannen is clearly inspired by Hitchcock and the first four episodes end with real cliff-hangers emphasized by the great music by Charles Redland. It is amazing how well the series stands up today. The characters are interesting and the actors all make a good performance. Leif Krantz had a few years earlier worked as a director's assistant with "Vi på Saltkråkan" so he was used to work with children. An example of how thoroughly the series is made is this. Sweden changed to right-hand traffic in September 1967 but the recordings for Kullamannen started in May 1967. In order not to look obsolete when it was shown for the first time all roads used were closed and the recording team had strict orders that all cars seen in the movie had to drive on the right side.

A Tv-show that I've watched since I was a kid, and still do, even as a 21 year young man. It's so good and brings back nostalgia and a sight of how the olden Swedish era was, a Sweden that I want back, even if I didn't live back then! 🇸🇪

This was made back then when Sweden could provide real good adolescent series, quite unlike the awkward pursuits of today.

The story is exciting though somewhat far-fetched, and has an interesting, ambiguous end.

The main point is not the strained social criticism that pesters equivalent Swedish productions from the mid-70s and onward, but rather a mischievous little prank.

Refreshing.

Leif Krantz, the director, was gradually inclining towards the leftish standards of the 70s, and his subsequent series started having reference of the kind. He may nevertheless boast of directing an impressive number of successful Swedish television series, most of which were blockbusters.