Hanna i societén

One of the routine small feature films that were being churned out in every country around this time, Hanna i societen is a simple work designed for sheer entertainment with no pretenses of high art. Rut Holm is Hanna, the beloved maid of an eccentric (and extremely wealthy) gentleman with a truly horrible family that are only interested in the old fellow's fortune. When he leaves it to Hanna they swoop in like vultures to try to swindle it out of the down-to-Earth former domestic worker.

Holm had a long career and it's easy to see why. Her good nature comes through and her accordian playing (naturally!) seals the deal for a unique type of stardom whose like we shall surely never see again. My main quibble with the movie is that it was perhaps a little too successful in showing just what swine the family were which made every moment they were on screen and tormenting poor Hanna a little hard to take. Bunus points for. Eivor Landstrom as the gorgeous niece who falls for an air force pilot who's about to be swindled by her fiance in a subplot that is only tenuously tied to the main story but is welcome nevertheless.

Hardly a film to move heaven and earth to see but not an unpleasant way to pass the time.