Arne Mattsson (2 December 1919 – 28 June 1995) was a Swedish film director.[1]

Arne Mattsson
Born(1919-12-02)2 December 1919
Uppsala, Sweden
Died28 June 1995(1995-06-28) (aged 75)
NationalitySwedish
Occupation(s)Director, writer
Years active1941–1989
SpouseElsa Prawitz
(m. 1956⁠–⁠1965)

Biography

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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), which earned him the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival[2] and a nomination for the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952.[3] It caused some controversy at the time because it contained nudity.

His 1953 film of Peder Sjögren's second novel, Bread of Love (Kärlekens bröd), based on Sjögren's experiences as a volunteer in the Finnish Continuation War of 1941–44 angered the author, was banned in Finland and incurred the wrath of the Soviets at the Cannes Film Festival. In spite of all this, Sjögren grudgingly admitted that as a study of men under severe pressure it was impressive.[4]

In 1958 he directed Damen i svart, the first in the series of five Hillman-thrillers, centred on Folke Mellvig's crime-solving middle-class city couple Kajsa and John Hillman. The second in the series, Mannekäng i rött (1958), is considered by some to be a precursor of the Italian giallo films, notably Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace.[5][6]

The popularity of his mystery movies declined and in the 1970s and 1980s he made mostly low-budget thrillers – some in collaboration with Mats Helge Olsson – which got mostly bad reviews.

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Qvist, P.O.; von Bagh, P. (2000). Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland. Reference guides to the world's cinema. Greenwood Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-313-30377-7. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ^ "2nd Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
  3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: One Summer of Happiness". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  4. ^ Problem while searching in The Literature Collection
  5. ^ Andersson, Pidde (October 2, 2006). Blue Swede Shock! The History of Swedish Horror Films. The TOPPRAFFEL! Library. ISBN 1-4452-4304-0.
  6. ^ Alanen, Antti (2 May 2014). "Mannekäng i rött / Mannequin in Red (SFI 2000 restoration)". Retrieved September 3, 2014.

The director, Arne Mattson is mentioned in chapter 29 of the police procedural novel, The Laughing Policeman, by Major Sjowall and Per Wahloo

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