Two Living, One Dead
Encyclopedia
Two Living, One Dead is a 1961
Anglo-Swedish existentialist
thriller, directed by Anthony Asquith
and starring Patrick McGoohan
, Virginia McKenna
and Bill Travers
.
film To levende og en død, which in turn was adapted from the 1931 novel of the same name by author Sigurd Christiansen
. The Scandinavian small-town setting of the earlier film was kept but the action was moved to Sweden
, and Two Living, One Dead was shot on location in Stockholm County
, with local studio facilities in the Swedish capital also being used. Asquith used several Swedish crew members and actors in the film.
A violent hold-up – heard, but not shown on screen – takes place, during which the office supervisor is shot dead and Andersson suffers a head injury which knocks him out and leaves him concussed. Berger meanwhile, entering the office after hearing the commotion and thinking of his family, resists the urge to risk his life by trying to fight back against the raiders, and emerges uninjured from the incident. In the aftermath, he is treated with barely disguised contempt by the police, his employers and the local community in general, who make it clear that they consider his failure to fight back a mark of spineless cowardice. He does not receive the promotion to office supervisor which he was previously in line for on the retirement of his boss; instead the job is given to Andersson, who is now being cast in a heroic light. As he becomes increasingly depressed by his ostracism, his relationship with Helen suffers and he feels unable to confide in her. He comes to see himself as the coward everybody is accusing him of being, and even Helen begins to wonder whether he could have acted differently.
Berger takes to solitary nocturnal wandering around the town, and meets a stranger, Rogers (Alf Kjellin
), to whom he begins to open up about his recent experiences, albeit while pretending that he is a "friend" of the man involved. Berger and Rogers begin to meet up frequently on their night-time wanderings, and one night, as they part company outside Berger's home, Helen unexpectedly opens the door and invites Rogers in for supper. As they talk, she realises that her husband has chosen to confide in a stranger rather than her and feels hurt and betrayed. In her distress, she reveals to Berger that their son too is being shunned by his schoolmates and taunted by the allegation that his father is a coward, but has been trying to keep this from Berger, not wanting to add to his unhappiness.
The Bergers' relationship deteriorates to the point where they are completely alienated from one another. Seeing this, Rogers eventually admits to Berger that he and his brother were the Post Office robbers, and his brother has since been killed in an accident. Moreover he lives in the same lodging-house as Andersson, and the robbery was only planned as a consequence of Andersson's constant chatter about the large amount of cash held in the office and when it was most readily accessible. He states that he certainly would have shot Berger had he fought back, but now genuinely regrets the turmoil he has caused to his life, and goes on to reveal that Andersson's injury was not a result of fearless bravery, but happened rather when he ran into a doorframe in his panic to escape.
Appalled to discover Andersson's hypocrisy and the craven manner in which he has glorified in his unwarranted heroic status, Berger borrows Rogers' gun and stages another incident in which he exposes Andersson for the man of straw he really is. Having exorcised his demons, Berger agrees not to hand Rogers over to the police on condition that the stolen money is put to charitable use. He returns home to Helen feeling vindicated, and she realises that their relationship can get back on an even keel.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
Anglo-Swedish existentialist
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
thriller, directed by Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith
Anthony Asquith was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy and The Browning Version , among other adaptations...
and starring Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
, Virginia McKenna
Virginia McKenna
Virginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
and Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
.
Background
Two Living, One Dead is a remake of the 1937 NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
film To levende og en død, which in turn was adapted from the 1931 novel of the same name by author Sigurd Christiansen
Sigurd Christiansen
Sigurd Christiansen was a Norwegian novelist and playwright. He made his literary debut with the novel Seierherrene in 1915....
. The Scandinavian small-town setting of the earlier film was kept but the action was moved to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and Two Living, One Dead was shot on location in Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
, with local studio facilities in the Swedish capital also being used. Asquith used several Swedish crew members and actors in the film.
Plot
Erik Berger (McGoohan) is a reticent, socially withdrawn man who has been working for 20 years in the same Post Office in a Swedish town, not socialising with colleagues and interested only in his wife Helen (McKenna) and son. In contrast his workmate Andersson (Travers) is loud and gregarious, seeing himself as the office joker although his treatment of more junior staff sometimes verges on the malicious.A violent hold-up – heard, but not shown on screen – takes place, during which the office supervisor is shot dead and Andersson suffers a head injury which knocks him out and leaves him concussed. Berger meanwhile, entering the office after hearing the commotion and thinking of his family, resists the urge to risk his life by trying to fight back against the raiders, and emerges uninjured from the incident. In the aftermath, he is treated with barely disguised contempt by the police, his employers and the local community in general, who make it clear that they consider his failure to fight back a mark of spineless cowardice. He does not receive the promotion to office supervisor which he was previously in line for on the retirement of his boss; instead the job is given to Andersson, who is now being cast in a heroic light. As he becomes increasingly depressed by his ostracism, his relationship with Helen suffers and he feels unable to confide in her. He comes to see himself as the coward everybody is accusing him of being, and even Helen begins to wonder whether he could have acted differently.
Berger takes to solitary nocturnal wandering around the town, and meets a stranger, Rogers (Alf Kjellin
Alf Kjellin
Alf Kjellin was a Swedish film actor and director, who also appeared on some television shows.He was well established as a film actor when he occasionally took on roles in television shows. For example in 1965 he prominently guest-starred as Stalag Luft Kommandant Col...
), to whom he begins to open up about his recent experiences, albeit while pretending that he is a "friend" of the man involved. Berger and Rogers begin to meet up frequently on their night-time wanderings, and one night, as they part company outside Berger's home, Helen unexpectedly opens the door and invites Rogers in for supper. As they talk, she realises that her husband has chosen to confide in a stranger rather than her and feels hurt and betrayed. In her distress, she reveals to Berger that their son too is being shunned by his schoolmates and taunted by the allegation that his father is a coward, but has been trying to keep this from Berger, not wanting to add to his unhappiness.
The Bergers' relationship deteriorates to the point where they are completely alienated from one another. Seeing this, Rogers eventually admits to Berger that he and his brother were the Post Office robbers, and his brother has since been killed in an accident. Moreover he lives in the same lodging-house as Andersson, and the robbery was only planned as a consequence of Andersson's constant chatter about the large amount of cash held in the office and when it was most readily accessible. He states that he certainly would have shot Berger had he fought back, but now genuinely regrets the turmoil he has caused to his life, and goes on to reveal that Andersson's injury was not a result of fearless bravery, but happened rather when he ran into a doorframe in his panic to escape.
Appalled to discover Andersson's hypocrisy and the craven manner in which he has glorified in his unwarranted heroic status, Berger borrows Rogers' gun and stages another incident in which he exposes Andersson for the man of straw he really is. Having exorcised his demons, Berger agrees not to hand Rogers over to the police on condition that the stolen money is put to charitable use. He returns home to Helen feeling vindicated, and she realises that their relationship can get back on an even keel.
Cast
- Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
as Erik Berger - Virginia McKennaVirginia McKennaVirginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
as Helen Berger - Bill TraversBill TraversWilliam Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
as Andersson - Alf KjellinAlf KjellinAlf Kjellin was a Swedish film actor and director, who also appeared on some television shows.He was well established as a film actor when he occasionally took on roles in television shows. For example in 1965 he prominently guest-starred as Stalag Luft Kommandant Col...
as Rogers - Noel WillmanNoel WillmanNoel Willman was a Irish actor and theatre director of English descent..His films included Androcles and the Lion , The Man Who Knew Too Much , Across the Bridge , Carve Her Name with Pride , The Kiss of the Vampire , Doctor Zhivago , The Reptile...
as Johnson - Dorothy AlisonDorothy AlisonDorothy Alison was an Australian stage, film and television actress.She was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, and was educated at Sydney Girls High School. She moved to London, England in 1949 to further her career...
as Esther Kester - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
as John Kester - Isa Quensel as Miss Larousse
- Derek FrancisDerek FrancisDerek Francis was an English comedy and character actor.He was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in Roger Corman's last film of his Edgar Allan Poe series The Tomb of Ligeia...
as Broms
- Michael CrawfordMichael CrawfordMichael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
as Nils Lindwall - John Moulder BrownJohn Moulder BrownJohn Moulder-Brown is a British actor who started his career as a child; he is best remembered for his role in the 1971 classic Deep End....
as Rolf Berger - Georg SkarstedtGeorg SkarstedtGeorg Skarstedt was a Swedish film actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1920 and 1969.-Selected filmography:* Music in Darkness * Mästerdetektiven lever farligt * Miss April...
as Torp - Mona Geijer-FalknerMona Geijer-FalknerMona Geijer-Falkner was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 101 films between 1920 and 1969.-Selected filmography:* Music in Darkness * Only a Mother * Two Living, One Dead...
as Mrs. Holm - Torsten LilliecronaTorsten LilliecronaTorsten Lilliecrona was a Swedish actor. He is mostly famous for his role as Melker Melkersson in the highly successful TV show Vi på Saltkråkan for which Astrid Lindgren wrote the script...
as The Doctor - Alan RothwellAlan RothwellAlan Rothwell is a British actor and television presenter. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire. He first came to fame in 1960, playing the character David Barlow in the then new ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He remained in this role in 1968, and the character was killed off two years later...
as Karlson - Pauline Jameson as Miss Larsen
- Marianne Nielsen as Miss Lind
- Peter Bathurst as Engelhardt