2 of the 3 versions of SINGOALLA (1949)
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:48 pm
Below are scans from two of the three simultaneous versions of SINGOALLA (1949), directed by Christian-Jaque. It was a copro between France and Sweden, made in three "language" versions. The English-speaking version, called "Gypsy Fury" in America and "The Wind Is My Lover" in UK, was drastically cut to 63 mins (from 145 - you can imagine the results) by Monogram in America. I'm still trying to get the complete English version. Alf Kjellin was in it, under his pseudonym "Christopher Kent". He was also of course in the Swedish version. Viveca Lindfors played Singoalla in all three. Some French actors played only in the French one, like Michel Auclair who replaced Alf Kjellin.
The movie itself is extraordinary, flirting with the supernatural and the occult, the family curses (all the males in a rich and noble family dies young, some times after their marriage), the fear of the pest, etc. And the somptuous photography was the work of Christian Matras ("La grande illusion", "Fanfan-la-Tulipe").
Incidentally, the French captures below can give the impression that the Swedish version has a better photography, but in fact these captures came from a VHS, as the movie hasn't be released on DVD to date. The Swedish captures came from the DVD just released in Sweden - this explains the difference.
The movie was shot in Sweden for the exteriors, and in the Studios of Billancourt, near Paris, for the interiors.
An almost comic note, in retrospect (spoilers). Both the Swedish and French language versions have tragic endings. The Swedish DVD includes the 11 last minutes of the English-language version and it has a happy end... maybe for American audiences of the time (I wonder if the British audiences saw this ending too).
The movie itself is extraordinary, flirting with the supernatural and the occult, the family curses (all the males in a rich and noble family dies young, some times after their marriage), the fear of the pest, etc. And the somptuous photography was the work of Christian Matras ("La grande illusion", "Fanfan-la-Tulipe").
Incidentally, the French captures below can give the impression that the Swedish version has a better photography, but in fact these captures came from a VHS, as the movie hasn't be released on DVD to date. The Swedish captures came from the DVD just released in Sweden - this explains the difference.
The movie was shot in Sweden for the exteriors, and in the Studios of Billancourt, near Paris, for the interiors.
An almost comic note, in retrospect (spoilers). Both the Swedish and French language versions have tragic endings. The Swedish DVD includes the 11 last minutes of the English-language version and it has a happy end... maybe for American audiences of the time (I wonder if the British audiences saw this ending too).