Swedenhielms is a 1935 film from Sweden directed by Gustav Molander.
The Swedenhielms are an upper-class family. The patriarch, Professor Swedenhielm, is an eminent scientist who is up for a Nobel Prize. His son Rolf is his father's assistant, son Bo is a stunt pilot, and daughter Julia is an actress. The professor's wife being long dead, the family is held together by Marta the housekeeper, who is regarded as one of the family and indeed whom the kids call "mommy".
The only problem is that the family is broke. Professor Swedenheim's various patents and scientific innovations haven't brought in much money in. All the kids need money, including Bo, who is worried about how he can't even afford an engagement ring for his gorgeous fiancee, Astrid (19-year-old Ingrid Bergman in one of her first parts). The kids are counting on the professor to win that Nobel Prize, which will mean a cash prize and more future income—so they are thrown into a panic when a newspaper story reports that the Nobel will likely go to a Canadian scientist.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Bo says this word-for-word, in Swedish anyway, when recapping for a reporter how the Swedenhielms are an old noble family, and how the professor is a famous scientist and inventor.
- Comforting Comforter: Although the kids are stressed out about money, they care about their father, as shown when Julia puts a blanket over her dozing father, after the family reads a story about how a Canadian is expected to take the Nobel.
- Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle: Yes, the Danish word for "The End" is "Slut".
- Glasses Pull: Professor Swedenhielms does this when Marta surprises him by confessing that it was her, not Bo, that forged that note.
- Gratuitous Laboratory Flasks: If all the talk about the Nobel Prize weren't enough to tell that Prof. Swedenhielm is a serious scientist, there's also the scene of him in his lab with a large collection of overly large, exotically shaped beakers.
- Loan Shark: Erikson. "You might call me a banker." Bo has gotten heavily in his debt.
- Open-Door Opening: The film begins (after the Video Credits) with Marta opening the front door and welcoming some cleaning ladies into the house.
- Real Award, Fictional Character: Professor Swedenhielm must be a smart guy, because he is up for a Nobel Prize.
- The Reveal: It wasn't Bo that forged the professor's name to the loan shark's note, it was Marta. And apparently she's been doing it for many years, to keep the household running, because Professor Swedenhielm has been too busy to take care of stuff like balancing checkbooks.
- Sexy Backless Outfit: Julia wears a backless dress for the big Nobel Prize ceremony at the end.
- Shout-Out: Julia is playing Desdemona in a Swedish-language production of Othello. She runs through the murder scene with Marta, who does not like saying the Swedish word for "strumpet."
- Tears of Joy: The professor takes a call at home. Shocked, he staggers over to a chair, puts his head down on the desk, and cries. He then looks up and tells his concerned family that he has won the Nobel Prize.
- Unable to Support a Wife: A source of tension in the Bo-Astrid relationship. Not only is he broke, she is wealthy. Does that solve the problem? Nope, Bo decides he can't marry a woman who is much richer than he is.
- Video Credits: The opening credits are accompanied by video clips of all the main players. Unlike most examples of this trope, this one segues directly into the main action, as the clip of Marta opening the door ends with her delivering the first line of dialogue as she welcomes some cleaners into the house.
