De Düve: The Dove

US (1968): Short/Comedy

This 15-minute film is a parody of two 1957 Ingmar Bergman films: Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället) and The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde Inseglet). The dialogue, seemingly in Swedish, is actually Swedish-accented English with most nouns ending in "ska". The principal character, Professor Viktor Sundqvist (George Coe), 76, is being driven to a lecture at the university, when dove droppings splatter the car's windshield. Detouring at his uncle's old house, his mind wanders back to his youth, when Death (Sidney Davis) came to a family picnic to claim his sister, Inga (Pamela Burrell). Knowing that Death is a gambler, Viktor has Inga challenge Death to a single-point game of badminton for her life. While they are playing, a dove flies above, soiling Death's cape, and distracting him enough to miss the birdie. Having won the game, Inga is free, and she and Viktor run off for a swim in the lake. George Coe and Anthony Lover direct Sidney Davis' script. (Dana Holm Howard, IMDb)

· Short Subjects (Live Action) 1968: George Coe, Sidney Davis & Anthony Lover, producers

1 nomination