The Ballad of Joe Hill [Joe Hill] *** (1971, Thommy Berggren, Anja Schmidt, Kelvin Malave) – Classic Movie Review 10,293

Director Bo Widerberg’s 1971 Swedish historical biographical drama film The Ballad of Joe Hill [Joe Hill] stars Thommy Berggren as the legendary Swedish-American agitator Joe Hill.

At the start-of-the-last-century, Joe Hill (Berggren), a Swedish immigrant in New York, becomes a labour leader, turns to revolution and later takes the rap when his girlfriend kills a grocer.

Though the union boss was real, Widerberg spins a made-up story round his life, giving it his customary glossy, heart-tugging treatment, which can still conjure up a powerful evocation of time, place and mood, and there is an effective lead performance from Berggren.

The title song (‘I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night’) is sung by Joan Baez.

The cast also include Anja Schmidt, Kelvin Malave, Evert Anderson, Cathy Smith, Hasse Persson, David Moritz, Wendy Geier, Franco Molinari, and Richard Weber.

Berggren is the star of Widerberg’s most famous film, Elvira Madigan (1967). Widerberg cast his son Johan as star of his final film, Love Lessons (1995).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,293

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