I’m currently in the middle of my summer vacation, and happened to come across this little gem; it’s been years since I saw it the last time. Living in Sweden, a country defined by its four seasons, means summer has a special place in our hearts. Watching the classic scenes in this film that take place in Stockholm’s archipelago reminded me of the absolute necessity of paying these small islands a visit when the weather is nice and sunny. Love Mates is one of those examples of what most Swedes consider true summer-movie classics. The film that reunited its leading stars, Dear John (1964), became an art-house hit in the U.S., but this one is even better.

Hired as a janitor
Young Jan Froman (Jarl Kulle), hasn’t accomplished much, but he isn’t stupid. One day, he gets hired as the new janitor at a bank in Stockholm. His mentor (Sigge Fürst) tries to teach him what he knows before going on his summer break. The first time Jan sees Margareta Günther (Christina Schollin), he knows this is the girl he’ll marry. It’s a daring idea, because she’s quite out of his league, currently dating a shipping magnate. There’s also the issue of Jan’s experience with women, which amounts to nothing.

As he tries to woo Margareta, who’s unexpectedly charmed, he comes up with a way to benefit financially from his close access to wealthy businessmen at the bank…

Adding a cute touch
Director Lars-Magnus Lindgren’s breakthrough was a huge hit in Sweden at the time. Sex plays an important part, even if it’s never as daring or challenging as certain other films from the era. Jan’s virginity adds a cute touch to the story, a fact that Margareta finds both endearing and frustrating, especially during their first visit to the islands off the coast of Stockholm where the much anticipated seduction fails to materialize. Things change after a while, but the film maintains a sweet and romantically tender approach to its sex, creating a summer fling that carries the hope of lasting longer. Beautiful cinematography, capturing sunbaked cliffs and peaceful waters, accompanied by a highly memorable, playful music score by Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist, help make this such a pleasure to watch.

Kulle and Schollin are entirely convincing in the leads as an odd but lovable couple. The former has a lot to work with here, playing somebody who knows how to get ahead in business, but can’t translate that approach to women. This was also a defining role for Schollin, who subsequently had a small shop in Stockholm’s Old Town for 22 years where she sold trinkets and figurines in the shape of angels; a reference to the original title of this movie, Schollin is the angel who changes Kulle’s life.

This is a genuinely witty film.

The screenplay has weaker moments, but this is a genuinely witty film, where Jan’s entrepreneurial talents bring him (and his mentor) success, as they jump into the real-estate business and one of the city’s most dilapidated buildings. Among the supporting cast, Fürst and Edvin Adolphson (as Schollin’s father, an amusingly rigid old-school navy officer) stand out. 

Love Mates 1961-Sweden. 108 min. Color. Produced by Sven Lindberg. Written and directed by Lars-Magnus Lindgren. Novel: John Einar Åberg. Cinematography: Rune Ericson. Music: Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist. Cast: Jarl Kulle (Jan Froman), Christina Schollin (Margareta Günther), Edvin Adolphson (Viktor Günther), Sigge Fürst, Isa Quensel, Gunnar Sjöberg, George Fant, Margit Carlqvist, Toivo Pawlo, Torsten Lilliecrona… Sune Mangs, Kotti Chave. 

Trivia: Original title: Änglar, finns dom? Released in Britain as Do You Believe in Angels and in Australia as Man Without Hope. 

Last word: “This was a summer when the only rays of sunlight peering out from behind clouds were the only ones the camera managed to catch. Between takes, we used army fur coats to get warm, and then DP Rune Ericson would cry out, ‘Sun! Get those fur coats off, camera, action, please begin!’, and we’d lose the coats and try not to shiver too much […] If the director had had his way, Jarl and I would have been running around stark naked on those cliffs, but I made it clear: ‘I am not going down in Swedish film history as a nudist’, so I refused to swim without a bikini. Let me tell you, that was not a refusal that went down well.” (Schollin, Expressen)