The Seduction of Inga
By Chris Hyde
December 6, 2004
A new Special Edition of some classic Swedish '60s sexploitation brings back the striking beauty of Marie Liljedahl.
As the decade of the '60s drew to a close, Western cultural zeitgeist undid its pants in a global orgy of flower power and free love. While this political and sexual revolution had such far-ranging effects that its opposing camps continue to fight a pitched battle over the bodily ramparts, on the movie screen the results generally led to a much looser expression of human sexuality than the cinema had shown before. Though the short “stag film” has a far longer backroom history that ranges back to near the beginnings of the cinema, in the main the depiction of sex in feature film was limited — especially in America, whose puritanical history has quite often reared its head with regards to the cinematic treatment of intimacy.
By the late 1960s there were certainly already the nascent seeds of a domestic sex film industry here in the States, but it was a particular Scandinavian country that would garner the major reputation for celluloid salaciousness. When Victor Sjöstrom’s infamous I Am Curious Yellow was seized by customs and scrutinized legally in the courts, the idea of the Swedish sex film as purveyor of prurience became firmly fixed in the mind of the public. Also aiding in this reputation was Joseph Sarno’s groundbreaking Inga, a frank character study of a young girl (played by Stockholm-born Marie Liljedahl) and her sexual awakening. However, contrary to the popular misconceptions that arose at the time in the minds of the public and press these films are far less coarse and libidinous than what would follow in their wake — with Sarno’s movie in particular being driven far more by character than carnality.
By the time he made Inga in Sweden in 1967, the American-born Sarno had already helmed a number of homegrown movies with titles like Sin in the Suburbs and The Bed and How to Make It that tackled the hidden life of sexuality in the States. Though peppered with a modicum of nudity, it was mainly story that guided the director’s hand. While these flicks did encounter some general hand-wringing as to their content, it really wasn’t until Sarno went to Sweden and put Marie Liljedahl onscreen that his reputation would crystallize. Capitalizing on the less restrictive mores of Sweden and the captivating presence of its youthful star, Inga would prove to be such a successful outing that the director would return and make a sequel in 1969.
The Seduction of Inga picks up from its predecessor with Liljedahl stuck in a rooming house awaiting the return of the beau with whom she previously shacked up. Running short of cash with her boyfriend utterly AWOL, it appears at first that the poor woman might end up hooking for the leering matron who runs the building where she lives. But a friendly tip luckily allows her to get a job doing some secretarial work for a relatively well-off novelist named Stig; and though he is much older than she, the pair eventually end up together as lovers. Meanwhile, back at the rooming house a mod rocker type also has his eyes on the lithesome lass — although when Inga shows little interest he initially takes up with another. More complications follow when an old female relation (Inger Sundh) of Stig’s spots Liljedahl in a nightclub wearing the clothes that were once hers, spurring a final set of events that logically plays through all the interpersonal dynamics of the characters.
As with the earlier incarnation of Inga, most of this film’s success revolves around the ineffable qualities of its star and the above average skill of the director. While much of what has become to be known as sexploitation is unmitigated hackwork, Sarno’s oeuvre is far different than the norm. Operating inside this low budget milieu, the filmmaker shows a great talent for interesting setups, artistic lighting and screen sex that grows out of story rather than being there simply for its own sake. (Save for the inserts placed in the print by the film’s unscrupulous American distributor — a decision not at all sanctioned by the director). His approach also allows the film’s doe-eyed star to evince her stunning charisma in all its glory, for there are few female stars from the era that can carry a movie in the way that Liljedahl does here. And it’s not just her stunning looks that lend one to think that she could easily have been a far bigger star had she chosen to remain in the cinema; there’s also a riveting innocence mixed with an alluring eroticism that makes hers a truly unique persona.
Certainly tame by today’s standards, The Seduction of Inga nevertheless is a historic piece of sexploitation and Retro-Seduction’s new Special Edition two-disc package is an amazing release that treats it as such. Included here is not only a fullscreen version of the movie on the first disc of the set, but also a “grindhouse’ cut that shows off the film in its proper 1:66 to 1 ratio. This latter cut is also a much more colorful representation of the piece, as the hues are much better pronounced than in the first. As far as content, the two cuts are not all that different — though unsurprisingly, the version meant for Times Square and environs has a bit more of the licentious non-Sarno inserts.
As far as extras go, this release really comes chock full. On the first disk is a solid 20 minutes of documentary called “Innocence Lost: The Story of Inga” that narrates the tale of the Inga films and has contemporary interviews with director Sarno, his wife Peggy Steffens-Sarno and star Marie Liljedahl. Additionally, there’s a short piece interviewing producer Vernon P. Becker wherein he delineates anecdotes from the making of the picture. Also packaged here is a trailer for the upcoming Lust for Life, Sarno’s first film in over 20 years and a music video based on the Inga’s Theme song contained on the film’s soundtrack. What’s especially notable about this tune (as well as She’s My Girl, another fuzzy rock number played herein) is that the pair Benny and Bjorn who recorded the music would eventually become one half of the popular Swedish supergroup Abba.
You might think all of that would be plenty to make a Special Edition; but in this case the company has gone much further. Disc Two has the aforementioned grindhouse version of The Seduction of Inga, but in a stunning bonus it also has a long lost 1969 film by Sarno under the title The Indelicate Balance. Located by film collector Gary Huggins, this rough treasure charts the story of a Swedish country family whose familial dynamics are dark and erotically charged. The print sure isn’t in great shape and there’s some obviously missing footage in a few of the sex scenes, but the impressive professionalism of the cast (who were reputedly all stage actors), the snowbound locale and the quality screenplay all make this one a definite find. Recorded in its original Swedish, this treasure is a great addition to the Sarno canon and truly shows off the director’s considerable skill and sympathetic eye.
The Indelicate Balance is presented here in its original 1:66 to 1 format, and while there’s sure lots of damage that the transfer can’t help with, the historic value of the document makes it easy to overlook the flaws. Additionally, there’s an at times meandering but very valuable commentary provided by Huggins, Peggy Steffens-Sarno and Retro-Seduction’s David Fine. While one wishes they had bothered to unplug the phone while they were doing the audio track, there’s plenty of anecdotes and background info given that make this one well worth a listen. The final inclusion on this DVD is a whole pile of trailers for other Sarno such as Veil of Blood, Bibi and the Harry Reems/Eric Edwards film Butterflies and also some previews for other more modern releases from the company. Completing the whole package is a great little 12 page booklet with an essay on both of the features by Michael J. Bowen, which is fully fleshed out with shots of assorted promotional material.
Though the uninitiated may want to start on Sarno with one of his later works, sexploitation archaeologists who are already familiar with the pioneer need not hesitate in scooping up this brilliant representation of the filmmaker’s earlier projects. Retro-Seduction could easily have made this disk a necessary purchase simply with the Marie Liljedahl material alone; but their placing the almost unseen The Indelicate Balance here truly makes this one of the best nudie genre offerings to hit the marketplace during 2004. While it’s a true shame that The Seduction of Inga’s exquisite leading lady retired from the world of film far too early, this new Special Edition helps shine a bright digital spotlight both on her prodigious talent as well as on the careful craft of the man who first put her in front of the camera.
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