Fången på Karlstens fästning (The Prisoner of the Karlsten Fortress) is an adventure story directed by Georg af Klercker, a director who was mostly active during the 1910's. Georg af Klercker was a rival to the more famous Swedish directors Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. He filmed stories of sensational content, which sometimes got him into trouble with the censors. Few of his movies survive today, but those that do are distinguished by their beautiful photography. So is Fången.
The villains of the piece are after a formula for an explosive. They kidnap the daughter of the man who owns the formula, because she has seen them steal it. Their theft is ill-planned, and several people witness the abduction of the lady - people they do not try to silence. Luckily for them, they have a fortress in the middle of the sea to escape to.
The story for this movie is not believable. The villains are really clumsy. There are some interesting lightning effects used in the fortress scenes which are reminiscent of the Danish Det Hemmelighedsfulde X, directed by Benjamin Christensen two years earlier. The scenes inside the valves of the castle might have inspired Mauritz Stiller, who used a similar kind of aesthetic in Sir Arne's Treasure.
It is also noteworthy that the heroine escapes through her own resourcefulness. She manages to send a message to some fishermen about her whereabouts, and gets herself away from the clutches of the kidnappers in order to meet her rescuers when they arrive.
This was the era of the serial queen, after all. It's a shame it didn't last.
The villains of the piece are after a formula for an explosive. They kidnap the daughter of the man who owns the formula, because she has seen them steal it. Their theft is ill-planned, and several people witness the abduction of the lady - people they do not try to silence. Luckily for them, they have a fortress in the middle of the sea to escape to.
The story for this movie is not believable. The villains are really clumsy. There are some interesting lightning effects used in the fortress scenes which are reminiscent of the Danish Det Hemmelighedsfulde X, directed by Benjamin Christensen two years earlier. The scenes inside the valves of the castle might have inspired Mauritz Stiller, who used a similar kind of aesthetic in Sir Arne's Treasure.
It is also noteworthy that the heroine escapes through her own resourcefulness. She manages to send a message to some fishermen about her whereabouts, and gets herself away from the clutches of the kidnappers in order to meet her rescuers when they arrive.
This was the era of the serial queen, after all. It's a shame it didn't last.