To Kill a Child (1953)

Media (1)

Kajsa Hedström
+46 8 665 11 22
kajsa.hedstrom@filminstitutet.se

Read more about this film in our article "Bilar i svensk film" (in Swedish)

Watch this film at Filmarkivet.se

Watch this film in the Mini Cinema in our Stockholm library

Original title	Att döda ett barn
Swedish release title	Att döda ett barn
International title	To Kill a Child

Director	Gösta Werner
Screenplay	Gösta Werner
Director of Photography	Sten Dahlgren
Film Editor	Gösta Werner
Titles	Alva Lundin
Narrator	Gunnar Sjöberg

Karl-Erik Forsgårdh	bilföraren
Marie-Anne Condé	kvinnan i bilen
Georg Årlin	barnets far
Sissi Kaiser	barnets mor
Kerstin Thörn	barnet
Sten Larsson	bensinförsäljaren

Production Company	Minerva Film AB
Orderer	Försäkringsbolagens upplysningstjänst

Gösta Werner, who lived 1908-2009, and his far-reaching work in film has made him a key figure in Swedish film history. Werner was active as a director, film researcher, critic and professor of film studies. He was involved in founding Lund Studenters filmstudio (the Lund students’ film studio) in 1929 and Svenska Filmsamfundet in 1933 (later the Swedish Film Institute Archival Film Collections), as well as Filmpublicisternas förening (the film publicists’ association) in 1937. In 1971 he was the first doctoral graduate of the relatively new subject Film Studies, with a thesis on Mauritz Stiller and his films. Werner made 40 or so films, most of them shorts and many of them on commission. His classic To Kill A Child, from the short story by Stig Dagerman, was originally commissioned by an insurance company.

To Kill A Child has been digitally restored by the Swedish Film Institute. It is available with English subtitles.

Censorship number	81314
Date	1952-10-17
Classification	Allowed from age 15
Original length	255 meters

Censorship number	81314
Date	1952-10-17
Classification	Allowed from age 15
Original length	102 meters

Aspect ratio	1.37:1
Sound type	Sound
Sound system	Optical mono
Colour type	Black and white
Carrier type	35 mm
Frames per second	24
Length in metres	255 meters
Length in minutes	10 min
Reels	1 reels
Dialogue	Swedish

Original title	Att döda ett barn (Short story)
Author	Stig Dagerman

		Sweden	(sommaren)	1952	1952
	Haväng på Österlen i Skåne

Other showing	1952-10-31	Uppsala Studenters Filmstudio	Uppsala	Sweden	9 min
First showing	1953-08-27	Park	Stockholm	Sweden	9 min	(förfilm till "I Confess")
Cinematheque screening	1994-02-05			Sweden
	1994-02-06			Sweden
Other showing	1995-10-26					Genomgående repor.
	1998-05-10
	1998-11-14
	2000-03-26
	2001-03-29
Festival showing	2001-10-28					Kraftiga repor i början (100 m). Repor genom hela filmen, även negativrepor. Ojämnt ljussatt.
	2006-04-20					Sliten, många repor blank- och mattsidan.
Cinematheque screening	2008-05-11	Bio Victor	Stockholm	Sweden
External cinema, Sweden	2008-07-31					AH.
Cinematheque screening, archive copy	2008-11-01	Bio Mauritz	Stockholm	Sweden		Länge leve filmen! - Filmarkivet 75 år.
Cinematheque screening	2008-11-01	Bio Mauritz	Stockholm	Sweden		Filmarkivet 75 år: Kortfilmsmaraton 1
External cinema, Sweden	2009-09-04
	2009-09-19
	2009-10-08					AH.
	2010-07-15					Av misstag skickades B-kopian iväg som tyvärr visades vid första tillfället, därefter A då C inte hittades. OBS! kopian till Magnus för koll vid retur.
	2010-07-25
	2010-07-28
Censurbeslut	2012-06-13					13-17/6, i samarb. med KAVA.
Non Swedish theater exkl FIAF	2012-10-21
VOD release	2016-08-24	Filmarkivet.se		Sweden
Cinematheque screening	2018-10-18	Filmhuset	Stockholm	Sweden
Cinematheque screening, archive copy	2018-10-18
Censurbeslut	2020-08-25			Italy		Visning på festivalen Il cinema ritrovato 25-31/8 2020
Cinematheque screening	2023-05-04	Bio Mauritz, Filmhuset	Stockholm	Sweden
External cinema, Sweden	2023-10-06		Uppsala	Sweden
Festival showing, abroad	2024-08-17		Caniçal	Portugal
Cinematheque screening	2024-08-27	Bio Capitol	Gothenburg	Sweden
Cinematheque screening, archive copy	2024-09-01	Bio Victor, Filmhuset	Stockholm	Sweden

Original title	Springtime Romance
Composer	Rudolf Nelson

Original title	Nosegay
Composer	Walter Joseph

Festival Award	Edinburgh	1953			(diploma of merit)

The information given here refers to film material in the Swedish Film Institute’s archive. Access to the archive’s stock is given on request, for research, other film archives and rights’ holders. For enquiries please contact filmarkivet@filminstitutet.se

Element type	Print
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	16 mm

Element type	Print
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	16 mm
Length	102

Element type	Print
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	16 mm

Element type	Print
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	254

Element type	Print
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	265

Element type	Print
Item base	Polyester
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	265

Element type	Duplicate negative
Item base	Polyester
Carrier type	35 mm

Element type	Duplicate positive opening titles
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm

Element type	Sound negative
Item base	Polyester
Carrier type	35 mm

Element type	Sound positive
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	250

Element type	Sound negative
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	250

Element type	Sound negative
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	115

Element type	Sound positive
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	100

Element type	Sound negative
Item base	Acetate
Carrier type	35 mm
Length	110

Element type	Video tape digital
Carrier type	Digital Betacam (PAL)

Script type	Dialoglista
Language	English

Black and white print	set
Colour prints	No
Behind the scenes prints	4
Slides	No
Digital images	Yes

Type	Misc.prints
Language	Swedish

Type	Program/Reklamtryck
Language	Swedish

Sound type	Sound
Colour type	Black and white
Length in minutes	9 min
Dialogue	Swedish

Element type	Digitalt visningsmaterial
Carrier type	ProRes

Element type	Digitalt arkivmaterial
Carrier type	MAP

Element type	Digitalt arkivmaterial
Carrier type	MAP

Element type	Digitalt visningsmaterial
Carrier type	DCP

Element type	Digital audio
Carrier type	WAV

Element type	Digitalt visningsmaterial
Carrier type	H264