The Outlaw and His Wife (1918)

The Outlaw and His Wife (Swedish: Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru) is a 1918 Swedish silent film directed by Victor Sjöström, based on a play from 1911 by Jóhann Sigurjónsson. It tells the story of Eyvind of the Hills, an 18th-century Icelandic outlaw.

The film was groundbreaking for its portrayal of wild nature. It was shot in two sessions in the spring and late summer 1917, with Åre and Abisko in northern Sweden acting as the highlands of Iceland.

Synopsis

A man who calls himself Kári is offered a job by a wealthy widow named Halla. Eventually they fall in love, but one day in church a man recognizes Kári as his true identity - the escaped criminal Eyvind of the Hills. Eyvind has to flee to the highlands, and Halla decides to go with him. There they have a child and live happily in love, providing food by hunting and fishing, until one day when Eyvind's old friend Arnas appears, also an outlaw, and falls in love with Halla too. Other people are conspiring to get rid of the criminal as well, and the living conditions for Eyvind and Halla start to become worse and worse.

Actors