Swedish Fly Girls
Subject: Swedish Fly Girls
Date: 18 September 1997
From: Levent Varlik
I�m typing a review about the movie "Swedish Fly Girls" is below. The movie was also marketed under the title "Christa", however the original title was "Swedish Fly Girls" that was also the title of the soundtrack. The album "Swedish Fly Girls" (music produced by Manfred Mann), Juno Records, S-1003, US1972, includes songs written by Mose Henry & Jack O�Connell, performed by Sandy Denny, Melanie, Manfred Mann and one more singer that I don�t remember now. Sandy performs "Water Mother", "What Will I Do With Tomorrow", "Are The Judges Sane" and "I Need You". There are no performer credits on the record.
Here is the review with a brief intro, originally written by Kell (You can see the reprint of the original press cutting of this review in Fiddlestix Magazine #38):
Christa (U.S.-Danish-Color)
Cannes, May 15
Astron (New York) release of Astron & Laleren Film (Denmark) coproduction. Produced, written and directed by Jack O�Connell. Stars Birtho Tove, Daniel Galin, Baard Owe, Clinton Greyn, Ciro Elias. Camera (Eastmancolor) Henning Kristiansen. Editor, Russell Lloyd. Musical score, lyrics and playing, Manfred Mann. Reviewed at Cinema Le Star, Cannes, May 14,�71. Running Time: 94 MINS.
Jack O�Connell spent the summer of 1969 in Denmark. His San Fransisco feature, "Revolution", fared well at the Danish boxoffice. The Scandinavian easygoing manners, the freshly-green landscapes and the particular cool-yet-hot appeal of haute couture model Birthe Tove tempted O�Connell to make a film there and then. He approached Laterna Film�s open-minded Mogens Skot-Hansen, a production team was set up, the film was shot; then nothing was heard or seen about it till fest time Cannes 1971 with "Christa" posters everywhere.
Reportedly O�Connell�s film had an original running time of close to four hours. The editing job went from one to another until it was beautifully handled by Russell Lloyd. Al Kooper did a musical score for the film but various artistic and financial trouble seems to have arisen and Manfred Mann came around lyrics and another score with more relevance to the story line.
The woman of the title is an airline stewardess in some rather futuristic company. She does all the things airline stewardess normally never do: she flirts brashly with male passangers and give them lifts from the airport in Kastrup to her Copenhagen home where she beds down with them. The sex scenes are mostly tributes to Miss Tove�s spectacular body. The males involved are generally seen as rather stunned spectators as they might well be.
Christa, it appears, has a son by a former, short-lived affair with a young businessman (Baard Owe), but the son is kept at some rural outpost with Christa�s parents. Between lovers, Christa has embarrassing confrontations with her child�s father who is hellbent on trouble and, to prove his absolute impotence in handling the conditions of life, suicide.
Not all Christa�s lovers become real lovers. For instance Daniel Gelin frowns philosophically and insists that music (he is a symphony conductor) demands his life juices.
All the way, film is beautiful in its visual aspects. The dialog and characters are, however, so corny that they have at best camp value and provoke gigles all the way. Camera chief is Henning Kristansen but a cameraman does not, however, make a film.
Birthe Tove is a joy, a natural-born actress who has been used in other current Danish productions, such as Gabriel Axel�s "Harlequin�s Stick" and John Hilbard�s "Bottoms Up". Nudity may have been her main attractions so far, but O�Connell also brings forth an inner beauty that compares favorably with her physical look-alike, Catherine Deneuve.
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