"The Dance Over the Graves"
Tanssi yli hautojen (Dansen över gravarna)
La danse sur les tombeaux (French title)
Tanz über Gräber (German title)

Finland 1950 B/W 98min Oy Suomen Filmiteollisuus

**½

Drama

cast: Leif Wager (Aleksanteri I = Alexander the first), Eila Peitsalo (Ulla), Arvo Lehesmaa (Gagarin), Siiri Angerkoski, Ossi Korhonen, Mauri Jaakkola (Antti Karppanen), Eino Kaipainen, Kaarlo Halttunen (Speranski), Kauko Käuhkö, Thure Bahne (De Geer), Matti Ranin, Tyyne Haarla, Rauha Rentola (Ms. Holm), Emma Väänänen, Alpo Vammelvuo, Mikko Niskanen, Oke Tuuri, Verna Piponius, Aarne Laine, Åke Lindman, Yrjö Vuorensola, Uljas Kandolin, Kaisu Leppänen, Tabe Laetvirta, Tuula Usva, Henny Waljus, Rauni Mollberg
credits: dir. T. J. Särkkä (also prod.), DOP Kalle Peronkoski, script Mika Waltari, music Nils-Erik Fougstedt, assistant director Eddie Stenberg, staging Karl Fager, costumes Fiinu Autio and Ahti Yrjölä

It's 1809 and members of the Diet are coming together in Porvoo. Alexander the first has came from Russia to let people know that he's still the ruler of Finland etc. Some people are against this and so a sweet young lady will be sent to manipulate Alexander. But she falls in love with him...

Leif Wager plays Alexander - who talks better Finnish than the real Alexander the first ever did. Eila Peitsalo is the young beauty who falls in love with him. The whole film is so sweet that it's hard to not vomit when you're watching it. It's pathetic one hour and 38 minutes.

TRIVIA: A scandal queen Tabe Slioor can be seen here in a small role as a famous lady who has big breasts.

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