Barabbas is a 1953 Swedish drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Alf Sjöberg. It is based on the novel Barabbas

Barabbas (novel)

Barabbas is a 1950 novel by Pär Lagerkvist. It tells a version of the life of Barabbas, the man whom the Bible relates was released instead of Jesus.-Plot:...

 by Pär Lagerkvist

Pär Lagerkvist

Pär Fabian Lagerkvist was a Swedish author who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951.Lagerkvist wrote poems, plays, novels, stories, and essays of considerable expressive power and influence from his early 20s to his late 70s...

. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival

1953 Cannes Film Festival

-Jury:*Jean Cocteau *Louis Chauvet *Titina De Filippo *Guy Desson *Philippe Erlanger *Renée Faure *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Abel Gance *André Lang...

.

Being one of the biggest Swedish productions of its time, it is today unknown to the big masses, both internationally and in its native Sweden. In 1961 an American adaption of the same novel was released, starring Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn

Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...

 in the leading part.

Selected cast

• Ulf Palme
  Ulf Palme
  Ulf Palme was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Stockholm, and died in Ingarö, Sweden.-Selected filmography:* Only a Mother * Prison * Girl with Hyacinths...
  
   - Barabbas
• Georg Årlin
  Georg Årlin
  Georg Adolf Wilhelm Årlin was a Swedish film actor who appeared in 50 films between 1940 and 1988.A native of the southern city of Karlskrona, renowned as Sweden's only baroque city and site of the country's sole remaining naval base, Georg Årlin died in Lövestad at the age of 75.-Selected...
  
   - Lazarus
• Hugo Björne
  Hugo Björne
  Hugo Björne was a Swedish film and theater actor.-Life and career:Björne was born in Varberg on the Swedish west coast. He made his stage debut in 1907 and his film acting debut in 1913, starring in silent movies. Later, Björne would be better known as a supporting actor...
  
   - Leper at Death Valley
• Eva Dahlbeck
  Eva Dahlbeck
  Eva Dahlbeck was a Swedish actress and author.Eva Dahlbeck was born in Saltsjö-Duvnäs near Stockholm. She attended the prestigious acting school of the Royal Dramatic Theatre from 1941 to 1944, and acted on the Theatre's stage from 1944 to 1964...
  
   - The Mother
• Sture Ericson
  Sture Ericson
  Sture Ericson was a Swedish film actor.He was born in Salem, Sweden and died in Stockholm.-Selected filmography:* Crisis * It Rains on Our Love * Port of Call * Eva...
  
   - Father of hare-lipped
• Sven-Eric Gamble
  Sven-Eric Gamble
  Sven-Eric Gamble was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden.-Selected filmography:* Port of Call * Thirst * While the City Sleeps * Barabbas -External links:...
  
   - Christian in slave caves at Rome
• Åke Grönberg
  Åke Grönberg
  Karl Åke Edvard Grönberg was a Swedish film actor who appeared in nearly 100 films. Gronberg was a versatile stage personalities of his day, performing as a singer, variety artist, actor, in musical shows and in dramatic productions.He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died of a heart attack in...
  
   - Armful watchman at Rome
• Erik Hell - Man at Jerusalem
• Anders Henrikson
  Anders Henrikson
  Anders Henrikson was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in 57 films between 1913 and 1965. He also directed 30 films between 1933 and 1956.-Selected filmography:Actor* Den starkaste...
  
   - Roman procurator on Cyprus
• Barbro Hiort af Ornäs
  Barbro Hiort af Ornäs
  Barbro Hiort af Ornäs is a Swedish actress. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. Along with Bibi Andersson, Eva Dahlbeck, and Ingrid Thulin, she won the Best Actress Award at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for the film Brink of Life....
  
   - Maria of Magdala
• Jarl Kulle - Leper at Death Valley
• Torsten Lilliecrona
  Torsten Lilliecrona
  Torsten Lilliecrona was a Swedish actor. He is mostly famous for his role as Melker Melkersson in the highly successful TV show Vi på Saltkråkan for which Astrid Lindgren wrote the script...
  
   - Supervisor at copper mine on Cyprus
• Peter Lindgren
  Peter Lindgren (actor)
  Peter Lindgren was a Swedish actor. His many roles include the part of "Lena's father" in I Am Curious and I Am Curious ....
  
   - Soldier which assaulted gang
• Yvonne Lombard
  Yvonne Lombard
  Yvonne Lombard, is a Swedish actress. Born in Stockholm, Lombard studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre there, where she trained between 1948 and 1951 with the likes of Max von Sydow, and Ingrid Thulin. She has performed in several films, in TV series and in the theatre...
  
   - Prostitute
• Holger Löwenadler
  Holger Löwenadler
  Holger Löwenadler was a Swedish film actor. He starred in Ingmar Bergman's 1947 film A Ship to India. He appeared in the 1951 film Divorced, which was written by Bergman...
  
   - Thief
• Stig Olin
  Stig Olin
  Stig Olin was a Swedish actor, theatre director, songwriter and singer. Father of actress Lena Olin and Swedish singer Mats Olin...
  
   - Member of Barabbas' gang
• Per Oscarsson
  Per Oscarsson
  - External links :...
  
   - Boy
• Gösta Prüzelius
  Gösta Prüzelius
  Gösta Prüzelius was a Swedish actor. His first film part was in the 1945 film Flickorna i Småland. He played in films as diverse as Summer with Monika, Space Invasion of Lapland, Fanny and Alexander, and Ingmar Bergman's film version of The Magic Flute...
  
   - Member of Barabbas' gang
• Sif Ruud
  Sif Ruud
  Sif Ruud, born Sif Einarsdotter Ruud Fallde was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 140 films.-Selected filmography:* It Rains on Our Love * Port of Call * Thirst...
  
   - Fat Woman
• Gunnar Sjöberg
  Gunnar Sjöberg
  Gunnar Sjöberg was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden.-Selected filmography:* The Great Adventure * Barabbas * Wild Strawberries * Brink of Life...
  
   - Supervisor at copper mine on Cyprus
• Erik Strandmark
  Erik Strandmark
  Erik Strandmark was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Torsaker, Sweden and died in a plane crash in Trinidad in 1963.-Selected filmography:* Barabbas * Sawdust and Tinsel...
  
   - Petrus

Production

After a year of preparations, the shooting started in the spring of 1952 in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, and then moved on for interior scenes in Sweden during the summer. As the assigned cinematographer Göran Strindberg became ill early during the production, the still up-and-coming Sven Nykvist

Sven Nykvist

Sven Vilhem Nykvist was a Swedish cinematographer. He worked on over 120 films, but is known especially for his work with director Ingmar Bergman...

, later star cinematographer for Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman

Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

, had to replace him for the exterior shots. Additional filming occurred during the autumn and even into December.