1972 Swedish film
The Man Who Quit Smoking (Swedish: Mannen som slutade röka) is a 1972 Swedish comedy film directed by Tage Danielsson, starring Gösta Ekman, Grynet Molvig, Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt and Gunn Wållgren. The film is known as a Hasse & Tage film and is a great cult classic in Sweden.
Plot
The plot focuses on Dante Alighieri, a young man who loves smoking. When his father dies Dante inherits 17 million kr on one special condition: He must give up smoking in 14 days and then stay smoke-free for an entire year. If he fails, his uncle inherits the 17 million instead. Dante has a living hell while trying to quit, and hires a private detective agency called Little Secret Service who he gives free hands to stop him from smoking. At the same time, his uncle (who has taken up smoking himself) does everything he can to make Dante smoke again.
Production
Tage Danielsson originally came up with the idea for this movie when he himself decided to quit smoking. If he made a movie about the subject he thought it would be too embarrassing if he ever started again. Another inspiration was Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The main character is named Dante and his loved one is called Beatrice, just as in The Divine Comedy. The plot is also divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.
