Zetterling, Mai Elisabeth

▪ 1995

      Swedish actress and director (b. May 24, 1925, Vasteras, Sweden—d. March 15?, 1994, London, England), was a popular stage and screen actress in post-World War II Britain; in the 1960s she became a successful film director. Zetterling grew up in poverty and was largely self-educated. Her stage debut at age 16 earned her an invitation to join the Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm. She gained international attention for her first major film, Hets (1945; "Frenzy"), and in 1947 she moved to England to star in Ealing Studio's Frieda. Other films include Quartet (1948), Knock on Wood (1954) opposite Danny Kaye, Abandon Ship (1957), and Only Two Can Play (1961) with Peter Sellers. She continued to appear onstage, with successful runs in The Wild Duck, The Seagull, A Doll's House, and Hedda Gabler. Dissatisfied with the movie roles being offered her, Zetterling turned to directing in 1960 and won a Golden Lion at the 1963 Venice Film Festival for a short documentary, The War Game. As a director she evinced a strong feminist perspective in films such as Alskande par (1964; Loving Couples), Nattlek (1966; Night Games), Flikorna (1968; The Girls), and Scrubbers (1983). She returned to the screen as an actress in The Witches (1989) and Hidden Agenda (1990). Zetterling also wrote novels and an autobiography, All Those Tomorrows (1985).

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