Word: larsson
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Lars Larsson...
...turns in a strong, understated performance as Detective-Inspector Martin Beck, an unlikely protagonist given his nondescript, middle-aged appearance and his plodding method. Hakan Serner plays Beck' partner, a worried, weary little man who does most of the legwork. The foils are provided by Kollberg (Sven Wollter) and Larsson (Thomas Hellberg), two handsome young cops who cordially and sarcastically detest each other, but who manage to wrap up the case in the end. One is wealthy and arrogant, the other working-class, bright and likeable...
...chief (since The Abominable Man) of Sweden's National Homicide Squad. A laconic fellow with bad digestion and a fear of flying, he has only two diversions: building model boats and working jigsaw puzzles. In The Man on the Balcony, Beck considers his close associates: "He disliked Gunvald Larsson and had no high opinion of Rönn. He had no high opinion of himself either, for that matter." That is one of Beck's few mistakes in judgment. The dyspeptic, broody official is that rarest creation, an ideal policeman...
...perfectionist. Like Holmes and Hercule Poirot, he deeply believes that "chance has no part in police work"-but his hunches tend to be inspired. These two are supported by a sturdy cast: Fredrik Melander, who has a prodigious memory and spends much of his day in the bathroom; Gunvald Larsson, an impetuous dropout from what he calls "upper-class riffraff;" Einar Rönn, who writes execrable official reports; Per Mänsonn, who is chief in Malmö, where trouble often occurs (and where the Wahlöös lived). Finally, there are the Keystone Klutzes, Kvant and Kristiansson...
These characters do more than provide incidental entertainment. Kollberg's sexy wife Gun, Larsson's billingsgate, Beck's wretched rides on the subway are points of reference and stability in books that have become increasingly radical...