Karin Månsdotter (1954) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1954 · 108 mins · Swedish

Directed by

Alf Sjöberg

Starring

Margaretha Krook, Jarl Kulle, Ulla Jacobsson, Per Oscarsson, Måns Westfelt, Sven Holmberg

Karin, a commoner, marries the mentally unstable King Erik XIV and becomes queen of Sweden. Adviser Göran Persson promotes a populist policy, while Erik vacillates between forceful strength and erratic weakness. Persson orders the murder of powerful nobles; Erik’s first treason trial fails, but a second parliament convicts them. Guilt‑ridden, Erik apologises, is dethroned and imprisoned; Persson is executed, and Karin is confined to a Finnish castle. In prison Erik still sees himself king, gifting guards Baltic’s entire fish haul.