Noita palaa elämään


Noita palaa elämään is a Finnish horror film from 1952. It was directed by Roland af Hällstrom and produced by Mauno Mäkelä. The film is based on Mika Waltari's 1947 play of the same name.

Controversy

The film is considered to be one of the first Finnish horror movies, along with Linnaisten vihreä kamari and Valkoinen peura. The nudity scenes provoked a lot of controversy at the time, and helped the film to get sold to the United States and the West Germany. In Finland, 14 meters of the film was censored, including the line: "I want to hold a young warm body in my arms – in the meadow, among flowers naked, in the warmth of fire, in the warmth of blood".

Reception

Noita palaa elämään won two Jussi Awards, one for Esko Töyri for best cinematography and another for Lauri Elo for best production design. Young actress Mirja Mane was both praised and criticized for her performance as the witch. The reception from female critics was mostly negative, while some of the male critics noted that Mane's performance reflected an obvious talent.

Cast