Nagon att alska : The Seduction Of Inga

Back for more dick..and pussy too!

Nagon att alska, is a 1971 Swedish erotica classic that translates to English as  "Somebody To Love". The film  is nothing but the Joe Sarno's sequel to his 1968 Swedish erotica breakthrough classic "Inga". Internationally released as "The Seduction of Inga" & "Inga & Greta", the film is definitely an a la 70's style update on Inga's whereabouts. Far more explicit and less dramatic the film takes place three years after the prequel. In the original film Inga was sixteen years old and on the sequel she's already nineteen years old.

As soon as the opening titles begin, we're told by Inga herself, that her previous relationship is long over and that her budget situation has left her in deep need of finding a job as quick as she can. Living in an old building where hookers do business her situation couldn't get any worse, or could it?

Boy look at that cumface!

This is her secretary dress.

Lothar, the chief pimp of the building, turns out to be the blonde teenager who attempted to rape her a couple of years before (seen in INGA). Despite this rough history between them, he gets her a job as a secretary for a man called Stig (nothing to do with the masked car racer from Top Gear in case you are wondering), a lonely writer obsessed with his previous nymphet girlfriend, Greta. Inga and Stig begin a steamy relationship, but she becomes torn when she is wooed by Rolf, the long-haired guitar player from the apartment next door.

With INGA, Sarno departed from his standard "don't-feel-good" sexual melodramas to begin a new sub-genre in his filmography: the sexual coming of age film, with young ballerina Marie Liljedahl in a stunning return to the big screen where she's not looking for prince charming anymore. Instead, she chooses to rely on her beauty to break through. Nevertheless, just like in the original film, love has a way of finding Inga, and eventually makes things a lot more complicated and confusing in our starlet's life. 

C'mon! it's only anal!

Suck it like a man!

Like Inga this film is certainly not a soft-core pornographic film of the type that was dominating the sleazy cinemas in the 1970s, instead it is more focused on the storyline, with the sex scenes merging into the storyline and only one scene coming off as gratuitous as Inga stumbles upon the landlady of the boarding house organizing an orgy with some of the female residents who are obviously strapped for cash - this scene does seem to suggest a potential subplot of Inga being forced to prostitute herself for rent, but Sarno chooses not to exploit this. 

Instead the storyline is a rather unimaginative affair with Inga having to choose between two different men - although the arrival on the scene of blond bombshell Greta does make for some interesting ideas and brings to the fore Sarno's often re-used theme of incest, the script never captures the clever twists and turns of the first film and it can often become rather dull.

Behind the camera Sarno is solid if uninspired. Much like in Inga the nude scenes are surprisingly coy, often cutting away and always incredibly brief, while the sex scenes are filmed with oddly close-up angles(which may suggest they used other actors/actresses for the sex scenes). We rarely see a couple having sex in a complete shot, the man underneath is usually kept entirely out of frame, which may have more to do with censorship than directorial choice, but does come off as very odd particularly since one scene drags this on for about a minute. Post-production inserts were used to spice up the "Grindhouse" US print with more explicit sex scenes.

Fucking boys feels so good but...

...what about fucking girls?

Inga VS The Seduction Of Inga

When compared to the original film, The Seduction of Inga is an entirely different movie, one that doesn't match with any of Sarno's previous motifs. The film follows Inga, struggling to find happiness in her mundane life, but afraid of being tossed out of another relationship by another boy she gives her heart to. 

The pace is slow and the narrative often seems lifted out of any daytime soap opera, but with Sarno's superb cinematography, a strong performance by Liljedahl (probably her best ever), and a surprising score by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (future founders of 70s supergroup ABBA!), The Seduction of Inga is a groovy sexploitation relic which is a bad introduction to newcomers to Sarno, but regular followers of the talent involved will be pleased with the results. Sarno would explore the theme of incest (which provides the blow-to-the-skull twist ending) vividly in several films through the 70s, including Daddy Darling.

One element to the film not often mentioned is the casting of blonde beauty Inger Sundh as the mysterious Greta. Inger would go on to make several Swedish and German sexploitation films, including I am a Woman III, Dagmar's Hot Pants and FLOSSIE , and she's a superb bitchy vixen here. Fans of European garage beat music of the 60s should know the romantic lead is played by Tommy Blom, who was previously a member of The Tages (whose song "You Read Me Like an Open Book" is a highlight of Rhino's "Nuggets II" boxed set)!

Inga masturbates.

Inga's perfect ass!

Marie Liljedahl gives another solid performance as Inga although, she is not required to do as many sex scenes here as in the many other films she shot since her first film with Sarno. Actor Lennart Lindberg has various film credits to his name and plays the older Stig, although his acting is not really up to the role and even in a couple of key scenes he looks completely wooden. Tommy Blom is much more effective as the young guitarist who falls for Inga while the gorgeous Inger Sundh is well worth watching as Greta. 

With equally brief sex and nude scenes helmed in a rather unexciting manner, but without such an interesting storyline, The Seduction of Inga is a rather lesser sequel to Sarno's own original film. On the plus side, Marie Liljedahl is as good as ever and the beautiful Inger Sundh makes a very good looking love rival. Certainly of interest to fans of the first film, it is not one for anyone expecting a full-on Swedish softcore fantasy.

I swallowed too many loads, I'm exhausted!

Would you be my valentine?

More about Marie Liljedhal the first Swedish Erotica Starlet

In the two short years between the INGA films, Marie Liljedahl had become a household name throughout Europe (or at least in the sleazier homes on the continent) thanks to appearances in Jess Franco's EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (our next review) and GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES FOR ADULTS. Comparing and contrasting her performances in both INGA films reveals that she had developed as an actress, radiating a depth and intelligence she did not possess in 1967. She would appear in two more films in 1970 before calling it quits from the silver screen, letting Swedish contemporary Christina Lindberg take over as the #1 Scandinavian nymph at the box office. If she had wanted to, Marie could have been a much bigger star and more recognizable face in the world of cinema. It took two years for SEDUCTION OF INGA to see a Stateside release, leading to Marie being named Playboy's Sex Star of 1971...despite the fact that she had been retired from films for some time by then!  

Here's the movie trailer: