Hour of the Wolf

Johan Borg

Alma Borg

Corinne von Merkens

Lindhorst, archivist

Baron von Merkens

Old Lady with Hat

Therapist Heerbrand

Gamla Fru von Merkens

Ernst von Merkens

Von merken's maid (uncredited)

Musical leader Kreisler (uncredited)

Boy in dream (uncredited)

Corpse in mortuary (uncredited)

Tamino

Ingmar Bergman originally penned the script in 1964 under the title "The Cannibals". A serious bout of pneumonia led him to reconsider the project whilst lying in hospital; he deemed it to be potentially too expensive in concept and execution. Bergman revised the script idea into a more low budget piece to accompany Persona (1966).

Bergman defines "The Hour of the Wolf" as "The time between midnight and dawn when most people die, when sleep is deepest, when nightmares are most palatable. It is the hour when the sleepless are pursued by their sharpest anxieties, when ghosts and demons hold sway. The hour of the wolf is also the hour when most children are born." According to "Films in Review" critic Henry Hart in the U.S. it's about 4 a.m. when the body's resistance is least.

Johan Borg: The old ones called it "the hour of the wolf". It is the hour when the most people die, and the most are born. At this time, nightmares come to us. And when we awake, we are afraid.

Baron von Merkens: [alternate translation] You are yourself and yet, not yourself - the ideal state for an amorous encounter.

Baron von Merkens: You see what you want to see!