Sköna Helena (Beautiful Helen) is a Swedish musical film of 1951 directed by Gustaf Edgren, and based loosely on the story and music of the opéra bouffe La belle Hélène. It was director Gustaf Edgren's last film and stars Max Hansen and Eva Dahlbeck. Background Much of the music originates in Jacques Offenbach's opéra bouffe La Belle Hélène (words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy) which premiered in Paris in 1864, since when it has been part of the operetta repertory. Max Hansen had appeared in Max Reinhardt's Berlin production of La Belle Hélène alongside Jarmila Novotná in 1930, and in 1944 he played Menelaus at the Royal Stockholm Opera for full houses over 150 performances opposite Hjördis Schymberg as Helena. In 1952 Hansen would record a set of selections from the operetta with Elisabeth Söderström, Arne Andersson and Hasse Funck, conducted by Sune Waldimir on the Musica label (SK 19854-5). The filming of Sköna Helena started around May 1950 and was completed by the middle of July. An Arcadian quayside was built around the jetty at Stensunds dockyard, while other sets were constructed in and around Sandrew's studios at Gärdet in Stockholm. The film had its premiere on 26 December 1951 at the Royal cinema in Stockholm as well as several other Swedish towns and cities. Eva Dahlbeck (Helena), at this time early in her career, would soon play Desirée Armfeldt in Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. Helena's vocal numbers were sung and dubbed by Kjerstin Dellert, whose professional debut was in New York, and had just made her Swedish debut – in Offenbach's Belle Hélène – at the Grand Theatre in Gothenburg the same year. The dancers were from the Royal Opera, the Oscarsteatern and the Södra Teatern in Stockholm. The cast also boasted the prolific film actor Stig Järrel, Elisaveta von Gersdorff Oxenstierna (daughter of an exiled Russian noble), and Per Grundén who went on to an international career (including the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Volksoper) followed by TV and film roles. Bertil Bokstedt, who later held senior positions at the Royal Opera in Stockholm and accompanied international opera singers such as Jussi Björling and Birgit Nilsson, was the conductor. Synopsis Sandwiched between the East and the West, is the neutral, small, carefree kingdom of Arcadia. Its two powerful neighbours vie for world domination. The eastern neighbour's ruler Trojanus has recently taken several minor