The Station Master Is On Fire (Stinsen Brinner) is a musical by the comedy troupe Galenskaparna & After Shave. It was written by Claes Eriksson, and premiered in 1987. The show was a hit and adapted into a film (directed by Claes and his brother Anders Eriksson) after a run of 432 performances.
After receiving news that his beloved train station is to be shut down, Station Master Axel Hansson (Anders Eriksson) decides to take matters into his own hands, kidnap Gerhard Vilén (Claes Eriksson) -- the bureau chief who gave him the unfortunate news — and try to run things as normal while hiding the truth from the passengers. This Zany Scheme is made far more difficult by the news having already spread, and potential buyers have started flocking to the station building in the hopes of getting to use it for their own ends. Not to mention the simple fact that unless something changes fast, no more trains will ever come there...
Tropes:
- Double-Meaning Title: The title is mostly an allusion to Axel's burning passion for his job. However he — or at least the podium he stands on — does actually catch on fire during the ending song, forcing the fire brigade to come to the rescue.
- Everything Is an Instrument: During the Train Madness song, Sören somehow uses a dispatch baron in place of various musical instruments.
- Go Through Me: Axel tells Pastor Bror-Ivar Lunne that he won’t be able to turn his station into a church until he’s reserved a spot for him in heaven.
- Gone Horribly Right: In the film, Axel and Sören attempt to trap Harry in a ”magic” disappearing locker. They are very surprised when it actually seems to work and Harry casually re-enters the room from behind them.
- Imagine Spot: Played With. In the film,Daddy I Want An Italian sees the eponymous Italians immediately transform the station into a pizzeria, complete with set dressing, staff and customers. However, the other characters are still around to watch it all unfold, and react to the temporary changes with fury and confusion.
- Living Statue: After being uncovered (in every sense of the word) Rudolf the statue comes to life and opens up The Eleven O'Clock Number.
- Money Fetish: Gerhard has one, to the point of dedicating his big love song to his mastercard.
- Musical Number Annoyance: Many of the songs count, not helped by the already present animosity between the characters.
- No Communities Were Harmed: The film was shot at the Vedum train station in Vara, but renande them both ”Svedum.”
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Ernst has an entirely one-sided argument with Harry, somehow getting it into his head that the latter’s conversation over the phone was both directed at him and actually spoken by Sören.
- The One Who Made It Out: Jerry Kopp artiges to the station hoping to become this, describing Svedum as ”a dump, which is molding piece by piece” along with a series of other increasingly strange metaphors in his ”heavy song.”
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Scully Box: Parodied Trope. Harry puts down his suitcase and steps up on it purely to look down on Axel in what he likely intended to be an intimidating fashion. - Spaghetti and Gondolas: The Italians— Emilio and Angelo — are planning to turn the station into a pizzeria and get a song peppered full of Gratuitous Italian.
- Stupid Crooks: Jack and Göte, a pair of masked robbers who hold the station hostage, believing it to be a bank. They are so embarrassed to learn the truth that they just apologize and leave.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: As it seems all hope is lost, Gerhard Vilén arrives with a train to the station, having reevaluated the situation and decided that it can stay open after all. Cue celebratory ending number.
- Swallow the Key: Axel does this after locking Gerhard in a storage room. Given that it’s an old, large key, he has to uncomfortably chew it down first.
