ABSTRACT

The popularity of the phenomenon called 'Uuno Turhapuro' is unique in Finland. The statistics speak for themselves: six out of the seven most successful Finnish films of the last six years (1984-90) were Uuno films. The largest audience for a single Finnish film in the 1970s and 1980s was for Uuno Turhapuro armeijan leivissä (Uuno Goes Military, 1984, 750.000 spectators), only narrowly beaten by two foreign films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Papillon. 1 The subsequent television presentations of most Uuno films have attracted further audiences of millions.