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Martin Beck is a fictional police detective who is the main character in ten novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. The stories are often seen largely from his perspective, and as head of the department he is the logical hero of the series. That may be why people sometimes refer to the novels as Martin Beck stories.

Contents 1 Character 2 Novels 3 Movies 3.1 Movies based on the novels 3.2 Movies only based on the characters 3.2.1 Season 1 3.2.2 Season 2 3.2.3 Season 3 4 See also 5 External links

Throughout the novels, he goes from being an unhappily married man and father to two young teenagers, to a divorced man in an unmarried relationship. Beck also gets several promotions, seemingly much to the chagrin of everyone involved, including himself.

In the novels he is a tall man who smokes. In one of the novels he gets shot and heavily wounded.

All novels have been produced as movies, although some appeared with different names and three have been filmed abroad. In the movies the first actor to play Martin Beck was Keve Hjelm in 1967 and Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt also portraited Beck in 1976. In 1993 and 1994 Gösta Ekman played the character in six movies based on the novels, as of 1997 Martin Beck is played by Peter Haber. The most notable actor to play Martin Beck abroad was Walter Matthau, who 1973 played him in the movie called The Laughing Policeman, though his character received another name. In the movie he was referred to as "Jake Martin". Martin Beck has also been played by Jan Decleir and Derek Jacobi. Roseanna is the only one that has been filmed twice.

Title - Year - English title

• Roseanna (1965) (Roseanna)
• Mannen som gick upp i rök (1966) (The Man who Went Up in Smoke)
• Mannen på balkongen (1967) (The Man on the Balcony)
• Den skrattande polisen (1968) (The Laughing Policeman)
• Brandbilen som försvann (1969) (The Fire Engine That Disappeared)
• Polis, polis, potatismos! (1970) (Murder at the Savoy)
• Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle (1971) (The Abominable Man)
• Det slutna rummet (1972) (The Locked Room)
• Polismördaren (1974) (Cop Killer: The Story of a Crime)
• Terroristerna (1975) (The Terrorists)

• Roseanna (1967)
• The laughing policeman (1973)
• Mannen på taket (1976)
• Der Mann, der sich in Luft auflöste (1980)
• Beck - De gesloten kamer(1993)
• Roseanna (1993)
• Brandbilen som försvann (1993)
• Polis polis potatismos! (1993)
• Mannen på balkongen (1993)
• Polismördaren (1994)
• Stockholm Marathon (1994)

• Lockpojken (June 27, 1997)
• Mannen med ikonerna (December 17, 1997)
• Vita nätter (February 27, 1998)
• Öga för öga (March 27, 1998)
• Pensionat Pärlan (April 8, 1998)
• Monstret (May 20, 1998)
• Moneyman (June 3, 1998)
• Spår i mörkret (October 31, 1997)

• Hämndens pris (June 27, 2001)
• Mannen utan ansikte (November 7, 2001)
• Kartellen (December 12, 2001)
• Enslingen (January 16, 2002)
• Okänd avsändare (February 13, 2002)
• Annonsmannen (March 20, 2002)
• Pojken i glaskulan (April 10, 2002)
• Sista vittnet (January 4, 2002)

• Skarpt läge (June 28, 2006)
• Flickan i jordkällaren (December 6, 2006)
• Gamen (January 17, 2007)
• Advokaten (February 21, 200)
• Den japanska Shungamålningen (June 5, 2007)
• Den svaga länken (March 23, 2007)
• Det tysta skriket
• I guds namn

• Maj Sjöwall
• Per Wahlöö

• Martin Beck series on Internet Book List

Sjöwall and Wahlöö novels, featuring Martin Beck v • d • e
Novels: Roseanna | The Man Who Went Up in Smoke | The Man on the Balcony | The Laughing Policeman | The Fire Engine That Disappeared | Murder at the Savoy | The Abominable Man | The Locked Room | Cop Killer | The Terrorists
Authors: Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö