A master of farce, Leif Panduro made his literary mark in novels, motion pictures, television, and radio drama--virtually every genre except critical essay and lyric poetry. Panduro's strengths as a writer lie in dramatic technique and in his portrayal of individuals--usually modern, conflicted souls caught in a tangled web of tradition and convention. Panduro's protagonists wage constant war against custom, propriety, and appearance; they inevitably lose the war--and themselves--because they have also participated in the social game from the start. The fleeting victories of Panduro's characters are couched in terms of a world they reject; they can offer no alternative to that world. Their own pasts doom their efforts to break free, even when freedom seems possible. As the literary critic Jens Kistrup has written,

Næsten hele Leif Panduros forfatterskab kreser omkring én bestemt mennesketype--et menneske, der er splittet, fordi det er bundet, bundet til...