Two film adaptations of Sjowal and Wahloo works have been made. Film rights to The Man on the Balcony were sold to Universal Studios in 1969 but apparently were never used. In 1974, however, Twentieth Century Fox released its motion picture version of The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau. While the film itself was well received by those unfamiliar with the books, much of the spirit was lost when the setting was changed to San Francisco, the Swedish Homicide Squad became American bachelor policemen and "action" was added to please an American audience. A faithful and excellent Swedish version of The Abominable Man called The Man on the Roof was released in 1979. Alert Americans can occasionally catch that movie, sometimes with subtitles, other times dubbed, on public television or in the art houses that feature old classics.