Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.
Victor Sjöström
as Professor Isak Borg
Bibi Andersson
as Sara
Ingrid Thulin
as Marianne Borg
Gunnar Björnstrand
as Evald Borg
Jullan Kindahl
as Agda
Folke Sundquist
as Anders
Björn Bjelfvenstam
as Viktor
Naima Wifstrand
as Mrs. Borg
Gunnel Broström
as Berit Alman
Gertrud Fridh
as Karin Borg
Sif Ruud
as Aunt Olga
Gunnar Sjöberg
as Sten Alman
