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Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
"Sommarnattens leende" (original title)

7.8
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Ratings: 7.8/10 from 6,182 users  
Reviews: 35 user | 51 critic

A small town at the turn of the century. Lawer Fredrik Egerman has an ingénue-wife, Anne, and a grown-up son, Henrik, from an earlier marriage. His wife is still untouched, and instead he ... See full summary »

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Title: Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) on IMDb 7.8/10

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Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Anne Egerman
Eva Dahlbeck ...
...
Margit Carlqvist ...
Countess Charlotte Malcolm (as Margit Carlquist)
...
...
Åke Fridell ...
Frid the Groom
Björn Bjelfvenstam ...
Henrik Egerman (as Björn Bjelvenstam)
Naima Wifstrand ...
Mrs. Armfeldt
Jullan Kindahl ...
Beata, cook
Gull Natorp ...
Malla
Birgitta Valberg ...
Actress
...
Actress
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Storyline

A small town at the turn of the century. Lawer Fredrik Egerman has an ingénue-wife, Anne, and a grown-up son, Henrik, from an earlier marriage. His wife is still untouched, and instead he meets his former mistress Desiree after her performance at the theatre. They leave the theatre together and Egerman falls in one of the puddles. Desiree takes him to her home and Egerman changes into a night-shirt, owned by count Malcolm, Desirees present lover. Suddenly the count comes for a visit and throws Egerman out. Written by Mattias Thuresson

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

A Sexy Frolic About the Sport of Love

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

23 December 1957 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Smiles of a Summer Night  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (2001 DVD release)

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 55 days in the midst of a heatwave. See more »

Goofs

When Egerman looks in the mirror at Desiree's, his nightcap is bent forwards over his face. In the next shots after he has moved away from the mirror, the nightcap is now bent towards his right shoulder. See more »

Quotes

Frid the Groom: We invoke love, call out to it, beg for it, cry for it, try to mimic it. We think we own it and tell lies about it.
Petra the Maid: But we don't have it.
Frid the Groom: No my sugar pie. We are denied the love of loving. We don't have the gift.
Petra the Maid: Nor the punishment.
See more »

Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #18.1 (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

"FREUT EUCH DES LEBENS"
Traditional
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Beautiful title
3 April 2005 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

A rare comedy from director Ingmar Bergman.

It takes place at the turn of the century. Fredrik Egerman is an old, cynical man who is married to beautiful, young (20) Anne. She can't have sex with him--she's too afraid. He knows and agrees to be patient. He also has a son from a previous marriage (Henrik) who is attracted to Anne. He's also attracted to the maid Petra. Then there's Desiree, a former mistress of Fredrik who is now sleeping with Malcolm (who's also married) and still attracted to Fredrik. Got all that? They all end up spending a summer weekend at a beautiful house in the woods. Things come to a head.

I've always wanted to see this--the title alone is beautiful. I did see it in a revival theatre in the 1980s--I hated it. The print was lousy and edited! During a fairly explicit (for 1955) talk about sex the subtitles disappeared! Just saw it again--unedited and in pretty good shape. While I don't think this is a masterpiece (I'm not a Bergman fan) I did like this.

It is funny--but pretty subtle. The relationships are all complicated but you do have them straight by the end. What's really good about this film is how Bergman treats (and shows) his female characters. Except for Anne (but she changes) they're strong, stand up for themselves and find men and their ways amusing--some of Desirre's looks were very funny. Also, in the form of Petra, they want sex and have no problem letting men know. For 1955 audiences this must have been shocking--Petra (almost) bares her breast and the sexual talk between women is very frank.

The acting is good by everybody...but the film is lacking in romance. I never believed any of these characters loved each other. Also it's slow-moving but it all ends happily. So I did like it--I give it an 8.

Later musicalized by Stephen Sondheim as "A Little Night Music" and disastrously remade (sort of) in Woody Allen's "A Midsummers Night Sex Comedy". Avoid that one at all costs.


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