Sommarnattens leende (1955)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

23 December 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A Sexy Frolic About the Sport of Love

Plot:

A small town at the turn of the century. Lawer Fredrik EGerman has an ingenue-wife, Anne, and a grown-up son...

Plot Keywords:

Mistress | Country House | Maid | Sweden | Incest

Awards:

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ulla Jacobsson	...	Anne Egerman
Eva Dahlbeck	...	Desiree Armfeldt
Harriet Andersson	...	Petra the Maid
Margit Carlqvist	...	Countess Charlotte Malcolm (as Margit Carlquist)
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Fredrik Egerman
Jarl Kulle	...	Count Carl Magnus Malcolm
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
Bibi Andersson	...	Actress

Also Known As:

Smiles of a Summer Night (USA)

Runtime:

108 min | Argentina:110 min | France:105 min (2001 DVD release)

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Portugal:17 (censored version) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1995) | UK:X (original rating) (1956) (cut) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Anderslöv, Skåne län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

On Time magazine's 100 greatest films list.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

[Later, his mistress tells him that his wife may be unfaithful - he says to his mistress]
Carl Magnus: I can tolerate someone dallying with my mistress, but if anyone touches my wife, I become a tiger.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Love and Death (1975)

Soundtrack:

PSALM 144: I HIMMELEN, I HIMMELEN

Eternal Smile

"Smiles of a Summer Night" is one of the most elegant and charming carnal comedies ever filmed. It is clever, witty, and incredibly sexy. Did I mention that it was written and directed by The Ingmar Bergman whose name would not usually be associated with the comedies?

"Smiles of a Summer Night" was a great success with both the critics and the audiences and was submitted for the Cannes film festival…without its creator's knowledge. The film was nominated for the Golden Palm and won the Award for Best Poetic Humor. Bergman describes how he found out about his movie's international recognition, "I was sitting on the toilet reading a morning newspaper. One of the articles was entitled, The Great Victory for a Swedish Cinema at Cannes. I thought, what a wonderful news, what is the movie? And then I read the title, "Smiles of a Summer Night" by Ingmar Bergman." He recalls how poor he was then and he borrowed the money for a ticket to Cannes from Bibi Anderson whom he dated at the time.

I did not laugh a lot but I don't think I was supposed to - "Smiles... is a different kind of comedy, sensual and subtle, with the characters often weak but not ridiculous. The beauty of it is in the dialogs, ironic looks, the charming struggle of wits, and in the realization that not everyone will be blessed with the true and passionate love but the life goes on, anyway. The actresses (Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Harriet Andersson, and Margit Carlqvist) were incredibly sexy, especially Eva Dahlbeck smoking a cigar and Harriett Andersson as a chambermaid talking to her mistress about the virginity – delightful!

There are no words to describe the beauty, splendor, charm, humor, and sensuality of this film. The best I can do - to paraphrase Woody Allen's line -"that was the most fun I've ever had without sex."