Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

In Sweden at the turn of the century, members of the upper class and their servants find themselves in a romantic tangle that they try to work out amidst jealousy and heartbreak.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Harriet Andersson

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

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

It's late nineteenth century Sweden. Middle aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman and his nineteen year old current wife Anne Egerman's two-year marriage has not yet been consummated. Fredrik wants to give Anne as much time as she needs to feel comfortable before losing her virginity. Although she loved Fredrik when they got married, Anne realizes she is attracted to Fredrik's adult son, Henrik Egerman, a brooding seminary student who is home following his most recent exams. Also a virgin, Henrik has been in an awkward flirtation with the Egermans' sexually experienced maid, Petra, in an effort to lose his virginity. When she first sees actress Desirée Armfeldt, Anne, without Fredrik telling her, knows that Desirée and Fredrik used to be lovers, the two who still have feelings for each other. Desirée currently is having an affair with married Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. While he is jealous of any man who Desirée shows any attention to such as Fredrik, he is not the same with his young wife, the ...

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Plot Keywords:

master maid relationship | talking in one's sleep | theater | theater actress | breaking a vow of chastity | 

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Taglines:

A Sexy Frolic About the Sport of Love

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

23 December 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smiles of a Summer Night

Filming Locations:

Ystad, Skåne län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Ingmar Bergman, Svensk Filmindustri submitted the film to that year's Cannes Film Festival without informing him. Bergman claims he found out when he was reading the newspaper, saw the headline "Swedish Success at Cannes," and soon realized they were talking about his film.

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Goofs

When Fredrik smashes his wine glass on a table he's reprimanded by his father and in the reaction shot, he's still holding the glass of wine, unbroken.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

Originally, the UK theatrical version had the words "lust" changed to "passion" and "lecherous fantasies" changed to "unspeakable dreams". The lines "Nearly everything that's fun is a sin. Then I say three cheers for sin" were completely cut.

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Connections

Spoofed in Love and Death (1975)

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Soundtracks

MADIGANS VISA / ELVIRA MADIGAN
Written by Johan Lindström Saxon
Traditional music

User Reviews

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."