The Devil's Eye (1960)

Don Juan is sent from Hell to Earth with a highly important mission - to seduce a 20-years virgin for spoiling her pure wedding. The mission becomes crazy when Don Juan falls in love for the first time in his centuries-old lover's career.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (screenplay)

Stars:

Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, Stig Järrel

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jarl Kulle	...	Don Juan
Bibi Andersson	...	Britt-Marie
Stig Järrel	...	Satan
Nils Poppe	...	The Vicar
Gertrud Fridh	...	Renata
Sture Lagerwall	...	Pablo
Georg Funkquist	...	Count Armand de Rochefoucauld
Gunnar Sjöberg	...	Marquis Giuseppe Maria de Macopanza
Torsten Winge	...	The Old Man
Axel Düberg	...	Jonas
Kristina Adolphson	...	Woman in veil
Allan Edwall	...	The ear demon
Ragnar Arvedson	...	The guardian demon
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	The Actor

Storyline

The devil has a stye in his eye, caused by the purity of a vicar's daughter. To get rid of it, he sends Don Juan up from hell to seduce the 20 year old Britt-Marie and to rob her of her virginity and her belief in love. She however can resist him and things get even turned around when Don Juan falls in love with her. The fact that he feels love for the first time now, makes him even less attractive to her and Don Juan returns to hell.

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Plot Keywords:

don juan | love | hell | vicar | seduction | 

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Taglines:

A Witty, Clever Comedy of Manners, Men and Maids

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

17 October 1960 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Eye

Filming Locations:

Svensk Filmindustri, Filmstaden, Råsunda, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Pablo: Offer resistance, if you like. It heightens our pleasure. No, don't say anything - I can read your eyes. Your prudence, character, affectionate nature - your frail health - all forbid you to abandon yourself to passion... But there's a dark spot in your nature, Renata. A flood of sensuality dammed up for too long. Only in your dreams do you let it loose.

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Connections

Featured in Stjärnbilder (1995)

User Reviews

Bergman on Religion

This is a comedy in a more Shakespearean way than what an American would see as comedy. This drama/play begins in Hell where Satan is upset because he has a sty in his eye. It seems that if one were to get a virgin to allow herself to be despoiled before marriage, the eye would be cured. So the Devil sends the great lover, Don Juan, to perform just the task. He has been in Hell for over 300 years and embraces the challenge. He takes with him his Sancho Panza like character, and they invite themselves into the home of a vicar who has the lovely daughter and a hypochondriac wife who is hiding from the world. While Don Juan goes after the daughter, Pablo, the other guy goes after the wife. He has also been getting ready for as long as his master. They are accompanied by a demon who is sort of their chaperon since Pablo has been told not to mess around. What is interesting is that Don Juan is able to start making inroads immediately into the young woman who is ready to marry in a few days. What happens is a kind of commentary on faithfulness, adventure, religion, and any number of subjects. What is also interesting is how this invasion shows the cracks in the foundation and invites the characters to figure out how to deal with them. There are also a few slams made against the idea of heaven and hell and God and Satan. This is a really interesting film and probably good because Bergman can't turn off his talent.