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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Georg Adelly	...	Legal clerk (uncredited)
David Erikson	...	Tobacconist (uncredited)
Sigge Fürst	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Sten Gester	...	Servant (uncredited)
Viveca Heister	...	(uncredited)
Birgitta Hellerstedt	...	(uncredited)
Svea Holst	...	Dresser (uncredited)
Ulf Johansson	...	Legal clerk (uncredited)
Arne Lindblad	...	Actor (uncredited)
Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt	...	Legal clerk (uncredited)
Lisa Lundholm	...	Mrs. Almgren (uncredited)
Mona Malm	...	Maid (uncredited)
John Melin	...	Mrs Armfeldt's servant (uncredited)
Börje Mellvig	...	Legal clerk (uncredited)
Gunnar Nielsen	...	Niklas, Malcolm's servant (uncredited)
Yngve Nordwall	...	Ferdinand (uncredited)
Josef Norman	...	Elderly dinner guest (uncredited)
Gösta Prüzelius	...	Servant (uncredited)
Mille Schmidt	...	Servant (uncredited)
Georg Skarstedt	...	Legal clerk (uncredited)
Einar Söderbäck	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Lena Söderblom	...	Maid (uncredited)
Hans Strååt	...	Adolf Almgren, photographer (uncredited)
Anders Wulff	...	Fredrik, Desirée's son (uncredited)

Directed by
Ingmar Bergman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ingmar Bergman		writer

Produced by
Allan Ekelund	....	producer

Original Music by
Erik Nordgren

Cinematography by
Gunnar Fischer

Film Editing by
Oscar Rosander

Production Design by
P.A. Lundgren

Costume Design by
Mago

Makeup Department
Carl M. Lundh	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lennart Olsson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Per-Olof Pettersson	....	sound (as P.O. Pettersson)
Lennart Wallin	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Huch	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Åke Nilsson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Eskil Eckert-Lundin	....	conductor (as E. Eckert-Lundin)
Erik Nordgren	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Gustav Roger	....	supervisor
Katinka Faragó	....	continuity clerk (uncredited)
Ove Kant	....	technical assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (as A.B. Svensk Filmindustri Productions)

Distributors

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1955) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (1955) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Les Films Marceau (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmitalus (1956) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Rank Film Distributors of America (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Opening Distribution (2001) (France) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Veneza Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)

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

Colour:

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:

To add to his woes, Bergman's producer at Svensk Filmindustri informed him that he would not be able to finance his next film if this one didn't perform at the box office.

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:

Mrs. Armfeldt: Why is youth so terribly unmerciful? And who has given it permission to be that way?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#18.1)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

MADIGANS VISA / ELVIRA MADIGAN

Sometimes a deadpan comedy, sometimes a dark introspective epic

Sardonic morality story about four couples who represent the different aspects of love. Sometimes a deadpan comedy, sometimes a dark introspective epic. I loved the scenes between the Count and Fredrik, showing off the different faces of arrogance. In some places it can get overly melodramatic - the orchestra hits, for example, no longer have the same meaning.

The visual metaphors are the most subtle, and most interesting, that I have ever seen (many are laughably overt and cleverly overshadow the more subtle ones). If you don't speak Swedish and have to read subtitles, try as much as you can to read the faces of the women as they speak, especially Charlotte and Desiree as they try and overcome their phallic universe.