Intermezzo (1939 film)
| Intermezzo | |
|---|---|
 1945 Argentine film poster |
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| Directed by | Gregory Ratoff |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick |
| Written by | George O'Neil |
| Starring | Leslie Howard Ingrid Bergman Edna Best John Halliday Cecil Kellaway |
| Music by | Max Steiner Heinz Provost |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland Harry Stradling Sr. |
| Editing by | Francis D. Lyon |
| Studio | Selznick International Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |  September 22, 1939 |
| Running time | 70 min |
| Language | English |
Intermezzo (also called Intermezzo: A Love Story) (1939) is a romantic film made in the USA by Selznick International Pictures. It was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by David O. Selznick. It is a remake of the Swedish film Intermezzo (1936). The screenplay by George O'Neil was based on the screenplay of the original film by Gösta Stevens and Gustaf Molander. The music was by Robert Russell Bennett, Max Steiner, Heinz Provost, and Christian Sinding. The cinematography was by Gregg Toland who replaced Harry Stradling.
It stars Leslie Howard as a (married) virtuoso violinist who falls in love with his accompanist, played by Ingrid Bergman in her Hollywood debut.
It featured Oscar-nominated cinematography by Gregg Toland -- later to film Citizen Kane -- and a stirring main theme in Heinz Provost's piece of the same name, written previous to the film's production.
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[edit] Plot
Holger Brandt, a famous virtuoso violinist, meets Anita Hoffman, his daughter's piano instructor, during a trip home. Impressed with Anita's talent, he invites her to accompany him on his next tour. They begin touring together and a passionate relationship ensues. Holger's wife Margit asks him for a divorce.
Knowing how much Holger misses his daughter Ann Marie and son Eric, and torn with guilt for breaking up his family, Anita decides to pursue her own career and leaves Holger. Holger returns home to see his children again. He first travels to Ann Marie's school, but as she runs across the street to greet him she is hit by a car in front of his eyes. He takes the injured Ann Marie back home, and confronts his angry son in an attempt to explain his infidelity.
To Holger's relief, the doctor informs him that Ann Marie will survive and eventually recover from her injuries. Margit then forgives Holger and welcomes him back into his family.
[edit] Cast
- Leslie Howard as Holger Brandt
- Ingrid Bergman as Anita Hoffman
- Edna Best as Margit Brandt
- John Halliday as Thomas Stenborg
- Cecil Kellaway as Charles Moler, The Impressario
- Enid Bennett as Greta Stenborg
- Ann E. Todd as Ann Marie Brandt (as Ann Todd)
- Douglas Scott as Eric Brandt
- Eleanor Wesselhoeft as Emma, The Maid
- Marie Flynn as Marianne
[edit] Production
The musical duets, with Howard and Bergman, were dubbed for the soundtrack with professional musicians; however, the actors' hands show the actual music being played:[1] Ingrid Bergman plays the full piano parts (for Edvard Grieg's "Concerto in A minor" and Christian Sinding's "Rustle of Spring"), so her hand positions are correct for the music soundtrack. Leslie Howard, however, could not play the violin. As a result a professional violinist, who also held a striking resemblance to Leslie Howard, was brought in to teach proper violin posture and bowing technique. During filming this same musician, Al Sack, rested on his knees, out of the view of the camera, and did the fingering on all of the close-ups. In the film viewers see Sack’s left hand and Mr. Howards’s bowing arm and profile. Sack also doubled for Howard during the long shots in front of the orchestra.[1]
[edit] Vienna comment
At the crucial scene where the film's two main protagonists stand looking into the river and realize that they have fallen in love with each other, Holger Brandt (Leslie Howard) makes a casual remark on "the time when Vienna was a happy city". This is taken by many to be a reference to the 1938 de facto annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. However, Brandt's comment also features in the 1936 original Swedish film, which predated the Anschluss.
[edit] Radio adaptations
Ingrid Bergman was in a radio adaptation of Intermezzo on Lux Radio Theater on January 29, 1940, which also starred Herbert Marshall. She was also in another adaptation on the same show on June 4, 1945 with Joseph Cotten.
[edit] Remake
It was remade as Honeysuckle Rose in 1980.[2]
