Smiles of a Summer Night

This article is about the Ingmar Bergman film. For the Desperate Housewives episode, see Smiles of a Summer Night (Desperate Housewives).

Smiles of a Summer Night
Directed by	Ingmar Bergman
Produced by	Allan Ekelund
Written by	Ingmar Bergman
Starring	Ulla Jacobsson Eva Dahlbeck Harriet Andersson Margit Carlqvist Gunnar Björnstrand Bibi Andersson
Cinematography	Gunnar Fischer
Editing by	Oscar Rosander
Release date(s)	26 December 1955
Running time	108 min
Country	Sweden
Language	Swedish

Smiles of a Summer Night a.k.a. Smiles on a Summer Night (Swedish: Sommarnattens leende) is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was the first of Bergman's films to bring the director international success, due to its exposure at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005 it was on TIME magazine's "100 Movies" list of the best movies of all time.

The film's plot—which involves switching partners on a summer night—has been adapted many times, most notably as the theatrical musical, A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler and Harold Prince, which opened on Broadway in 1973, and as Woody Allen's film A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982).

Plot

Fredrik Egerman is a middle-aged lawyer married to a 19 year old beauty, Anne. Their two-year marriage is still unconsummated, due to Anne's reticence. Fredrik has a son, Henrik, from his marriage to his late first wife. Henrik is in his early 20s and is a student studying to be a minister; he is currently tormented by his love for his step-mother, who secretly loves him in return. Henrik is distracting himself from his semi-Oedipal urges by engaging in an unhappy affair with Fredrik's lusty young servant, Petra. Between his two marriages, Fredrik had an affair with a notable stage actress, the beautiful Desiree Armfeldt, but she broke off the relationship. Desiree currently has a young son named Fredrik, born shortly after her affair with Fredrik Egerman—it is implied but never directly stated that little Fredrik Armfeldt is the son of Fredrik Egerman. Currently, Desiree is having an affair with a brutal army officer, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm. The Count's wife, Charlotte, is an old friend of Anne Egerman.

Fredrik goes to see Desiree one night to pour out his marital troubles and ask for her help. Due to an accident with a puddle, Fredrik ends up at Desiree's house wearing the Count's nightshirt, and the violently jealous Count turns up unexpectedly and threatens Fredrik with violence unless he leaves. Once Fredrik is gone, the Count treats Desiree violently, leading her to want to break off the affair. The Count tells his wife about the encounter and orders her to tell Anne about Fredrik's supposed infidelity (no infidelity actually occurred, however). Charlotte ends up confessing to Anne that she loves her husband despite everything and would do anything to be loved in return. In order to solve these woes, Desiree has her mother invite all of the cast of characters to her country house for a summer party. Over the course of one night, Henrik and Anne, upon unexpectedly finding themselves alone together in a bed, consummate their relationship and then elope, with the assistance of Henrik's former lover, Petra, and Petra's currently lover, Frid. Fredrik sees the lovers depart but does nothing. Charlotte then joins Fredrik, and upon learning that his wife is with Fredrik, the Count interrupts them and challenges the lawyer to a game of Russian roulette, but in the end it is revealed that the Count secretly loaded the gun with soot and neither were in danger. After the game, the Count reunites with his wife, his feelings for her renewed by his jealousy. Desiree comforts Fredrik, and the four pairs of lovers retire to be happy together.

Cast

• Ulla Jacobsson – Anne Egerman
• Eva Dahlbeck – Desiree Armfeldt
• Harriet Andersson – Petra
• Margit Carlqvist – Countess Charlotte Malcolm
• Gunnar Björnstrand – Fredrik Egerman
• Jarl Kulle – Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm
• Åke Fridell – Frid
• Björn Bjelfvenstam – Henrik Egerman
• Naima Wifstrand – Mrs. Armfeldt
• Jullan Kindahl – Beata
• Gull Natorp – Malla
• Birgitta Valberg – Actress
• Bibi Andersson – Actress

External links

• Smiles of a Summer Night at the Internet Movie Database
• Smiles of a Summer Night at AllRovi
• Criterion Collection essay by Pauline Kael