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Smiles of a Summer Night (1955,
Swed.) (aka Sommarnattens Leende)
In director Ingmar Bergman's light comedy of manners
and bedroom farce - it was based upon Shakespeare's A Midsummer
Night's Dream, and the inspiration for Woody Allen's A Midsummer
Night's Sex Comedy (1982).
The ensemble film featured many
characters mixed up in their romantic relationships, mostly involving
adultery and infidelity, with the tagline: "A Sexy Frolic About
the Sport of Love." Set in Sweden at the turn of the century
(late 1800s) over a period of days, it told about a number of pretentious
upper-class, mismatched couples and characters (a lawyer, a virgin,
an actress, a soldier, a Countess, a priest, the maid, the servant,
etc.) involved in various ribald adventures and couplings.
- in the film's opening, bourgeois,
middle-aged 50-ish lawyer Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand)
had been married for two years to his much younger, very beautiful
and naive 19 year-old wife Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), who had not yet
given up her virginity; she hinted later that she married the older
Fredrik because she felt sorry for him
- living with him in the same
household, Fredrik had a grown-up son from a former marriage (to
his deceased wife) named Henrik Egerman (Björn Bjelfvenstam)
- a tormented, repressed, idealistic celibate man in his 20s, often
dressed in black, who was a self-loathing theology student studying
for the priesthood; in Henrik's first scene, he was reading a sermon
to Anne about temptation
Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand) - a Bourgeois Lawyer
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Anne Egerman (Ulla Jacobsson) - Fredrik's Young 19 year-old Wife
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Henrik Egerman (Björn Bjelfvenstam) - Fredrik's Theology
Student Son
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- as the film opened, Fredrik (with his young wife
Anne) was about to attend an evening's theatrical performance starring
his old flame Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck); while napping with
Anne in the afternoon, Fredrik happened to mention Desiree's name
in his sleep, causing her some insecurity; the beautiful,
witty and famous 50-ish blonde Stockholm stage actress Desiree
had been Fredrik's mistress after his first
wife died and before he married Anne, but eventually
they broke off their relationship due to his infidelities
- during her theatrical performance, Desiree delivered
a monologue (appearing to seductively speak directly at Fredrik as
a foreshadowing) about how women must not upset a man's dignity: "Every
man has his dignity. We women may sin against our husbands, our lover
or our sons, but we must never hurt that dignity. But then we have
to bear the consequences. We must make that dignity an ally, to cherish
and tenderly address it, and treat it like a precious toy"; she
also stated: "Love is like juggling three balls. Heart, word,
body. It seems so easy to juggle, but you drop one so quickly";
her words seemed to disturb Anne, who asked to go home early
- although Henrik
loved his pretty step-mother Anne (who was about his same age), he
couldn't resist the flirtatious advances of Fredrik's sexy, lusty,
liberated, young 18 year-old servant-maid Petra (Harriet Andersson)
who openly swiveled her hips; although not in love with Petra,
Henrik experienced sex for the first time with her (while Anne
and Fredrik were at the theatre); guilt-ridden about losing his
virtue, he also admitted that he couldn't perform: ("We
have sinned, but we failed"), but that she was forgiving
- afterwards when everyone was asleep that night,
Fredrik snuck out of his house and secretly met with Desiree in
her backstage dressing room, to ask her for
guidance about his marital problems with Anne ("I've been
married to Anne for two years and she's still pristine");
he also briefly viewed Desiree as she bathed naked - and asked him
to comment on her body: ("Am I still beautiful? Have the years
changed me?")
- on their way walking to Desiree's house for a glass
of wine, Fredrik fell into a large puddle, and Desiree offered
him another man's frilly night-gown and night-cap to wear; when
asked to comment on his clownish appearance (and how a woman could
ever love a man), she told him: "Women don't care about beauty
that much. And if necessary, they turn off the light...That's better
than naked"
- Fredrik was shocked when it was revealed that Desiree
had a 4 year-old son named Fredrik after Frederick the
Great (he was presumably older Fredrik's illegitimate son); when
Fredrik insultingly commented that Desiree wasn't suited for "motherhood,"
he received a slap across the face
- the owner of the night-garments unexpectedly arrived
to confront Fredrik - he was Desiree's current flame of six months
in an open relationship - an insanely-jealous,
egotistical lover-suitor Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Jarl
Kulle) and domineering, swaggering aristocratic military officer,
who was married to Countess Charlotte Malcolm (Margit Carlqvist),
one of Anne's good friends; the Count intimidated Fredrik with
a dueling challenge: ("Do you like duels?... I've dueled 18
times. Pistol, epee, foil, bow and arrow, shotgun.
I've only been injured six times"), before Fredrik was humiliatingly
ordered to leave (wearing only his own undergarments); soon after,
the Count and Desiree decided to quit their relationship
- the film's main weekend event that brought all the
principal characters together was initiated by the manipulative
Desiree, who coaxed her elderly solitaire-playing mother Mrs. Armfeldt
(Naima Wifstrand), a former courtesan, to invite the two married
men (both recent lovers of Desiree): Fredrik (and Anne) with their
maid Petra, and the Count (and the Countess), along with Henrik
to her Ryarp country manor home
- at the breakfast table, Petra continued to further
sexually tantalize Henrik by opening her blouse and urging him
to touch her naked upper breast; although tempted by her,
Henrik resisted; shortly later with Anne who admitted that she
was still a virgin, Petra confessed that she lost her virginity
at age 16 and described it as "so delicious I almost died...I
am always in love"; when Petra was asked: "Would you
want to be a man?", she replied: "What a horrible idea!" -
and they playfully wrestled and giggled on the bed
- then, she pestered Henrik in his
office about his heavy clothing, and slapped him for romantically
courting Petra, when suddenly the two became embarrassed when
realizing their mutual love for each other - causing tears to come
to Anne's eyes; she also attempted to give her husband attention
at his desk, but he was too busy and distracted
Anne Showing Loving Affection for Her Grown Stepson
Henrik
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With Anne, Charlotte Expressing Her Raging Anger at Her Philandering
Husband the Count
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(l to r): Fredrik, the Count, and Henrik
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- the Count's gossipy wife Charlotte
(who had learned from her husband about Fredrik's secret
rendezvous with Desiree the night before) arrived for a brief visit
with Anne; although there
was no evidence of infidelity by Fredrik with Desiree, the Countess
attempted to stir up trouble by telling Anne about Fredrik's previous
night's escapades with Desiree; Charlotte also expressed her raging
hate for her philandering husband: ("I hate him! I hate him! I hate
him! Men are repulsive. They are vain, arrogant, and hairy...Love
is repulsive. And despite all that, I love him. I would do anything
for him"), and her jealous envy of Desiree's attractiveness to men
- upon arriving at the Armfeldt estate for the weekend
party, Petra met the estate's beer-drinking
groom-servant Frid (Åke Fridell), who took an immediate interest
in his soulmate ("You're a damn hot thing!"); he demonstrated
a button in Henrik's room (Mrs. Armfeldt's dead spouse's
bedroom) that activated and opened up a secret bed compartment; as
a bed slid out, a marble statue of a cherub emerged from the wall
playing a trumpet; Petra exclaimed: "I should have a bed like
that!"
- once all the guests arrived for the traditional
all-night "Midsummer Night" event held on the shortest
night of the year, Desiree privately
revealed to the Countess (her "enemy") her ultimate Machiavellian
plan: to restore Charlotte to her husband the Count, and to have
Desiree separate Fredrik from Anne ("Men never know what's
best for them. We have to help them")
- during the opening dinner, a discussion about
seduction commenced; Countess Charlotte made a public wager
with her husband that she could seduce Fredrik away from Anne in
15 minutes; the guests were served food and a magical spiked
wine potion or elixir pressed from grapes to promote sensuality
and seduction - with a mixture of a drop of a young woman's breast
milk and a drop of semen from a young stallion
- afterwards early the next morning, in reaction to
some of the guests and their immoral talk at dinner, Henrik had
suicidal intentions to hang himself, but when the attempt
failed, he accidentally hit the button that activated the secret
compartment with an emerging bed; the conservative-minded step-son
found himself alone with Anne sleeping on the bed (she had retired
early) - after discovering her, he exclaimed: "So I'm dead
after all," and now feeling life-affirming, they pledged their
love to each other, kissed, and made love (off-screen)
Henrik's Failed Suicide Attempt
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Henrik Finding Anne Asleep on Secret Bed
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Henrik and Anne Pledging Their Love and Kissing
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- [Note: Frid summarized for Petra what
was happening to the various couples by explaining the "three
smiles" that cycled during the summer night: ("The summer
night laughs three times"): (1) at
midnight - for passionate young lovers
expressing romance with their hearts, exemplified by Henrik and Anne,
(2) in the middle of the night - for "the foolish, the simple-minded,
the incorrigible," seen in Frid and Petra's relationship, and (3)
at dawn - for "the
distressed and oppressed, the insomniacs, the deceived, the fearful,
the lonely," referring to the Count and Countess, Fredrik and Desiree.]
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Frid's Explanation to Petra of the
Three "Smiles" on a Summer Night (Next to a Tree and
In a Haystack)
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- during Frid's explanation, Henrik and Anne appeared
and requested help from Petra and
her new lover Frid to elope together; Fredrik watched
them with dismay from afar as they rode off in an open carriage,
and Anne discarded her veil; shortly later, Frid and Petra also
became engaged when Petra demanded to be married
- meanwhile, in the garden pavilion,
Countess Charlotte had a romantic rendezvous with the vulnerable
Fredrik to fulfill the public wager she had made. She
deliberately caused her jealous husband to barge in, separate them,
and challenge Fredrik to a game of Russian roulette. The Count
had devised a cruel trick for the challenge - the revolver was
rigged with only harmless soot, to scare everyone and again humiliate
Fredrik's dignity
- as the result of her success in seducing Fredrik,
the Countess now demanded that the Count fulfill her wager's prize
of a wish, and state his faithfulness to her: "I'll be faithful
to you for at least seven eternities of love, six feigned smiles,
and 57 whispers of love. I remain faithful to you until the great
abyss do us part. I'll stay true to you, in my way." Fredrik
was humiliated for being used by both the Countess and Desiree, but
was assured by Desiree that she would not abandon him - her old lover
- and would continue to be his friend and confidante: ("I feel
so sorry for you...I'm here")
- the film concluded with the
dilemmas of the four pairs of lovers somewhat resolved at the start
of a new day, with some winners and some losers (changed partners,
a reconciliation, and an elopement) - with "three smiles" on
the faces of the protagonists: Henrik with Anne, the Count with
the Countess, and Frid with his fiancee Petra
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Fredrik with Anne at the Theatre
Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck) - an Actress and Fredrik's Former
Mistress
Fredrik's Sexy Maid Petra (Harriet Andersson)
With Desiree, Fredrik Wearing a Borrowed Nightgarment and Night-Cap
Desiree's 4 Year-Old Son Frederick (Illegitimate)
Jealous Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Jarl Kulle)
Countess Charlotte Malcolm (Margit Carlqvist) - the Count's Wife
Petra's Continued Flirtations to Henrik
Petra with the Estate's Groom-Valet Frid
Secret Bed Emerging From Compartment
Desiree Revealing Her Devious Plan to Countess Charlotte
Charlotte's Public Wager at Dinner (With Her Husband) That She Could Seduce Fredrik
in 15 Minutes
Russian Roulette Challenge Between Fredrik and the Count
Charlotte Demanding Her Winning Bet Wish From Her Husband the Count
Desiree Comforting Fredrik (With Soot On His Face)
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