Smiles of a Summer Night

1955 film by Ingmar Bergman

Film · TMDB

7.4

Early in the 20th century, middle-aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman and his young wife, Anne, have still not consummated their marriage, while Fredrik's son finds himself increasingly attracted to his new stepmother. To make matters worse, Fredrik's old flame Desiree makes a public bet that she can seduce him at a romantic weekend retreat where four couples convene, swapping partners and pairing off in unexpected ways.

Released: 1955-12-26109 minDir: Ingmar BergmanComedy, Romance

▶ Watch trailerStream on: Criterion Channel

Cast

Gunnar Björnstrand as Fredrik Egerman
Ulla Jacobsson as Anne Egerman
Eva Dahlbeck as Desirée Armfeldt
Harriet Andersson as Petra
Margit Carlqvist as Countess Charlotte Malcolm
Jarl Kulle as Count Carl Magnus Malcolm

~6 min read

Article

Smiles of a Summer Night (Swedish: Sommarnattens leende) is a 1955 Swedish period comedy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was shown at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, Time magazine ranked it as one of the 100 greatest films since 1923.

The film's plot—which involves some couples who switch partners on a summer night—has been adapted many times, particularly 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).