Smiles Of A Summer Night

Smiles Of A Summer Night (1955)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (13 reviews)

  • 88% of users liked it
    (5,730 ratings)

Bergman's comic masterpiece opens with middle-aged lawyer Frederik Egerman (Gunnar Bjornstrand) again failing to consummate his marriage with the much younger Anne (Ulla Jacobsson). While visiting a former lover, actress Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), he crosses swords with her current lover,… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Ingmar Bergman
Genres
Drama, Art House & International, Classics, Comedy
In Theaters
Jan 1, 1955 Limited
Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    Who would have thought that august Sweden would be sending us a film comedy as witty and cheerfully candid about the complexities of love as any recent French essay on l'amour?

  • Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

    An impeccable choreography of vows broken, shuffled and reaffirmed

  • Eric Melin, Scene-Stealers.com

    Bergman's classic sparkles with wit and innuendo in a way that most modern romantic comedies can't even come close to.

  • Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

    Smiles of a Summer Night is as delightful a romantic roundelay as has ever been made in world cinema; even the title is wonderful.

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    There's some magic it has in the shimmering summer tone it sets.

Read all 11 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Bob S


    Moliere with a little existential angst. Nice. Ingmar Bergman, 1918-2007 Trivia: Source for Sondheim's A Little Night Music

  • Universal D


    Sweden doesn't see a lot of summer, warm weather, and when it finally arrives ... well, blood races, and so the basis of Bergman's surprising (well, its Bergman!?!) romantic comedy involving 4 couples playful verbal sparring with an eye towards eventual mating. Light, full… More

  • Cassandra M


    Charming, light-hearted, delicate, and romantic are not the terms most people think to use when describing Bergman films, and yet "Smiles of a Summer Night" is all of these. This is one of the most sophisticated romantic movies ever filmed, and a pure delight. It is a clever… More

  • Cindy I


    This is a rare bird -- a comedy by Ingmar Bergman. It's a mild sex comedy of manners, with several members of the aristocracy having affairs with some of the others, and backstabbing still more of them. They are all then invited to a country house for the weekend to hash things… More

  • Hal M


    Excellent comedy of mores and manners, set in Sweden about 1890. Terrific script (by Bergman), direction and casting. What a contrast with the mostly dark films he made ever after this! Worth reminding yourself as you watch this that Bergman wasn't just a filmmaker; he was… More

Read all 9 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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