- Sweden
- 1953
- 97 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.37:1
- Swedish
- Spine #614
SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the earthy eroticism of Harriet Andersson, in the first of her many roles for him, Ingmar Bergman had a major international breakthrough with this sensual and ultimately ravaging tale of young love. A girl (Andersson) and boy (Lars Ekborg) from working-class families in Stockholm run away from home to spend a secluded, romantic summer at the beach, far from parents and responsibilities. Inevitably, it is not long before the pair are forced to return to reality. The version initially released in the U.S. was reedited by its distributor into something more salacious, but the original Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika), presented here, is a work of stunning maturity and one of Bergman’s most important films.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Monika Erikson | Harriet Andersson |
| Harry Lund | Lars Ekborg |
| Mrs. Lindström, Harry’s aunt | Dagmar Ebbesen |
| Lelle, Monika’s former boyfriend | John Harryson |
| Harry’s father | Georg Skarstedt |
| Forsberg, Harry’s boss | Gösta Ericsson |
| Ludvig, Monika’s father | Ake Fridell |
| Monika’s mother | Naemi Briese |
| Harry’s construction boss | Ake Grönberg |
| Forsberg’s accountant | Gösta Gustafsson |
| Johan | Sigge Fürst |
| Monika’s male coworkers | Gordon Löwenadler |
| Bengt Eklund | |
| Gustaf Färingborg | |
| Hasse, Monika’s brother | Carl-Uno Larsson |
| Mrs. Boman, the café owner | Hanny Schedin |
| Owner of summer home | Ivar Wahlgren |
| His wife | Renée Björling |
| His daughter | Catrin Westerlund |
| Movie stars | Kjell Nordensköld |
| Margaret Young | |
| Lindevall, the parson | Nils Hultgren |
| Harry’s friend | Sten Mattsson |
| Harry’s coworkers | Magnus Kesster |
| Carl-Axel Elfving | |
| Monika’s boyfriend | Anders Andelius |
| Monika’s boss | Arthur Fischer |
| Monika’s date at café | Bengt Brunskog |
Credits
| Director | Ingmar Bergman |
| Screenplay | Ingmar Bergman and Per Anders Fogelström (from Fogelström's novel) |
| Photography | Gunnar Fischer |
| Production manager | Allan Ekelund |
| Production design | P. A. Lundgren and Nils Svenwall |
| Props | Tor Borong |
| Sound | Sven Hansen |
| Music | Erik Nordgren |
| Orchestration | Eskil Eckert-Lundin |
| “Kärlekens hamn” (Haven of Love) waltz composed by | Filip Olsson |
| Makeup | Carl M. Lund and Inc. |
| Editors | Tage Holmberg and Gösta Lewin |
| Continuity | Birgit Norlindh |
Disc Features
- New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Introduction by director Ingmar Bergman
- New interview with actress Harriet Andersson, conducted by film scholar Peter Cowie
- New interview with film scholar Eric Schaefer about Kroger Babb and his distribution of Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl! as an exploitation film
- Images from the Playground, a half-hour documentary by Stig Björkman featuring behind-the-scenes footage shot by Bergman, archival audio interviews with Bergman, and new interviews with actresses Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Laura Hubner, a 1958 review by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, and a publicity piece from 1953 in which Bergman interviews himself
