While Bergman is gradient as ever in this early movie of hers, the plot on the whole is disappointing. The murdering scene even seems ridiculous with the unsurprising coincidence and unbelievable clumsiness. What a waste for Bergman!
Walpurgis Night
1935 [SWEDISH]
Action / Drama / Romance
Plot summary
Lena Bergström works in an office and is unhappily in love with her boss, Johan Borg. She decides to quit. Borg's wife won't have any children, and when she becomes pregnant she has an illegal abortion. For some reason, Lena's father believes that it is Lena who has had an abortion.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
November 29, 2020 at 10:14 PM
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gradient Bergman but bad plot
Worth only for Ingrid Bergman
A really heavy melodrama, one of those unaccomplished pieces from the transition to talking movies. The moralistic tone (even for the 1930s) is not helped by some poor editing and rushed plot. So, why watch it? Well, this is one of Ingrid Berman's early films, one where she tests for the first time some of the screen qualities that years later made her one of the most iconic actresses of all time: the sweet smile, the troubled look, her capacity to show conflicting emotions in a single shot. Bergman shines among a cast that is clearly stuck in the silent era and announces a golden era for screen drama heroines, something that Selznick understood immediately. A few years later, Ingrid was on her way to Hollywood for the US version of 'Intermezzo' and the rest is history.
Bergman is radiant
OK, I'm a sap for old movies. At the same time, I've never been a huge fan of Ingrid Bergman. In "Walpurgisnacht", however, I can see the beauty others mention. And I don't understand the low ratings of others. Maybe I'm not sufficiently conversant in Swedish cinema, but the tension and real human drama developed in this film were far more attainable than any of the artsy Swedish stuff so beloved by contemporary critics.