Ingrid Bergman: Double Anniversary

On August 29, 1915, in Stockholm (Sweden), Ingrid Bergman was born. On the same day, in 1982, in London (Great Britain), after 9 years of unsuccessful fight against breast cancer, she died.

For the first half of my conscious life, I, to my shame, believed that Ingrid Bergman was the wife of the great Ingmar Bergman. Well, how could it be otherwise? After all, the first film with her participation that I watched in the late 70s was "Autumn Sonata". In fact, films featuring Ingrid Bergman were not shown in Soviet cinemas, at least until the beginning of perestroika. Just like the films of Ingmar Bergman. But in our student campus there was a cinema club, the leadership of which, apparently, had some ties with Sovexportfilm. Thanks to these ties, we had the opportunity from time to time to get acquainted with the best works of foreign cinema, albeit semi-legally.

So, the last name of the director of "Autumn Sonata" is Bergman, the last name of the performer of the leading role is also Bergman. And what is there to think? Moreover, the involvement of directors with their wives in their films is a worldwide practice. I repeat, I have not seen their other films before. This is only later, in perestroika and post-perestroika times, after watching "Casablanca", "Notorious", "Cactus Flower" and many other films, I found out that Ingrid and Ingmar, as it is used to say in such cases, are “not even namesakes” .

What is most striking about this Actress, at least for me, is her stunning purposefulness. Back in her 11s, she wrote in her diary, “Please, Lord, let me become an actress” - and she became. Moreover, this aspiration of her was not provided any support from any side. Her mother Friedel, German by nationality, died when Ingrid was only three years old. Dad Justus, a photographer by profession, raised her alone. Moreover, he started such a tradition in their small family: every day he shot a small Ingrid on film, for which he rented a movie camera from friends. Maybe that’s what taught Ingrid to communicate with a movie camera.

But when Ingrid turned 10, her dad, Justus Bergman, decided that his daughter should become an opera singer. And he enrolled her in classical vocal courses. But three years later it all ended: dad died. Dad’s sister Ellen took care of the girl. But just six months later, she died too. The custody of Ingrid was entrusted to relatives who already had five children. Which vocal or acting courses could be spoken about!?

But Ingrid, thanks to her extraordinary purposefulness, achieved a scholarship at the Royal Drama Theater School. At the very school that Greta Garbo graduated a few years before, the world silent movie legend. And a year after entering this School, she got a role in the Royal Drama Theater, which was an exceptional event: the School's rules did not allow the combination of studies with professional activities.

Of course, at the end of the school, the young actress was provided with employment - at the Royal Drama Theater. But literally a year later Ingrid leaves the theater. Leaves due to the conclusion of a very good contract with the Swedish film company and the first role in the movie. True, it was far from the leading role.

During the period of cooperation with the Swedish film studio from 1932 to 1939, Ingrid Bergman played in 12 films. At the same time, her successful film career did not interfere with her personal life: in 1937 she married the promising doctor Petter Lindstrom and in 1938 gave birth to her daughter Pia.

And in 1939, Ingrid Bergman received an offer from Hollywood to take part in the filming of a remake of one of the films with her participation - “Intermezzo” (Americans are not able to perceive films made in other countries, with unknown actors and in any languages, except English). Moreover, the proposal did not come from anyone, but from David Selznik himself, one of the largest producers in Hollywood.

On her arrival in Los Angeles, a flurry of American “good-willed” advice fell on her to change her appearance and even change her last name. Too young Swede was outwardly different from the local standard “drawn (literally) beauties”. Among these "go-aheads" at first was Selznik himself. Sharing his impressions of the young Swedish actress with his family, Selznik noted as flaws that she does not speak English, that she is too high, that her last name sounds too German, and her eyebrows are too thick. But Ingrid was not going to stay in the USA for a long time, and therefore did not see any reason to change anything. Encountering her stubbornness, Selznik himself backed down and urged all make-up artists and stylists to keep up with their “synthetic razzle-dazzle”.

With the collaboration of Ingrid Bergman on the film "Intermezzo" with its producer David Selznik, their friendship began, which lasted until his death, and the actress began to climb the cinematic Olympus.

We were not going to retell the entire biography of Ingrid Bergman, teeming with events and sharp turns. If you want to get acquainted with the biography of the great Actress, we can recommend a very good book - Charlotte Chandler . Ingrid: Ingrid Bergman, A Personal Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

Over the 47 years of her acting career from 1935 to 1982, Ingrid Bergman has played in 37 full-length feature films, not counting roles in television and short films. 3 of these 37 films entered the Golden Thousand. Thanks to this indicator and due to her beauty, Ingrid Bergman is included in the list of the 100 most beautiful and sexiest Actresses in the world cinema, compiled by FilmGourmand.

On the birthday and death of this Actress, we wanted to remind her fans of shots from the best films with her participation.