''The Devil's Eye'' ( sv, Djävulens öga) is a 1960 Swedish fantasy-comedy film written and directed by

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

Plot

In accordance with the Irish proverb that "A woman's chastity is a stye in the Devil's eye",

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

believes a pain he feels in his eye is a

stye A stye, also known as a hordeolum, is a bacterial infection of an oil gland in the eyelid. This results in a red tender bump at the edge of the eyelid. The outside or the inside of the eyelid can be affected. The cause of a stye is usually a b ...

and it is being caused by a virgin on Earth. In particular, the pain is connected to Britt-Marie, the daughter of a vicar. Britt-Marie is still a virgin at 20, and she is engaged to a man named Jonas. Satan fears Britt-Marie may serve as an example to her friends to remain virgin, and opts to send

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

to seduce Britt-Marie. Don Juan is enduring what he considers a boring punishment: Repeatedly, a woman comes to him threatening to kill him, and he seduces her and takes her to bed. However, before any sex occurs, a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

emerges to say the "show is over", and the woman disappears. Satan comes to Don Juan, telling him he can go to Earth and if he seduces Britt-Marie, Satan will allow Don Juan to have a dreamless sleep, a relief from his punishment. Don Juan accepts the challenge, accompanied by his servant Pablo. The demon also follows them, determined Pablo will not enjoy any sex while on Earth. Don Juan and Pablo meet the vicar, a happy and gullible man who invites them to his house. At the house, Pablo becomes enamoured with the vicar's wife, Renata. Don Juan meets Britt-Marie and attempts to seduce her, questioning her relationship with Jonas. She agrees to kiss him. The demon also stokes quarrels between Britt-Marie and Jonas, and Jonas leaves. During the night, Pablo seduces Renata. The demon appears to the vicar to tell him Renata is committing

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, and gives him the key to Renata's bedroom. Instead of entering the bedroom, the vicar instead uses the key to lock the demon in his cupboard. The next morning, the demon tells the vicar he dreamed that while Renata slept with one of the vicar's guests, his daughter slept with the other. Concerned, the vicar runs to Britt-Marie's bedroom, but finds her alone there. Don Juan has fallen in love with Britt-Marie and is unable to seduce her in his usual fashion; Satan laments his defeat. After Don Juan returns to hell, Satan learns Britt-Marie has married Jonas, and he takes her virginity on their wedding night. This alone does not cure Satan's eye. However, Britt-Marie lies to Jonas, claiming she had never kissed another man; the lie heals Satan, giving him a minor victory. Satan decides to put Don Juan to sleep, decreeing he will dream of love, a cruel punishment.

Cast

Jarl Kulle Jarl Lage Kulle (28 February 1927 – 3 October 1997) was a Swedish film and stage actor and director, and father of Maria Kulle. Kulle was born in the village of Truedstorp, outside Ekeby, Sweden, and was the son of the merchant Nils Kulle a ...

as Don Juan *

Bibi Andersson Berit Elisabet Andersson (11 November 1935 – 14 April 2019), known professionally as Bibi Andersson (), was a Swedish actress who was best known for her frequent collaborations with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Early life and career Anders ...

as Britt-Marie *

Stig Järrel Stig Järrel (8February 19101July 1998) was a Swedish actor, film director and revue artist. Järrel was one of the most popular actors in Sweden during his career, and also one of the most productive, participating in a total of 131 films. He a ...

as Satan *

Nils Poppe Nils Poppe (31 May 1908 – 28 June 2000) was a Swedish actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and theatre manager. He is internationally most famous for his part in Ingmar Bergman's ''The Seventh Seal'', but in Sweden he was much loved and ...

as The Vicar *

Gertrud Fridh Gertrud Fridh (26 November 1921 – 11 October 1984) was a Swedish stage and film actress. Biography Born in Gothenburg, Fridh later studied acting at Gothenburg City Theatre's acting school from 1941 to 1944. She worked in the 1940s and 195 ...

as Renata *

Sture Lagerwall Sture Lagerwall (13 December 1908 – 1 November 1964) was a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1931 and 1963. He was born in Stockholm, and died in Limhamn, Sweden, in 1964. Selected filmography * ' ...

as Pablo *

Georg Funkquist Georg Funkquist (13 March 1900 – 23 October 1986) was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Uppsala, Sweden and died in Stockholm. Selected filmography * ''The Red Day'' (1931) * '' Poor Millionaires'' (1936) * ''Mother Gets Married'' (19 ...

as Count Armand de Rochefoucauld *

Gunnar Sjöberg Gunnar Sjöberg (25 March 1909 – 8 June 1977) was a Swedish film actor. Selected filmography * '' Russian Flu'' (1937) - Delegat från Sundsvall (uncredited) * '' John Ericsson, Victor of Hampton Roads'' (1937) - Seaman * '' Styrman Karl ...

as Marquis Giuseppe Maria de Macopanza *

Gunnar Björnstrand Knut Gunnar Johanson (13 November 1909 – 24 May 1986) was a Swedish actor known for his frequent work with writer and director Ingmar Bergman. Biography Björnstrand was born Knut Gunnar Johanson in Stockholm as son of actor Oscar Johanson a ...

as The Actor

Production

SF Studios SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media ...

required Bergman to make a comedy before agreeing to produce Bergman's idea for '' The Virgin Spring''. The story was inspired by the Danish radio play ''The Return of Don Juan'' by ; Bergman was intrigued by the character's resurgent popularity. The "Irish proverb" cited in the film is fictional and was invented by Bergman.

Release and reception

In 2018,

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...

released the film on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

in Region A, along with 38 other Bergman films, in the set ''

Ingmar Bergman's Cinema ''Ingmar Bergman's Cinema'' is a Blu-ray disc box set featuring 39 films directed by Ingmar Bergman, released by the Criterion Collection on November 20, 2018 in the United States. The set spans Bergman's early career, beginning in the 1940s, up t ...

''. ''The Devil's Eye'' has a 67% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devils Eye, The 1960 films 1960 comedy films 1960s fantasy comedy films Swedish black-and-white films Swedish fantasy comedy films 1960s Swedish-language films Films based on the Don Juan legend Films set in hell Films scored by Erik Nordgren Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman 1960s Swedish films