''A Lesson in Love'' () is a 1954 Swedish

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

. The film is about the marriage of a gynecologist named David and his wife Marianne. The film's score was composed by

Dag Wirén Dag Ivar Wirén (15 October 1905 – 19 April 1986) was a Swedish composer. Life Wirén was born at Striberg near Nora. His father had a roller blind factory, and there were various musical activities in the family home; he took piano ...

Cast

Eva Dahlbeck Eva Elisabet Dahlbeck (8 March 1920 – 8 February 2008) was a Swedes, Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''Brink of Life'' (1958). Dahlbeck ...

– Marianne Erneman *

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 an ...

– David Erneman *

Yvonne Lombard Yvonne Lombard (born 28 May 1929) is a Swedish actress. Born in Stockholm, Lombard studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre ("Dramaten") there, where she trained between 1948 and 1951 with the likes of Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin. She has perfo ...

– Susanne Verin *

Harriet Andersson Harriet Andersson (born 14 February 1932) is a Swedish actress, best known outside Sweden for being part of director Ingmar Bergman's stock company. She often plays impulsive, working class characters. Film actress Harriet Andersson began her ...

– Nix *

Åke Grönberg Karl Åke Edvard Grönberg (26 March 1914 – 15 September 1969) was a Swedish film actor who appeared in nearly 100 films. Grönberg was a versatile stage personality of his day, performing as a singer, variety artist, actor, in musical show ...

– Carl-Adam *

Olof Winnerstrand Carl Olof Magnus Winnerstrand (26 August 1875 – 16 July 1956) was a Swedish stage and film actor. Biography Born in a bourgeois home in Stockholm, Winnerstrand was a son of the well-known Stockholm goldsmith and jeweller C.A. Winnerstran ...

– Professor Henrik Erneman *

Renée Björling Renée Björling (10 July 1898 – 4 March 1975) was a Swedish film actress. She was born in Lovö, Sweden and died in Täby. Partial filmography * ''Tre indvendige Jomfruer'' (1914) - Daughter * ''The Downy Girl'' (1919) - Anne-Marie Ehi ...

– Svea Erneman *

John Elfström Per Johan Hilding "John" Elfström (20 April 1902 – 27 March 1981) was a Swedish film actor who appeared in more than 120 films. He is most famous for starring in the Åsa-Nisse series of films. He foremost made lighter comedies, even if he ...

– Sam * Birgitte Reimer – Lise * Dagmar Ebbesen – Nurse Lisa *

Sigge Fürst Karl Sigurd Tore "Sigge" Fürst (3 November 1905 – 11 June 1984) was a Swedish film actor who appeared in more than 130 films. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died there of lung cancer in 1984. As well as appearing in films, Fürst ma ...

– Vicar

Reception

''A Lesson in Love'' received generally positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

reports 100% approval (based on six critics), with an average rating of 7.2/10. On the film's U.S. release in 1960,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

opined in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', that its subject "...is the complexity of love...It is a subject that Mr. Bergman expanded in his subsequent "

Smiles of a Summer Night ''Smiles of a Summer Night'' () is a 1955 Swedish comedy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was shown at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, ''Time'' magazine ranked it as one of the 100 greatest films since 1923. The film' ...

," with more wit and satiric implication. But, for a warm-up, he got off nicely here...Mr. Bergman plays around with it in such a clever and thought-provoking way that the emotional dilemma implicit in it has humor, wisdom and charm...And, as in all of his pictures, Mr. Bergman has used a cast that seems to act with inspired understanding—which means, of course, sympathy with him."

References

External links

* * 1954 films 1954 comedy films Swedish black-and-white films Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman Swedish comedy films 1950s Swedish-language films Films scored by Dag Wirén 1950s Swedish films {{1950s-Sweden-film-stub