A WOMAN’S FACE (EN KVINNAS ANSIKTE)
(director: Gustaf Molander; screenwriter:Stina Bergman/Gosta Stevens/from a play by François de Croisset; cinematographer: Ake Dahlqvist; editor: Oscar Rosander; music: Erick Bengtsson; cast: Ingrid Bergman (Anna Holm), Anders Henrikson (Dr. Wegert), Erik Berglund (Nyman), Gosta Cederlund (“The Count”), Georg Rydeberg (Torsten Barring), Tore Svennberg (Consul Magnus Barring), Goran Bernhard (Lars-Erik), Gunnar Sjoberg (Harald Berg), Hilda Borgstrom (Emma), Karin Carlsson (Mrs. Wegert); Runtime: 104; MPAA Rating: NR; SF; 1938-Sweden-in Swedish with English subtitles-B/W)
“One of Ingrid Bergman’s last Swedish films before coming to Hollywood.“
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
One of Ingrid Bergman’s last Swedish films before coming to Hollywood. It was remade by MGM in 1941 and starred Joan Crawford, with the Swedish version the better one. Swedish filmmaker Gustaf Molander (“Eva”/”Dollar”) directs Ingrid for the second time in a classy Swedish film. It’s based on the play by the French playwright Francis de Croiset called Il Etait Une Fois. Writers include Stina Bergman and Gosta Stevens.Anna Holm (Ingrid Bergman) is an embittered young woman over a childhood accident that left her disfigured. She became a con artist, who leads a criminal gang of blackmailers. The gang blackmails the wife (Karin Carlsson) of a successful plastic surgeon (Anders Henrikson), who catches her in his apartment stealing his wife’s jewelry and takes pity on her predicament and offers to restore her face surgically. Turned into a beautiful woman, she becomes a governess for the young heir Lars-Erik (Goran Bernhard) and schemes to help the criminal-minded Torsten Barring (Georg Rydeberg) cheat him out of his inheritance from his wealthy uncle Consul Magnus Barring (Tore Svennberg). Things change when she becomes fond of Lars-Erik and falls in love with the family secretary Harald Berg (Gunnar Sjoberg). When Anna fails to help the smarmy Torsten, he blackmails the transformed woman to reveal her past. It results in a bittersweet ending that might not please all.
REVIEWED ON 6/4/2018 GRADE: B https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/
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