Intermezzo

For her first American film, David O. Selznick was taking no chances with his Swedish import Ingrid Bergman. Her debut film was to something she had previously done in Sweden, giving her a role she had already done and was comfortable while presumably she learned English. As we all know Ingrid Bergman learned it quite well indeed.

Intermezzo is the story of a world famous concert violinist played by Leslie Howard who comes home from a world tour with his piano accompanist John Halliday to wife Edna Best and children Ann Todd and Douglas Scott. By a stroke of coincidence Ann Todd's piano teacher Ingrid Bergman is also Halliday's pupil. At a party Bergman plays and Howard picks up the violin to accompany her.

That's it for him, the beautiful music they make together kindles a romance. She goes on tour with him and it's a romantic idyll. Except of course for Best and the kids.

This version of Intermezzo is a faithful remake of the original Swedish film and the reviews that Ingrid Bergman garnered insured her American stardom. This was a busy years for Leslie Howard and David O. Selznick with both of them also involved with Gone With The Wind.

The theme from Intermezzo is most often done as an instrumental, but words were actually written for it and Tony Martin made a hit record of it at the time film was out in theater.

Seen today Intermezzo and its romantic story hold up well today. Bergman and Best are at their best fighting for the same man and Leslie Howard's charm still comes through after almost 70 years. Intermezzo got two Oscar nominations for black and white cinematography and film editing, but this was the year of Gone With The Wind.

You didn't think David O. Selznick should have taken all the Oscars home from 1939. He grabbed enough of them that year as it was.

...from United Artists, David O. Selznick, and director Gregory Ratoff. Leslie Howard stars as Holger Brandt, a world-renowned concert violinist who is returning home after a lengthy tour. He's happy to be reunited with his wife (Edna Best) and his children, but things get complicated when Holger falls for Anita Hoffman (Ingrid Bergman), the piano teacher to his young daughter. Their love becomes all-encompassing, leading Holger to leave his family to be with Anita. But will the call of family prove too strong to ignore? Also featuring John Halliday, Cecil Kellaway, Enid Bennett, Douglas Scott, and Ann E. Todd as Ann Marie.

This was a remake of a 1936 Swedish film that had also starred Bergman. This was an important film to Howard, who took the role of Ashley in Selznick's Gone with the Wind in order to get this movie made. It's more than a little corny, and I found the score to be intrusive and manipulative to an almost laughable degree. I also liked the initial "love" scene between Howard and Bergman, when she plays piano accompaniment to his violin playing, the two in deep concentration, while his horrified family and friends look on as if the two musicians are literally having sex in front of them. It's amusing, but not in the way it was intended, I would think. The movie earned two Oscar nominations, for Best Cinematography and Best Score.

As I watched "Intermezzo" I couldn't help but remember that the leading man, leading lady AND executive producer all had well publicized affairs...which is odd, as the film seems to be a movie that shows how destructive such things can be. A case of 'do as I say, not as I do'.

Holger is a world-class concert violinist who is about to have a mid-life crisis. When he realizes how great his daughter's piano teacher is, he asks her to accompany him on the road as his accompanist. Soon after this, the pair have an affair. However, all is not rosey in Infidelity Land.

This is a very polished film that both romanticizes adultery AND condemns it at the same time....an odd thing but something it manages to pull off pretty well. Overall, a very good film but I think I preferred the original Swedish version...mostly because I think Ingrid Bergman's performance in the 1936 version seemed more natural and less overdone.

"Intermezzo" is a beautifully photographed, bittersweet story about a the love affair between a concert violinist (Leslie Howard) and a pianist (Ingrid Bergman). This was Bergman's second time at the role, the first time being in her native Sweden. This film catapulted her to fame. Her natural beauty and freshness is shown to wonderful advantage here, as is her sensitive acting in the role of Anita Hoffman.

Howard plays Holger Brandt, a married man with two children who leaves his wife and family when his affair with Bergman becomes too intense. Hoffman becomes his accompanist on tour, sublimating her own career plans because she wants to be with him. While vacationing, he becomes attached to a little girl who obviously reminds him of his daughter (Ann Todd), whom he adores, and Anita wonders if their illicit affair can ever bring them happiness.

The film is rich in subtext and metaphors. "Aren't you giving it too much importance?" Anita's piano teacher asks as she rips into a concerto. "We were all impressed with you the night you played here ... with my husband," Holger's wife says, asking Anita about her studies. "I really had no choice," Anita almost whispers. Even the title of his daughter's favorite piece that he plays, "Intermezzo" takes on a special meaning.

Few actors have cut the romantic, ethereal figure that Leslie Howard did during his film career. Tall, blond, with that soft voice and faraway look in his eyes, he makes a perfect musician who is always listening to a melody in his head. Though some people feel his phoned-in Ashley Wilkes doesn't hold up today, in fact, he was the embodiment of Ashley without making much effort, a soft dreamer with impractical values from another time. And so he is here, not thinking ahead and lost in a romantic fog.

A touching and dramatic film with very effective performances.

After a successful tour ended in New York, the famous violinist Holger Brandt (Leslie Howard) returns to his home in Stockholm. In the birthday party of his beloved daughter Ann Marie (Ann Todd), he feels attracted by and plays with her piano teacher, Anita Hoffman (Ingrid Bergman), who is waiting for a music scholarship in Paris. They incidentally meet each other in a concert, have a drink together and begin a love affair. Holger leaves his family and travels with Anita in a tour, and later they spend vacation together. But Anita earns the expected scholarship and travels to Paris, and Holger decides to visit Ann Marie. A car accident changes the destiny of the Brandt family.

The debut of Ingrid Bergman in an English spoken film may be dated in 2006, but it is still a wonderful romance about a man in a middle age crisis, with a stabilized marriage, who sparks with the love of a talented gorgeous woman that worships him. The performances of Ingrid Bergman, Leslie Howard and Ann Todd are fantastic, and Ingrid looks like a pianist in the sequence in the birthday party. Her beauty shines in the awesome black and white photography and locations and her accent is lovely. The music score gives an additional touch of class to this film. The moralist conclusion seems suitable for the values of the society of 1939, leaving a message of forgiveness and understanding. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Intermezzo"