| Intermezzo | |
|---|---|
 1945 Argentine film poster | |
| Directed by | Gregory Ratoff |
| Screenplay by | George O'Neil |
| Story by | Gösta Stevens Gustaf Molander |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick |
| Starring | Leslie Howard Ingrid Bergman Edna Best John Halliday Cecil Kellaway |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland Harry Stradling |
| Edited by | Francis D. Lyon |
| Music by | Robert Russell Bennett (uncredited) Max Steiner (uncredited) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Intermezzo (also calledIntermezzo: A Love Story) is a 1939 Americanromantic filmremake of the1936 Swedish film of the same title. It starsLeslie Howard as a married virtuoso violinist who falls in love with his accompanist, played byIngrid Bergman in her Hollywood debut. Bergman had played the same role in the Swedish original againstGösta Ekman. The film was directed byGregory Ratoff and produced byDavid O. Selznick. It features multiple orchestrations of Heinz Provost's title piece, which won a contest associated with the original film's production. The screenplay by George O'Neil was based on that of the original film byGösta Stevens andGustaf Molander. It was produced bySelznick International Pictures.[citation needed]
Thescore byLou Forbes was nominated for anAcademy Award,[1] and music credit was given toRobert Russell Bennett,Max Steiner,Heinz Provost andChristian Sinding. It was on a preliminary list of submissions from the studios for Cinematography (Black-and-White) but was not nominated.[2]
Holger Brandt, a celebrated virtuoso violinist, meets Anita Hoffman, his daughter's piano instructor, during a trip home. Impressed by Anita's talent, he invites her to accompany him on his next tour. They begin touring together and a passionate relationship ensues. Holger's wife Margit asks him for a divorce.
Knowing how much Holger misses his daughter Ann Marie and son Eric, and torn with guilt for breaking up his family, Anita decides to pursue her own career and leaves Holger. Holger returns home to see his children again. He first travels to Ann Marie's school, but as she runs across the street to greet him, she is hit by a car in front of his eyes. He takes the injured Ann Marie back home and confronts his angry son in an attempt to explain his infidelity.
To Holger's relief, the doctor informs him that Ann Marie will survive and eventually recover from her injuries. Margit then forgives Holger and welcomes him back into his family.
The musical duets with Howard and Bergman were dubbed for the soundtrack by professional musicians; however, the actors' hands show the actual music being played.[3] Bergman plays the full piano parts (forEdvard Grieg'sConcerto in A minor andChristian Sinding's "Rustle of Spring"), so her hand positions are correct for the music soundtrack. Howard could not play the violin, so a professional violinist namedAl Sack, who bore a striking resemblance to Howard, was brought in to teach him proper violin posture and bowing technique. During filming, Sack rested on his knees, out of view of the camera, and did the fingering on all of the closeups. In the film, Sack's left hand is shown along with Howard's bowing arm and profile. Sack also doubled for Howard during the long shots in front of the orchestra.[3]
Bergman was heard in a radio adaptation ofIntermezzo onLux Radio Theatre on January 29, 1940, withHerbert Marshall,[4] and again on June 4, 1945 withJoseph Cotten.[5] On October 5, 1946, Marshall starred in an adaptation ofIntermezzo on theHollywood Star Time radio program.[6]
The film was remade asHoneysuckle Rose in 1980.[7]
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