Intermezzo

Original title: Intermezzo: A Love Story

1939
Approved
1h 10m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

Ingrid Bergman and Leslie Howard in Intermezzo (1939)

A violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher/Ingrid Bergman play and asks her to play on his next int'l tour. They fall in love.

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Drama Music Romance

A violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.A violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.A violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
After Producer David O. Selznick fired Cinematographer Harry Stradling Sr. and hired Gregg Toland to take over the photography of this, the remake of Intermezzo (1936), he asked Toland how it was possible that Ingrid Bergman looked so beautiful in the original European production and so ghastly in his Hollywood version. Toland replied, "In Sweden they don't make her wear all that makeup." Selznick immediately ordered retakes with the natural look which so dazzled the world a year later when he loaned her out to Warner Bros. for Casablanca (1942).

Goofs
(at around 32 mins) When Holger and Anita are standing outside the shop and looking at the "curious clock", their faces can be seen reflected in the shop window. As they continue their parting conversation, Anita's mouth movement suddenly mismatches what she can be heard saying. This is followed by a mixture of audible dialogue and interspersed mouth movements from both characters that produce no sound.

Quotes
Charles Moler: [cutting into Ann Marie's birthday cake] You know what? Not so long ago your daddy and I went to a birthday party in China.
Ann Marie Brandt: In *China*?
Charles Moler: [thinking about the pronunciation] Uh-huh. At a Mandarin's house. His name was Chou Ching Chang Chip Chop.
Ann Marie Brandt: Did you have ice cream and cake?
Charles Moler: Oooh, no, indeed. We had swallows' nests, umm, roasted silkworms, snake soup and, uh... cricket eggs!
Ann Marie Brandt: Oh! You didn't eat *that*...?
Charles Moler: Oh, we had to take a double helping of everything, or the Mandarin would've murdered us.
Ann Marie Brandt: Oh, well, Uncle Charles, nobody will murder you here!

Crazy credits
And introducing Ingrid Bergman.

Alternate versions
A re-release uses the title "Intermezzo" and lists the copyright owner as "Vanguard Films, Inc.", which was Selznick's company name in the 1940s. Ingrid Bergman is billed first in the opening credits, which also are more elaborate than the original release. The end cast credits, however, are identical.

Connections
Featured in Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1969)

Soundtracks
Intermezzo
(1936) (uncredited)
Music by Heinz Provost
Played at the concert by Leslie Howard on violin and John Halliday on piano
Played by Howard and Ann E. Todd on piano at their home
Played by Howard and Ingrid Bergman on piano at a concert
Played on a zither by Howard
Used as background music often

User reviews42

Review

Featured review

7/10

Holger...a 'successful' man who has nothing.

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.