From concept to screenplay 

1952 was one of Ingmar Bergman's most productive years, probably because he had such a backlog of creative ideas: the previous year he had been prevented from making features when Sweden's film producers had staged a lockout in protest against the high rate of tax on entertainment. To make ends meet he turned to advertising, making nine films to promote the Bris deodorant soap brand for Swedish Unilever ("kills bacteria – no bacteria – no smells").

"Originally, I accepted the Bris commercials in order to save the lives of myself and my families. But that was really secondary. The primary reason I wanted to make the commercials was that I was given free rein with money and could do exactly what I wanted with the product's message. Anyhow, I have always found it difficult to feel resentment when industry comes rushing toward culture, check in hand. My whole cinematic career has been sponsored by private capital. I have never been able to live on my beautiful eyes alone! As an employer, capitalism is brutally honest and rather generous – when it deems it beneficial. Never do you doubt your day-to-day value – a useful experience which will toughen you." (Images)

Once the conflict between the film industry and the Swedish state had ended, Bergman found himself with plenty to do. Between January and April he directed four plays for Swedish Radio Theatre, and put on his own Murder at Barjärna at the Malmö Municipal Theatre (where he was employed at the time as permanent director). Another one of his own plays, The Day Ends Early, was broadcast by Radioteatern under the direction of Bengt Ekerot. He then made two feature films: Waiting Women, shot between April and June, and Summer with Monika from July to October.

Following his international breakthrough at the end of the 1950s, Bergman gained a reputation as the portrayer of the upper echelons of society par excellence. His characters were often artists and intellectuals, all firmly rooted in the upper middle classes. It is no coincidence that he happened to originate from such a background himself, so it may come as some surprise to those more familiar with films such as Smiles of a Summer Night, Wild Strawberries and Fanny and Alexander to learn that his earlier works often featured principal characters from the working classes. Summer with Monika is based on a short story by Per Anders Fogelström which he subsequently adapted into a novel. One of Sweden's most popular authors, Fogelström was best known for his portrayals of working class life in Stockholm. His most celebrated works include a series of novels about Stockholm, beginning with City of My Dreams (Mina drömmars stad, 1960) and ending with City in the World (Stad i världen, 1968).

Bergman and Fogelström had worked together previously on the screenplay of Fogelström's While the City Sleeps (Medan staden sover, directed by Lars-Eric Kjellgren, 1950). They bumped into each other again by chance on Kungsgatan in central Stockholm:

"I asked him what he was doing. He said: 'I've got a thing in my head, but how it's going to turn out I don’t know. 'Really?' 'Yes, it's about a girl and a fellow, just kids, who pack their jobs and families –and beat it out into the archipelago. And then come back to town and try to set up in some sort of a bourgeois existence. But everything goes to hell for them.'

I remember jumping a yard high into the air and saying: 'We're going to make a film of this! Remember 'we're going to make a film of this!' He thought so, too; but then other things came between. But each time we met, I asked him how things had turned out for that couple. And by and by, during the film stoppage I suppose it must have been, we got down to work on the script." (Bergman on Bergman)

We cannot be sure of the precise details of their collaboration, but from the material still available it appears that Fogelström wrote a draft screenplay that was subsequently developed either by both of them, or by Bergman working alone. As Fogelström remembers well, the focus in the film version shifted from Harry to Monika.

Given that the film is to such a large extent told from Monika's point of view, the title, which is carried over from the novel, is somewhat odd: for surely "Summer with Monika" implies that the man's story is being told? In all probability SF (and perhaps Bergman himself) wanted to keep the novel as intact as possible: Fogelström was popular, and marketing material for the film prominently featured his name.

Bergman and Fogelström's screenplay was passed on to Carl Anders Dym­ling at SF with the promise that it would be "very small and simple - the world's cheapest film." After the break in film production of the previous year, the company needed all the films it could get, and despite – or perhaps because of – the erotic elements in the script, it was accepted. Later, Bergman would claim that a member of the board resigned in protest at such filth.

Photo: Louis Huch
© AB Svensk Filmindustri

The role of Monika went to Harriet Andersson, a young actress with a few minor roles to her credit, including a part in Gustaf Molander's Defiance (Trots, 1952). "I asked Gustaf Molander about using Harriet. He looked at me and winked. 'If you believe you can get something out of her, I suppose it would be nice.' Only later did I grasp the amiable but improper insinuation in my older colleague's remark." (Images) Bergman was also "no little infatuated" with Andersson: "Oh yes…we took our time when trying out costumes", he recalls. A relationship ensued. In Bergman on Bergman he says that: "There's never been a girl in Swedish films who radiated more uninhibited erotic charm than Harriet." In Images: My Life in Film the extends his compliments to her acting: "Harriet Andersson is one of cinema's true geniuses. You meet only a few of these rare, shimmering individuals on your travels along the twisting road of the movie industry jungle."

The part of Harry went to Lars Ekborg. A few year's later, Ekborg was to create another role for Bergman in The Face; otherwise he became best known for his finely judged comic roles in the films of Hans Alfredson and Tage Danielsson, and for parts he played in various revues and stage productions. From a copy of the film's budget, still in existence, Ekborg was working under contract to SF, whilst Andersson's fee amounted to 4,000 Swedish kronor. Even when converted to current value this is a fairly modest sum for a leading role in a prestigious production: roughly 5,400 Euros, or 7,200 US dollars.