Writer and screenplay 

Photo: Anders Roth
© Stiftelsen Ingmar Bergman

Prison was the first film Ingmar Bergman directed from his own, entirely original, screenplay. He was given this exciting opportunity by Terrafilm's Lorens Marmstedt on condition that he would try to keep production costs down as far as possible. The initial budget was set at 185,000 Swedish kronor, compared to the standard budget of the day of more than 300,000 kronor.
Yet costs rose to 240,000 kronor, mostly because of unforeseen extra footage that proved necessary. In newspaper interviews, however, Marmstedt professed himself satisfied. Making a feature for less than 240,000 kronor was a major achievement in itself.

Photo: Bengt Westfelt
© AB Svensk Filmindustri

"Harbour City opened in October 1948 and was a relative success. At About the same time Ellen, my wife then, and I went to the summer cottage in Dalecarlia where I spent my childhood. There I wrote the sceenplay for The Devil´s Wanton (Prison) [...]

During the previous summer I had written the story of Birgitta Carolina as a long short story with the title 'True Story', alluding to a very popular genre in weekly magazines at the time that was called 'true stories from life'. I wanted my story to be that way: with inhibited swings between unabashed sentimentality and genuine feelings. I was extreamly pleased with the title of the film, finding it suitably ironic. But my producer Lorens Marmstedt, who knew everything there was to know about Swedish movie audiences, said that people didn't understand irony; they'd just get mad as hell. He asked me to find another title. First I came up with The Prison and then simply Prison, which was typical for the 1940s and, actually, a much worse title than True Story.

I hesitated when I handed the sceenplay to Lorens Marmstedt and said something like, 'You don't have to bother with this. But if you have the time and inclination at some point, take a look at it'. I did not even give Svensk Filmindustri a chance to consider it, fully realizing that it would be futile. Two days later Lorens called me and said in his roundabout way, 'Very touching...I don't know...perhaps...after all. Touching but not moving! One can't tell. Possibly? How fast can you work?'. 'Eighteen days. Not less than eighteen days'. I said. Then we disscused actors, and he called around and told each one, 'Don't count on getting your regular salary because this is an artistic film and one has to sacrifice something for Art!' I myself did not receive a penny, just 10 percent of the profit. There never was any profit!."

References 

Ingmar Bergman, Images: My life in Film (Norstedts, Stockholm 1990)

Svensk filmografi