Three Strange Loves [Törst] [Thirst] *** (1949, Eva Henning, Birger Malmsten, Birgit Tengroth) – Classic Movie Review 4836

Director Ingmar Bergman’s intriguing, well-detailed early 1949 movie Three Strange Loves [Törst] [Thirst] still has a strong emotional pull but its appeal is mainly for his diehard fans who want to be completist.

Eva Henning and Birger Malmsten play a needy, mismatched married couple, Rut and Bertil, who quarrel on the way back home by train from Italy to Sweden after a holiday. Rut (Henning) recalls her past loves and her dance career. Her affair with married military officer Raoul (Bengt Eklund) ended in complications when he forced her to abort their child, resulting in Rut’s infertility and ending her dance career.

Herbert Grevenius’s screenplay is based on the collection of short stories by Birgit Tengroth, who also appears as the widow Viola, who finds herself fighting off unwanted advances by a sadistic psychiatrist and her lesbian former schoolmate Valborg (Mimi Nelson). Bertil is still haunted by his affair with Viola. Valborg is Rut’s friend and co-dancer who turned to other women after being disgusted by men.

They tried to make it sound sexy to sell it: ‘A love story so provocative only Bergman would dare to film it.’

It is the first of only three cinema films directed by Ingmar Bergman but not written by him.

Swedish censors cut the ending of the scene between Viola and her lesbian former schoolmate Valborg, in which Valborg tries to seduce Viola by getting her drunk. This was cut before the film’s release and was never seen publicly before 2004. It is restored on the Tartan region 2 DVD.

Thirst is based on a short story collection published by Birgit Tengroth in 1948. Bergman asked Tengroth to star in his film, and she helped him to find the tone he wanted in the lesbian scene between Viola and Valborg.

Shooting took place from 15 March 1949 to 5 July 1949, and the film premiered on 17 October 1949 in Sweden but not until 30 August 1956 in the US.

Svensk Filmindustri offered to produce the film, though Bergman’s previous film Prison (1949) was a financial failure.

Swedish film actress Birgit Tengroth (13 July 1915 – 21 September 1983) appeared in 46 films between 1926 and 1950.

The cast are Eva Henning as Rut, Birger Malmsten as Bertil, Birgit Tengroth as Viola, Hasse Ekman as Dr Rosengren, Mimi Nelson as Valborg, Bengt Eklund as Raoul, Gaby Stenberg as Astrid, Naima Wifstrand as Miss Henriksson, Verner Arpe as German ticket collector, Calle Flygare as Priest, Sven-Eric Gamble as Glass worker, Helge Hagerman as Priest, Else-Merete Heiberg as Norwegian lady, Estrid Hesse as Patient, Gunnar Nielsen as Assistant doctor, and Sif Ruud as Widow.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4836

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