Eva Dahlbeck was Bergman regular
Published 11:21 pm Saturday, February 9, 2008
WASHINGTON — Eva Dahlbeck, a nimble leading lady of early Ingmar Bergman films, who shifted easily and effectively from the wry comedy of “Smiles of a Summer Night” to the stark melodrama of “Brink of Life,” died Feb. 8 in Sweden. She was 87 and had Alzheimer’s disease.
Dahlbeck might be best remembered for “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955), which has endeared itself to generations of filmgoers for its delicate comic touches and delirious romanticism.
The film helped launch Bergman’s international reputation. Dahlbeck played a central role as a stage actress of advancing years who manipulates her two pompous lovers, a lawyer (Gunnar Bjornstrand) and a military officer (Jarl Kulle).
In “Brink of Life” (1958), Dahlbeck played a proud expectant mother whose baby dies in childbirth. Her image of herself is shattered, and the fierce slap she delivers to another young woman in the maternity ward “is among the most unforgettable in Bergman’s cinema,” according to the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers.
In her Bergman films, Dahlbeck was cast opposite Bjornstrand several times. She was often the woman of strong intelligence and wise understanding, and Bjornstrand, her immature other half, was well-deserving of a comeuppance.
Besides “Smiles of a Summer Night,” they were paired in the marital dramas “Secrets of Women” (1952) and “A Lesson in Love” (1954), as well as “Dreams” (1955), in which she was an introspective fashion editor and he a married man with whom she has an affair.
Eva Elisabet Dahlbeck was born March 8, 1920, in Saltsjo-Duvnas, Sweden, and attended the Royal Dramatic Theatre School in Stockholm. She was married to Sven Lampell, an officer in the Swedish air force and official in the International Red Cross, from 1944 until his death last year. Survivors include their two sons, David and Tomas.
