MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 500 titles—from the silent era through the ’90s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
Summer With Monika (1953, 96 minutes)
The popularity of more recent pictures by Ingmar Bergman (Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal) at U.S. art houses in the ’60s, paved the way for the re-release of some of the Swedish maestro’s earlier films. 1953’s Summer With Monika, shocking to some audiences in America where it was re-titled Story Of A Bad Girl for its female nudity, starred Harriet Andersson, a young woman Bergman discovered in a Stockholm theater wearing a negligee and fishnet stockings, singing suggestive songs.
Monika (Andersson) and Harry (Lars Ekborg) are two young kids, still living at home, who are tired of their dead-end jobs and hum-drum social life. He’s a dogsbody driving a bicycle-powered delivery vehicle around town for a company that manufactures dinnerware. And she toils in a produce market where she is regularly goosed by fellow employees whenever she climbs a ladder. After she’s pushed into a bin of new potatoes by another worker who jumps on top of her, she decides she’s had enough.
Monika falls in love with the malleable Harry during a romantic American movie. “You may kiss me now, honey,” says the blond leading lady. “I will, my love. We may never see each other again,” answers her lover as Monika reaches for her handkerchief. After Harry gets sucker-punched one night by one of her jealous former boyfriends, Monika decides they should sail away for an idyllic summer to a deserted island and do what comes naturally. With nothing better in mind, Harry goes along with the plan.
They decide to steal his father’s boat and head for the archipelago off the coast of Stockholm. She seals the deal by stubbing out her cigarette and saying, “You may kiss me now, Harry.” On a chilly evening, the runaway lovers lug a pair of modest suitcases down to the local harbor. “We can stay in the boat’s cabin tonight to keep warm,” says Harry. Monika is already stripping down for action. “I don’t want to wrinkle my skirt,” she says, also removing her stockings and her chewing gum. “Take off your pants so you don’t spoil the crease,” she suggests to Harry. Adding extra sweaters, they climb into a one-man sleeping bag and begin their fabulous journey without leaving the dock.
Next morning, with a hint of spring in the air, Harry goes into town one last time for an armload of groceries. Monika goes home and returns as if they’re headed for the French Riviera, dressed in a white summer sweater, black beret and floral print skirt. They start the motor and nose out under Stockholm’s ancient bridges toward open water. With none of the carpentry skills of Robinson Crusoe and cooking experience that barely embraces making toast and boiling water, these two are out to prove that love alone will conquer all.
