Swedish Press March 2008

I just found out that the actress and author Eva Dahlbeck has passed away in February. She had been on my list of future interviews ever since I took over Swedish Press. I was sure her fascinating life would make for a good story, and furthermore I had a personal interest in her as she was my father's cousin. It is sad that the interview never materialized.

Eva Dahlbeck (born 1920 in Saltsjö-Duvnäs on the outskirts of Stock-holm) was a smart blond, and one of Sweden's most popular and successful actresses in the 40s and 50s. Ingmar Bergman described her as his "battleship of femininity" and cast her in many strong female roles where he could also utilize her playful streak. She often co-starred with Gunnar Björnstrand like in Waiting Women (1952) where their scenes are played out largely in a lift stuck between floors, during which time they achieve new insight into their marital difficulties. Their playful teamwork has been compared to that of Katherine Hepburn and Gary Grant.

In its eulogy Washington Post writes: "Ms. Dahlbeck might be best remembered for ‘Smiles of a Summer Night’ (1955 - and you can see a scene on YouTube), which has endeared itself to generations of filmgoers for its delicate comic touches and delirious romanticism. The film helped launch Bergman's international reputation. Ms. Dahlbeck played a central role as a stage actress of advancing years who manipulates her two pompous lovers, a lawyer (Gunnar Björnstrand) and a military officer (Jarl Kulle)."

In 1962 Eva Dahlbeck starred as William Holden’s wife in the espionage thriller The Counterfeit Traitor. She got the Eugene O'Neill Award for her theatre work and shared a Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival with Ingrid Thulin, Bibi An-dersson and Barbro Hiort af Ornäs for So Close to Life (1958), a bleak Bergman drama.

Eva Dahlbeck retired from acting in the 1970s to concentrate on writing. She wrote poetry, plays and more than a dozen novels. She admitted that one of the characters in a novel was based on Ingmar Bergman, who "has an erotic relationship with everything around him - with nature, people, things, indeed with everything that happens. It may appear as if he is involved in some universal act of love that is sometimes fruitful and sometimes destructive.”

She also wrote the gruesome screenplay to Arne Mattsson's film The Yngsjö Murder (1966), based on a novel about incest and murder.

Eva Dahlbeck was married to the dashing pilot and commander Sven Lampell who organized the Red Cross aid flights to Biafra during the war in Nigeria. She moved with him to Geneva when he was appointed a Red Cross Chief Delegate.

On one of my latest visits to Stockholm I managed to get hold of the Lampells’ phone number and called them in Hässelby Villastad. Sven Lampell explained that Eva was suffering from Alzheimer's and an interview was out of the question. Eva did come to the phone and she sounded fine, but her last words "Anders, it's too late" still ring in my ears.

In this issue we bring you an interview with Björn Bayley who was one of the first people we interviewed (in November 1986). He now joins the small and exclusive club consisting of Max von Sydow, Ann-Sofie von Otter and Olle Wästberg who have been interviewed twice in Swedish Press.