Editing Ingrid Bergman (section)

=== 1935–1938: Swedish years ===
Bergman's first film experience was as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]] in the 1932 film {{lang|sv|Landskamp}}, an experience she described as "walking on holy ground".<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> Her first speaking role was a small part in {{lang|sv|[[Munkbrogreven]]}} (1935).<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> Bergman played Elsa, a maid in a seedy hotel, being pursued by the leading man, [[Edvin Adolphson]]. Critics called her "hefty and sure of herself", and "somewhat overweight ... with an unusual way of speaking her lines". The unflatteringly striped costume that she wore may have contributed to the unfavorable comments regarding her appearance.<ref name=Eclipse/><ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> Soon after {{lang|sv|Munkbrogreven}}, Bergman was offered a studio contract and placed under director [[Gustaf Molander]].<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/>
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Bergman first role.jpg
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| caption1          = Bergman as Elsa in {{lang|sv|Munkbrogreven}} (1935)
| image2            = Ekman & Bergman Intermezzo 1936 Still.jpg
| caption2          = Bergman with Gösta Ekman in ''Intermezzo'' (1936)
}}

Bergman starred in ''[[Ocean Breakers]]'', in which she played a fisherman's daughter, and then in {{lang|sv|[[Swedenhielms]]}}, where she had the opportunity to work alongside her idol [[Gösta Ekman (senior)|Gösta Ekman]]. Next, she starred in ''[[Walpurgis Night (film)|Walpurgis Night]]'' (1935).<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion">{{Cite web |date=14 November 2017 |title=Ingrid Bergman's early years {{!}} Sight & Sound |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/ingrid-bergman-early-years-sweden-germany |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=British Film Institute}}</ref><ref name=Eclipse/> She played Lena, a secretary in love with her boss, Johan, who is unhappily married. Throughout, Lena and the wife vie for Johan's affection, with the wife losing her husband to Lena at the end.<ref name=Eclipse/>

In 1936, in ''On the Sunny Side'' ({{ill|På Solsidan|sv|På Solsidan}}), Bergman was cast as an orphan from a good family who marries a rich older gentleman. Also in 1936, she appeared in ''[[Intermezzo (1936 film)|Intermezzo]]'', her first lead performance, where she was reunited with Gösta Ekman. This was a pivotal film for the young actress and allowed her to demonstrate her talent. Director Molander later said: "I created ''Intermezzo'' for her, but I was not responsible for its success. Ingrid herself made it successful."<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> In 1938, she starred in ''[[Only One Night (1939 film)|Only One Night]]'', playing an upper-class woman living on a country estate. She didn't like the part, calling it "a piece of rubbish".<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Hutchinson |first=Pamela |title=Eclipse Series 46: Ingrid Bergman's Swedish Years |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5543-eclipse-series-46-ingrid-bergman-s-swedish-years |access-date=30 October 2020 |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref> She only agreed to appear if only she could star in the studio's next film project, {{lang|sv|En kvinnas ansikte}}.<ref>{{Citation |title=Only One Night (1939) – IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031270/trivia |access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref><ref name=":9"/> She later acted in ''Dollar'' (1938),<ref name=Eclipse/> a Scandinavian screwball comedy. Bergman had just been voted Sweden's most admired movie star in the previous year and received top billing. {{lang|sv|Svenska Dagbladet}} wrote in its review: "Ingrid Bergman's feline appearance as an industrial tycoon's wife overshadows them all."<ref name=":9"/>

In her next film, a role created especially for her,&nbsp;{{lang|sv|[[En kvinnas ansikte]]}} (''A Woman's Face''), she played against her usual casting, as a bitter, unsympathetic character, whose face had been hideously burned. Anna Holm is the leader of a blackmail gang that targets the wealthy folk of Stockholm for their money and jewellery.<ref name=Eclipse/> The film required Bergman to wear heavy make-up, as well as glue, to simulate a burned face. A brace was put in place to distort the shape of one cheek. In her diary, she called the film "my own picture, my very own. I have fought for it.". The critics loved her performance, citing her as an actor of great talent and confidence.<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> The film was awarded a Special Recommendation at the [[1938 Venice Film Festival]], for its "overall artistic contribution".<ref>[https://archive.today/20110614063501/http://www.sfi.se/sv/svensk-film/Filmdatabasen/?itemid=3863&type=MOVIE&iv=Awards En kvinnas ansikte – Utmärkelser] (in Swedish). [[Swedish Film Institute]]. Retrieved on 29 April 2009.</ref> It was remade in 1941 by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] with the same title, starring [[Joan Crawford]].<ref>{{AFI film|id=26990|title=A Woman's Face}}.</ref>

Bergman signed a three-picture contract with UFA, the German major film company, although she only made one picture. At the time, she was pregnant, but, nonetheless, she arrived in Berlin to begin filming ''[[The Four Companions (film)|The Four Companions]]'' ({{lang|de|Die vier Gesellen}}) (1938), directed by [[Carl Froelich]]. The film was intended as a star vehicle to launch Bergman's career in Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lunde |first=Arne |title=Nordic Exposures: Scandinavian Identities in Classical Hollywood Cinema |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-295-99045-3 |location=Seattle}}</ref>{{rp|157}}<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> In the film, she played one of four ambitious young women, attempting to set up a graphic design agency. The film was a light-hearted combination of comedy and romance. At first, she did not comprehend the political and social situation in Germany. Later, she said: "I saw very quickly that if you were anybody at all in films, you had to be a member of the Nazi party."<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/> By September, she was back in Sweden, and gave birth to her daughter, Pia. She was never to work in Germany again.<ref name="HutchinsonOpinion"/>

Bergman appeared in eleven films in her native Sweden before the age of twenty-five. Her characters were always plagued with uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. The early Swedish films were not masterpieces,<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Ingrid Bergman's Swedish film |url=http://kinotuskanac.hr/en/article/svedski-filmovi-ingrid-bergman |access-date=19 October 2020 |website=Kino Tuškanac}}</ref> but she worked with some of the biggest talents in the Swedish film industry, such as Gösta Ekman, Karin Swanström, Victor Sjöström, and Lars Hanson. It showcased her immense acting talent, as a young woman with a bright future ahead of her.<ref name="Eclipse">{{Cite web |title=Eclipse Series 46: Ingrid Bergman's Swedish Years |url=https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1315-eclipse-series-46-ingrid-bergman-s-swedish-years |access-date=17 October 2020 |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>