INGRID BERGMAN

by Joseph Henry Steele ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 1959

An Intimate Portrait"" has been made possible, simpatico, perhaps a little suspect, by the fact that Joe Steele has been Ingrid Bergman's press agent since 1943 and then her exclusive personal representative from 1944 to 1952. If there were any attendant difficulties they are not mentioned- and it is in warm friendship and admiration that her story is told, from her childhood as a shy, self-conscious girl, determined to act through the stormy Stromboli episode and after. Always a casual celebrity, her great energy and eagerness, her simplicity and her naivete persist and in part determined the nature of her first marriage to Peter Lindstrom and her dependence on him in the early years of her rise to stardom. Her business advisor (and a fairly tough customer), Lindstrom was equally hard to deal with following the Italian idyll with Rosselini and her passionate involvement with that ""Renaissance figure"", the long delayed divorce, and his refusal to let her see Pia. Again, after the rift with Rosselini (""We kept pulling apart""), there was her fight to retain custody of the children, the unpleasant publicity, the censure which has not affected her career resumed with even greater success (Anastasia) and a self-confidence and independence and marital security (one can hope) now achieved with her third husband, Lars Schmidt..... The name- the notoriety- the personal aspects and anecdotes and letters which make this much more than a press release- along with the star-studded Hollywood backdrop-should make the appeal self-evident.

Pub Date: June 18, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: David McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION