Ingrid Bergman and the Most Boring Love Affair in the Movies

Leslie Howard and Ingrid Bergman are (yawn) in love. Image: Toronto Film Society

Have you ever spent time with a couple who talk and talk about their perfectly rapturous relationship? By the end of the evening, you’re placing bets on how long this union can possibly last.

There is such a couple in the 1939 drama, Intermezzo: A Love Story, starring Ingrid Bergman and Leslie Howard.

Now, please don’t throw anything at us if Intermezzo is your favourite movie. It’s beautifully filmed, and the lead actors have been coiffed and dressed by Hollywood’s best. Plus, there’s wonderful music and a lovely pre-WWII European backdrop (sans the political unpleasantness).

Howard is a violin virtuoso, a fellow who travels the world and gives concerts with his dear friend and piano accompanist (John Halliday). Howard is rich and famous; he and his family live in a tastefully-appointed mansion in…