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A Woman’s Face (1938) movie poster

Timeline

A Woman’s Face (1938) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1938 · 104 mins · Swedish
Directed by
Gustaf Molander
Starring
Ingrid Bergman, John Ericsson, Georg Rydeberg, Hilda Borgström, Erland Colliander, Gösta Cederlund

A cynical, disfigured woman entrenched in crime seizes a chance at redemption when a compassionate plastic surgeon offers her reconstructive surgery. Assuming a new appearance, she attempts to abandon her former life, only to find her past associates tracking her, endangering the fragile fresh start she seeks.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Events in order (13)
  2. 2 Timeline questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like A Woman’s Face
  5. 5 Every angle

13 events in order · contains spoilers

A Woman’s Face Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of A Woman’s Face (1938) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Gang launches two blackmail operations

    Anna Holm leads a criminal gang that runs two parallel blackmail schemes: pressuring Mrs. Wegert for the letters she wrote to a lover, and coercing Torsten Barring to murder Lars-Erik, the Consul’s grandson, to secure the estate. The gang wants a female governess to help carry out the murder plot, but they lament Anna’s disfigurement makes her unsuitable. The opening setup establishes the danger and stakes.

    When
    film opening
  2. Anna confronts the Wegert household

    Anna goes to Dr Wegert’s house to threaten Mrs Wegert into paying. Mrs Wegert hands over jewelry, but it’s only half the demanded sum. In the escape attempt, Anna injures her foot by leaping through a window.

    When
    early scene
    Where
    Dr. Wegert’s house
  3. Dr Wegert discovers the jewels, eyes a new possibility

    Dr Wegert finds the jewelry in Anna’s purse and suspects burglary, not blackmail. He is intrigued by her disfigurement and sees a chance to help; he is a plastic surgeon who restores faces.

    When
    shortly after
    Where
    Dr Wegert’s home
  4. Anna’s transformation begins

    Rather than reporting her, Wegert places Anna in his hospital to heal her foot and begins planning for her facial restoration. He treats her with professional care and reveals a grave interest in giving her a new life. The possibility of transformation takes root.

    When
    days after
    Where
    Hospital
  5. The operation and new beauty

    After the operation, the bandages come off to reveal a beautiful face. Anna feels hopeful and morally touched by Wegert’s kindness, foreshadowing a fundamental shift in her life. Her talks with the doctor deepen her resolve to change beyond crime.

    When
    after surgery
    Where
    Wegert hospital
  6. Anna travels north as governess

    Now as Anna Paulsson, she travels to Forsa to become governess to Lars-Erik. She enters a comfortable, loving household that contrasts with her criminal past. Her growing affection for the boy and the family begins to erode her loyalty to the murder plot.

    When
    after arrival
    Where
    Forsa estate
  7. Love enters: Harald’s affection

    Harald Berg, a trusted employee, falls in love with Anna and she with him. The relationship gives her emotional grounding and strengthens her resolve to resist the gang’s coercion. Meanwhile, Torsten and the gang arrive in town to push the plan again.

    When
    soon after arrival
    Where
    Forsa estate
  8. The murder plot revives at the hotel

    The gang gathers at the town hotel to press Anna to proceed with the murder. Torsten intensifies pressure, threatening to force her back into the scheme. The tension between love, loyalty, and crime comes to a head.

    When
    after arrival
    Where
    Town hotel
  9. The winter sleigh confrontation

    On a winter night, Torsten and Lars-Erik stage a fake accident to kill Lars-Erik. Anna, riding with Harald, realizes the plot and drives their own sleigh to catch them. She confesses the murder plan to Harald, and they manage to snatch Lars-Erik from Torsten, but Harald is badly injured in the chase and Torsten escapes, with the gang abandoning the plan.

    When
    winter night
    Where
    Winter sleigh route, snow-covered countryside
  10. Aftermath and consul’s demand

    After the failed murder attempt, Anna remains the governess and Harald begins to recover. The Consul urges Harald to return to Forsa, hoping Anna can persuade him to come back. The delicate balance between duty and affection unsettles everyone.

    When
    aftermath
    Where
    Consul's estate
  11. Harald’s offer and Anna’s confession

    Anna visits Harald at Wegert’s clinic and shares her life story, explaining how a childhood fire left her face scarred and her choices shaped by fear of ugliness. Despite the confession, Harald loves her and proposes they run away together. She declines, choosing a more practical path for his sake.

    When
    post-confession
    Where
    Dr Wegert’s clinic
  12. Harald returns to his life; new hope for Lars-Erik

    Harald decides to return to Forsa to join Lars-Erik and resume his position. He is welcomed back and prepares to move forward, leaving Anna to her new life.

    When
    shortly after confession
    Where
    Forsa estate
  13. Wegert and Anna plan a new life together

    Dr Wegert decides to leave his Swedish practice and join the Red Cross in China. He invites Anna to come with him as governess to his cousin’s child in Beijing, offering a chance to start anew. They sail off together, beginning a new life abroad.

    When
    final
    Where
    Beijing / aboard ship

Last updated: October 07, 2025 at 09:47

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Timeline questions answered

A Woman’s Face Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of A Woman’s Face (1938): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Anna agree to become the governess if she was supposed to help kill Lars-Erik?

Anna initially agreed because the gang pressured her and she needed to escape her criminal life. However, once she arrived at the estate and grew to love Lars-Erik and the warm family atmosphere, she couldn't go through with the murder. Her growing affection for the boy directly caused her to turn against the murder plot entirely.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows Anna was already conflicted about the plan before she even left for Forsa.

  • Anna governess
  • Lars-Erik
  • murder plot
  • Barring family
Q2

How did Anna manage to stop Torsten from killing Lars-Erik during the sleigh ride?

On the winter night when Torsten staged a fake accident by whipping the horses into a dangerous run, Anna realized the plot from her sleigh with Harald. She confessed the murder scheme to Harald and together they pursued Torsten's sleigh. Anna managed to snatch Lars-Erik from Torsten's sleigh just in time, though Harald was badly injured in the chaos.

Foreshadowing: The gang had been pressuring Anna at the hotel to proceed with the plan, building tension to this confrontation.

  • Torsten
  • Lars-Erik
  • sleigh accident
  • Harald injured
  • rescue
Q3

Why did Anna turn down Harald's proposal to run away together?

Anna refused Harald's proposal for his sake, believing her criminal past and disfigured history would only bring him shame and trouble. Despite loving him, she chose practical sacrifice over their relationship, wanting him to return to the Barring family and live a respectable life without the burden of her past.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Anna told Harald her full life story at the clinic, revealing how childhood trauma shaped her.

  • Harald
  • Anna confession
  • marriage proposal
  • sacrifice
Q4

Why did Anna return the blackmail letters to Mrs. Wegert?

When Mrs. Wegert visited the hospital hoping Anna would return the letters in exchange for the surgery being successful, Anna gave them back for free, asking nothing in return. This act marked the beginning of her moral transformation, showing she was already being changed by Dr. Wegert's kindness before the surgery was even complete.

Foreshadowing: The operation itself was successful, but Anna's character change began with this selfless act.

  • blackmail letters
  • Mrs. Wegert
  • Anna transformation
  • redemption
Q5

Why did the gang abandon their plan after the sleigh incident?

After the failed murder attempt, the gang members heard what happened and, remarkably, chose to give up on Anna rather than pursue her. They simply left town and ended their scheme. Their acceptance of her defiance suggests they weren't completely hardened criminals, or they recognized her genuine transformation made continuing the plot impossible.

Foreshadowing: The gang had expressed frustration earlier that Anna's disfigurement made her unsuitable for the governess job.

  • gang members
  • murder plot
  • Anna betrayal
  • Forsa
Q6

What caused Anna's facial disfigurement and why did it shape her life?

Anna revealed that as a child, her face was burned in a house fire and she was then abandoned by the criminals who had raised her. This trauma led her into a life of crime and caused her to become embittered and alienated from society. Paradoxically, she stated that her ugliness had actually prevented her from becoming even worse, as it made her unsuitable for certain criminal roles.

Foreshadowing: The opening establishes her disfigurement as the reason the gang couldn't use her as the governess.

  • Anna past
  • facial burns
  • childhood trauma
  • criminal background
Q7

Why did Anna decide to go to China with Dr. Wegert instead of staying in Sweden?

Anna chose to accompany Dr. Wegert to China because he offered her a genuine fresh start as a governess to his cousin's child in Beijing. With her criminal past behind her and her relationship with Harald impossible, accepting his invitation represented the only viable path to a new, respectable life far from her previous circumstances.

Foreshadowing: Dr. Wegert had offered her kindness from the moment he found her, making this invitation a natural progression.

  • Dr. Wegert
  • Beijing
  • new life
  • Anna future
  • Sweden departure
Q8

Why did Dr. Wegert offer to perform plastic surgery on a criminal?

Dr. Wegert was a pioneering plastic surgeon who had specialized in restoring the faces of WWI veterans damaged in the war. When he discovered Anna's disfigurement, he saw a medical challenge and an opportunity to give her a new life rather than a prison sentence. His professional interest in facial reconstruction combined with genuine compassion led him to help her.

Foreshadowing: The opening establishes his specialization in wartime facial injuries.

  • Dr. Wegert
  • plastic surgery
  • Anna face
  • transformation
Q9

Why did Torsten want to kill Lars-Erik?

Torsten was the dissolute nephew of Consul Magnus Barring and stood to inherit the Consul's entire estate. However, Lars-Erik, the Consul's orphan grandson, was the direct heir and stood between Torsten and the fortune. The gang coerced Torsten into arranging the boy's murder so he could finally claim the inheritance.

Foreshadowing: The opening establishes the inheritance scheme as one of the gang's two main blackmail operations.

  • Torsten
  • Lars-Erik
  • inheritance
  • Consul Barring
  • murder plot
Q10

How did Anna injure her foot at the Wegert house?

When Anna went to threaten Mrs. Wegert for blackmail letters, Mrs. Wegert handed over jewelry but it was only half the demanded sum. During her escape attempt through a window, Anna injured her foot. Dr. Wegert then found the jewelry in her purse and, rather than suspecting blackmail, assumed she was a burglar.

Foreshadowing: This injury led to her hospitalization and eventual transformation.

  • Anna escape
  • injured foot
  • Wegert house
  • blackmail
Q11

Why did Harald decide to return to the Barring family after being injured?

After recovering from his injuries at Dr. Wegert's clinic, Harald chose to return to Forsa and resume his position with the family. The Consul had urged Anna to persuade him to come back, and despite everything that happened, Harald decided to rejoin Lars-Erik and the family he had been part of.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Harald was treated like family and Lars-Erik even called him uncle.

  • Harald
  • Lars-Erik
  • Barring family
  • return
  • recovery

Movie threads

More Movies Like A Woman’s Face, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes A Woman’s Face tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Redemption stories like in A Woman’s Face

Characters seeking moral salvation after a life of crime or trauma. If you liked the journey of moral reckoning in A Woman’s Face, explore other movies about characters seeking a second chance. These films typically feature heavy emotional weight, tense confrontations with the past, and bittersweet conclusions.

  • redemptive
  • tense
  • melancholic
  • hopeful
  • gritty
  • psychological
  • Tone: bittersweet, tense
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a character emerging from a dark past, tempted by a new, better life. Their redemption is tested by lingering threats or moral dilemmas, leading to a climactic choice that defines their new self, resulting in an ending that is hopeful yet tinged with the cost of change.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their central focus on a profound character transformation. They share a tone that balances hope with melancholy, a steady pacing that allows for deep emotional exploration, and a high intensity driven by internal and external moral conflict.

Psychological dramas with tension like in A Woman’s Face

Moody character studies where internal turmoil drives a tense plot. Discover movies similar to A Woman’s Face that masterfully blend psychological depth with atmospheric tension. These films often feature morally conflicted characters in gritty settings, delivering a steady, immersive, and emotionally heavy experience.

  • psychological
  • atmospheric
  • tense
  • gritty
  • melancholic
  • character study
  • Tone: gritty, tense, melancholic
  • Pacing: steady, atmospheric
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The story unfolds through the perspective of a troubled protagonist, often marked by a physical or psychological scar. The plot is a vehicle to explore their internal duality and moral conflict, with tension arising from their precarious position between a dark past and a fragile future.

Why they belong together: This thread connects films through a shared emphasis on psychological realism, a consistently tense and gritty mood, and a steady pacing that lets atmospheric dread and character development take center stage over fast-paced action.

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Movies Like A Woman’s Face

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Every angle

A Woman’s Face (1938) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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