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1956–1972: Hollywood return

After separating from Rossellini, Bergman starred in Jean Renoir 's Elena and Her Men (Elena et les Hommes, 1956), a romantic comedy in which she played a Polish princess caught up in political intrigue. Bergman and Renoir had been wanting to work together. In Elena and Her Men, which Renoir had written for her, she plays a down-on-her-luck Polish princess, Elena Sorokowska. The film was a hit in Paris when it premiered in September 1956. Candice Russell, commented that Bergman is the best thing in the film. Roger Ebert wrote, "The movie is about something else – about Bergman's rare eroticism, and the way her face seems to have an inner light on film. Was there ever a more sensuous actress in the movies?"

In 1956, Bergman also starred in a French adaptation of the stage production Tea and Sympathy. It was presented at the Théâtre de Paris, Paris. It tells a story of a "boarding school boy" who is thought to be homosexual. Bergman played the wife of the headmaster. She is supportive of the young man, grows closer to him and later has sex with him, as a way to "prove" and support his masculinity. It was a smash hit.

Twentieth Century Fox had bought the rights to Anastasia with Anatole Litvak slated to direct. Buddy Adler, the executive producer wanted Bergman, then a still controversial figure in the States, to return to the American screen after a seven-year absence. Litvak also felt she would be an excellent actress for the part and insisted on her starring in the film. Fox agreed to take a chance, making her a box-office risk to play the leading role. Filming was going to be made in England, Paris, and Copenhagen.

Anastasia (1956) tells the story of a woman who may be the sole surviving member of the Romanov family. Yul Brynner is the scheming general, who tries to pass her off as the single surviving daughter of the late Tsar Nicholas II. He hopes to use her to collect a hefty inheritance. Anastasia was an immediate success. Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times, "It is a beautifully molded performance, worthy of an Academy Award and particularly gratifying in the light of Miss Bergman's long absence from commendable films."

With her role in Anastasia, Bergman made a triumphant return to working for a Hollywood studio (albeit in a film produced in Europe) and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for a second time. Cary Grant accepted the award on her behalf. Its director, Anatole Litvak, described her as "one of the greatest actresses in the world":

Ingrid looks better now than she ever did. She's 42, but she looks divine. She is a simple, straightforward human being. Through all her troubles she held to the conviction that she had been true to herself and it made her quite a person. She is happy in her new marriage, her three children by Rossellini are beautiful, and she adores them.

After Anastasia, Bergman starred in Indiscreet (1958), a romantic comedy directed by Stanley Donen. She plays a successful London stage actress, Anna Kalman, who falls in love with Philip Adams, a diplomat played by Cary Grant. The film is based on the play ' Kind Sir ' written by Norman Krasna. Although unmarried, he tells her that he is married but cannot get a divorce. He does so, in order to remain single. Cecil Parker and Phyllis Calvert also co-starred.

Bergman later starred in the 1958 picture The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, based on a true story about Gladys Aylward, a Christian missionary in China who, despite many obstacles, was able to win the hearts of the natives through patience and sincerity. In the film's climactic scene, she leads a group of orphaned children to safety, to escape from the Japanese invasion. The New York Times wrote, "the justification of her achievements is revealed by no other displays than those of Miss Bergman's mellow beauty, friendly manner and melting charm." The film also co-starred Robert Donat and Curd Jurgens.

Bergman made her first post-scandal public appearance in Hollywood at the 31st Academy Awards in 1959, as presenter of the award for Best Picture, and received a standing ovation when introduced. She presented the award for Best Motion Picture together with Cary Grant, with whom she had recently starred in Indiscreet. Bergman made her television debut in an episode of Startime, an anthology show, which presented dramas, musical comedies, and variety shows. The episode presented The Turn of the Screw, an adaptation of the horror novella by Henry James and directed by John Frankenheimer. She played a governess to two little children, who are haunted by the ghost of their previous caretaker. For this performance, she was awarded the 1960 Emmy for best dramatic performance by an actress. Also in 1960, Bergman was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 6759 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 1961, Bergman's second American television production, Twenty-four Hours in a Woman's Life, was produced by her third husband, Lars Schmidt. Bergman played a bereaved wife, in love with a younger man she has known for only 24 hours. She later starred in Goodbye Again as Paula Tessier, a middle-aged interior decorator who falls in love with Anthony Perkins' character, who is fifteen years her junior. Paula is in relationship with Roger Demarest, a womanizer, played by Yves Montand. Roger loves Paula but reluctant to give up his womanizing ways. When Perkins starts pursuing her, the lonely Paula is suddenly forced to choose between the two men. In his review of the film, Bosley Crowther wrote that Bergman was neither convincing nor interesting in her part as Perkins's lover.

In 1962, Schmidt also co-produced his wife's third venture into American television, Hedda Gabler, made for BBC and CBS. She played the titular character opposite Michael Redgrave and Ralph Richardson. David Duprey wrote in his review, "Bergman and Sir Ralph Richardson on screen at the same time is like peanut butter and chocolate spread on warm toast." Later in the year, she took the titular role of Hedda Gabler at the Théâtre Montparnasse in Paris.

On 23 September 1964, The Visit premiered. Based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1956 play, Der Besuch der alten Dame; eine tragische Komödie, it starred Bergman and Anthony Quinn. With a production budget of $1.5 million, principal photography took place in Capranica, outside of Rome. She plays Karla Zachanassian, the world's richest woman, who returns to her birthplace, seeking revenge.

On 13 May 1965, Anthony Asquith 's The Yellow Rolls-Royce premiered. Bergman plays Gerda Millett, a wealthy American widow who meets up with a Yugoslavian partisan, Omar Sharif. For her role, she was reportedly paid $250,000. That same year, although known chiefly as a film star, Bergman appeared in London's West End, working with stage star Michael Redgrave in A Month in the Country. She took on the role of Natalia Petrovna, a lovely headstrong woman, bored with her marriage and her life. According to The Times, "The production would hardly have exerted this special appeal without the presence of Ingrid Bergman."

In 1966, Bergman acted in only one project, an hour-long television version of Jean Cocteau 's one-character play, The Human Voice. It tells a story of a lonely woman in her apartment talking on the phone to her lover who is about to leave her for another woman. The New York Times praised her performance, calling it a tour-de-force. The Times of London echoed the same sentiment, describing it as a great dramatic performance through this harrowing monologue.

In 1967, Bergman was cast in a short episode of Swedish anthology film, Stimulantia. Her segment which is based on the Guy de Maupassant's The Jewellery reunited her with Gustaf Molander. Next, Eugene O'Neill 's More Stately Mansions directed by José Quintero, opened on 26 October 1967. Bergman, Colleen Dewhurst, and Arthur Hill appeared in the leading roles. The show closed on 2 March 1968 after 142 performances. It was reported that thousand of spectators bought tickets, and travelled across the country, to see Bergman perform. Bergman returned as both a presenter and a performer during the 41st Annual Academy Awards in 1969.

Bergman wished to work in American films again, following a long hiatus. She starred in Cactus Flower released in 1969, with Walter Matthau and Goldie Hawn. Here, she played a prim spinster, a dental nurse-receptionist who is secretly in love with her boss, the dentist, played by Matthau. Howard Thompson wrote in the New York Times:

The teaming of Matthau, whose dour, craggy virility now supplants the easy charm of Barry Nelson, and the ultra-feminine Miss Bergman, in a rare comedy venture, was inspirational on somebody's part. The lady is delightful as a (now) "Swedish iceberg", no longer young, who flowers radiantly while running interference for the boss's romantic bumbling. The two stars mesh perfectly.

On 9 April 1970, Guy Green 's A Walk in the Spring Rain had its world premiere. Bergman played Libby, the middle-aged wife of a New York professor (Fritz Weaver). She accompanies him on his sabbatical in the Tennessee mountains, where he intends to write a book. She meets a local handyman, Will Cade (Anthony Quinn), and they form a mutual attraction. The screenplay was based on the romantic novel written by Rachel Maddux. The New York Times in its review wrote, "Striving mightily and looking lovely, Miss Bergman seems merely a petulant woman who falls into the arms of Quinn for novelty, from boredom with her equally bored husband,, pecking away on a book in their temporary mountain retreat."

On 18 February 1971, Captain Brassbound's Conversion, a play based on George Bernard Shaw's work, made a debut at London theatre. She took on the role of a woman whose husband has taken up with a woman half her age. Although the play was a commercial success, critics were not very receptive of Bergman's British accent.

She made an appearance in one episode of The Bob Hope Show in 1972. Also that year, U.S. Senator Charles H. Percy entered an apology into the Congressional Record for the verbal attack made on Bergman on 14 March 1950 by Edwin C. Johnson. Percy noted that she had been "the victim of bitter attack in this chamber 22 years ago." He expressed regret that the persecution caused Bergman to "leave this country at the height of her career". Bergman said that the remarks had been difficult to forget, and had caused her to avoid the country for nine years. Although she had paid a high price, Bergman had made peace with America, according to her daughter, Isabella Rossellini.