Brief Encounter (1945)

Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.

Director:

David Lean

Stars:

Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Celia Johnson	...	Laura Jesson
Trevor Howard	...	Dr. Alec Harvey
Stanley Holloway	...	Albert Godby
Joyce Carey	...	Myrtle Bagot
Cyril Raymond	...	Fred Jesson
Everley Gregg	...	Dolly Messiter
Marjorie Mars	...	Mary Norton
Margaret Barton	...	Beryl Walters, Tea Room Assistant

Storyline

At a café on a railway station, housewife Laura Jesson meets doctor Alec Harvey. Although they are both already married, they gradually fall in love with each other. They continue to meet every Thursday on the small café, although they know that their love is impossible.

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Plot Keywords:

love | railway station | railway | train | housewife | 

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Taglines:

A story of the most precious moments in woman's life!

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Genres:

Romance | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Begegnung

Filming Locations:

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineguild

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Old Arabic Love Poem on Persian Rug: about 1:04:45 into the film when Laura comes to see Alec at his friend's flat, there is a Middle Eastern rug hung on the wall. The style of the rug itself confirms it is Persian, however, the beautiful calligraphy is Arabic. It is from a 9th century love poem by the Arab poet Ali Bin Salwa Al-qusari. it reads from right-hand corner of the rug and going anti-clockwise: The Utterance of Passion - In My Eye - Speaks To You.

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Goofs

Carnforth Station has had its name board covered and replaced with a big sign reading Milford Junction, but the smaller platform notices (behind Laura when Alec tells her about the job in South Africa) still show the next train's destinations as Hellifield, Skipton, Bradford and Leeds.

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Quotes

Laura Jesson: I had no thoughts at all, only an overwhelming desire not to feel anything ever again.

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Connections

Featured in 50 Years of Bad Sex (2011)

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Soundtracks

"March Militaire"
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Schubert
(Performed by James Whitebread on Wurlitzer organ at the Metropole Cinema. Mimed by the organist as the Palladium)

User Reviews

Briefly, a great film

There's not a lot to say. Like many classics this film is simply constructed with all the elements in balance so that none stands out. Everything in it contributes something essential; the lighting, the unromantic railway station sets, the minor characters and of course the music, the ultra-romantic Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 2. The emotional rollercoaster of the illicit affair has seldom been better portrayed. Perhaps it is a little understated for transatlantic tastes but no-one viewing this movie would not appreciate that the English can be as passionate as the rest of us.

Celia Johnson as Laura and Trevor Howard as Alec are perfect together. It being 1945, they do not get to bed – that would have ruined the audience's sympathy for them in those rather more censorious times. It's all in their minds but their faces give the game away – to each other and to the bystanders. Nothing happens to drag anyone near the awful divorce courts, but you are left wondering whether Celia will ever feel quite the same about her dull, comfortable, patronising and boring husband. As for Alec, he professes he will love her forever but then, he's a man.

Noel Coward produced this film from a short play of his from 1935 (the war and post-war shortages are absent), and his dulcet tones may be recognised in the railway station announcements. David Lean directed, and it is a remarkable collaboration. The action is opened out a little – a row on the lake, a drive in the country - but the scenes from the play set entirely in the railway refreshment rooms still remain the centre of the story. The parallel relationship between Albert the station guard (Stanley Holloway), and Myrtle the refreshment room attendant (Joyce Carey), is an interesting counterpoint to the angst-ridden middle class would-be adulterers. Surely Noel old boy you weren't suggesting that the working class handles this sort of thing better? We see things largely from Laura's point of view and perhaps Alec didn't feel quite so guilty, but their consciences are going to make them pay. A gem of a movie.