Brief Encounter (1945)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

Release Date:

24 August 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Love | Railway Station | Doctor | Housewife

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins

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

Also Known As:

Noel Coward's Brief Encounter (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Spain:13 (DVD rating) | Australia:G | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:AL | Finland:K-16 | Hong Kong:I | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #11819, Adult Audience) | Ireland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Cineguild

Trivia:

The first choice for the Doctor Alec Harvey had been Roger Livesey, but when David Lean and Anthony Havelock-Allan saw Trevor Howard, in a rough cut of The Way to the Stars (1945) they decided to offer the part to Trevor Howard, who at that time was an unknown actor, who had been invalided out of the army.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Laura enters the apartment, the pattern of water marks on her back changes.

Quotes:

Myrtle Bagot: [smacks her on the backside] Albert Godby, how dare you!
Albert Godby: I couldn't resist it!
Myrtle Bagot: Oh, well, trouble you for keeping your hands to yourself!
Albert Godby: Oh, you blushing - oh, you look wonderful when you're angry... just like an avenging angel.
Myrtle Bagot: I'll give you avenging angel!... Coming in here taking liberties!
Albert Godby: I thought last Monday, you said you wouldn't object to a friendly little slap.
Myrtle Bagot: Never mind about last Monday... I'm on duty now. And I should think to what would happen if Mr. Saunders should be looking through the window.
Albert Godby: Well, if Mr. Saunders happens to be looking through the window its about time he saw something worth looking at.
Myrtle Bagot: You ought to be ashamed of yourself!
Albert Godby: Oh, it's high spirit... don't be mad at me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Care and Handling of Roses (1996) (TV)

Soundtrack:

March Militaire

upper-class shopping and railway travel

Noel Coward's short play Still Life was an unusual stepping off point for his full-length screenplay for Brief Encounter, which had some changes (notably in the relationship of our hero and heroine, or how far it gets) and gave Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson excellent roles in this very British mega-weepie. Rachmaninov's 2nd helps considerably, but the housewife and the doctor and their doomed romance, however improbable, manages to be both funny and touching, and Johnson in particular manages to put across the helplessness of a happily married woman who lets a new window open, just for a moment, in the realisation that it will be her only chance. David Lean's direction is atmospheric and sympathetic, and there are a number of choice smaller parts for the likes of Joyce Carey and Valentine Dyall. Perhaps the best of the Coward-Lean collaborations.