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The Astonished Heart (1950) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   92 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 51% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writer:
Noel Coward (play)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Astonished Heart on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
March 1950 (UK) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Plot:
The film begins with a scene in which Barbara rings Leonora to tell her that something has happened to Chris... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Not one I would have chosen for screen adaptation. more (7 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Celia Johnson ... Barbara Faber
Noel Coward ... Dr. Christian Faber
Margaret Leighton ... Leonora Vail
Joyce Carey ... Susan Birch
Graham Payn ... Tim Verney
Amy Veness ... Alice Smith
Ralph Michael ... Philip Lucas
Michael Hordern ... Ernest
Patricia Glyn ... Helen
Alan Webb ... Sir Reginald
Everley Gregg ... Miss Harper
John Salew ... Soames
Gerald Anderson ... Waiter (as Gerald Andersen)
John Warren ... Barman
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
85 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #13669) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A
Filming Locations:
Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Company:
Sydney Box Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The first film of Alan Webb. more

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User Comments

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3 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Not one I would have chosen for screen adaptation., 7 March 2005
4/10
Author: Scaramouche2004 from Coventry, England

I like Noel Coward, the wit. I like Noel Coward, the play write. I like Noel Coward, the composer and singer, but I loathe Noel Coward the actor.

To me this is a man who should have stayed firmly behind the scenes, writing his plays and composing his music and making his profound and hilarious observations. He should never have been allowed in front of a camera.

Make no mistake, he is one of the top outstanding talents of the 20th century but the man just couldn't act, and his voice...with it's rolling R's and it's overly round tonal quality...well it could quite easily grate cheese in my opinion.

This is one of my least favourite offerings from Coward, as he unconvincingly portrays a psychiatrist embarking on an affair with a much younger woman, made worse by the fact that the much younger woman is an old school friend of his much younger wife.

Celia Johnson is as much a joy to watch as ever as Cowards wronged wife. It is her performance that saves this film from abject dullness. I suppose her own little fling in Coward's Brief Encounter four years previously qualified her for this role as she must have raised a few eyebrows playing a such a promiscuous woman and this gave her the chance to win back a few fans and gain some lost sympathy.

She was such a wonderful actress and you can see why Noel Coward used her so much in many of his productions.

However the rest of the film is drab, badly acted, predictable and on the whole boring to almost arse-clenching level.

If its Noel Coward you want then take the time to watch In Which We Serve, Blythe Spirit or This Happy Breed instead. Three Noel Coward treasures. With lovely films like these I suppose we can forgive him for this turkey.

I have given this four stars purely for the addition of Miss Johnson, but on the whole I'd avoid this one like the plague.

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