Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Brief Encounter

  • 1945
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
42K
YOUR RATING
Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer3:04
3 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaRomance

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

  • Director
    • David Lean
  • Writers
    • Noël Coward
    • Anthony Havelock-Allan
    • David Lean
  • Stars
    • Celia Johnson
    • Trevor Howard
    • Stanley Holloway
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    42K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • David Lean
    • Writers
      • Noël Coward
      • Anthony Havelock-Allan
      • David Lean
    • Stars
      • Celia Johnson
      • Trevor Howard
      • Stanley Holloway
    • 260User reviews
    • 140Critic reviews
    • 92Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 3 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos3

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:04
    Watch Trailer
    Brief Encounter
    Trailer 2:59
    Watch Brief Encounter
    Top 5 Forbidden-Love Films With 'Disobedience' Star Alessandro Nivola
    Video 2:33
    Watch Top 5 Forbidden-Love Films With 'Disobedience' Star Alessandro Nivola

    Photos100

    Brief Encounter (1945)
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    In Which We Serve (1942)
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Cyril Raymond in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Trevor Howard, Everley Gregg, and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Celia Johnson
    Celia Johnson
    • Laura Jesson
    Trevor Howard
    Trevor Howard
    • Dr. Alec Harvey
    Stanley Holloway
    Stanley Holloway
    • Albert Godby
    Joyce Carey
    Joyce Carey
    • Myrtle Bagot
    Cyril Raymond
    Cyril Raymond
    • Fred Jesson
    Everley Gregg
    Everley Gregg
    • Dolly Messiter
    Marjorie Mars
    Marjorie Mars
    • Mary Norton
    Margaret Barton
    • Beryl Walters - Tea Room Assistant
    Wilfred Babbage
    • Policeman at War Memorial
    • (uncredited)
    Alfie Bass
    Alfie Bass
    • Waiter at the Royal
    • (uncredited)
    Wallace Bosco
    • Doctor at Bobbie's Accident
    • (uncredited)
    Sydney Bromley
    Sydney Bromley
    • Johnnie - Second Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    Noël Coward
    Noël Coward
    • Train Station Announcer
    • (uncredited)
    Nuna Davey
    Nuna Davey
    • Herminie Rolandson - Mary's Cousin
    • (uncredited)
    Valentine Dyall
    Valentine Dyall
    • Stephen Lynn - Alec's 'Friend'
    • (uncredited)
    Irene Handl
    Irene Handl
    • Cellist and Organist
    • (uncredited)
    Dennis Harkin
    • Stanley - Beryl's Man
    • (uncredited)
    Edward Hodge
    • Bill - First Soldier
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • David Lean
    • Writers
      • Noël Coward(uncredited)
      • Anthony Havelock-Allan(uncredited)
      • David Lean(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Red Shoes
    8.1
    The Red Shoes
    Great Expectations
    7.8
    Great Expectations
    Sweet Smell of Success
    8.0
    Sweet Smell of Success
    Kind Hearts and Coronets
    8.0
    Kind Hearts and Coronets
    The Night of the Hunter
    8.0
    The Night of the Hunter
    Brief Encounter
    5.3
    Brief Encounter
    Oliver Twist
    7.8
    Oliver Twist
    This Happy Breed
    7.3
    This Happy Breed
    The Lost Weekend
    7.9
    The Lost Weekend
    Out of the Past
    8.0
    Out of the Past
    White Heat
    8.1
    White Heat
    Laura
    7.9
    Laura

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was shot during the final days of World War II, going into production in January 1945. Filming was completed in May, with an interruption on May 8 to celebrate Germany's surrender.
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Laura Jesson: It's awfully easy to lie when you know that you're trusted implicitly. So very easy, and so very degrading.

    • Connections
      Featured in A Touch of Class (1973)
    • Soundtracks
      Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2.
      Written by Sergei Rachmaninoff (uncredited)

      Played by Eileen Joyce with The National Symphony Orchestra

      Conducted by Muir Mathieson

    User reviews260

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    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.
    helpful•136
    13
    • Philby-3
    • Jun 20, 2002

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ2

    • Is "Brief Encounter" based on a novel?
    • Why was "Brief Encounter" initially banned in Ireland?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 24, 1946 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Noel Coward's Brief Encounter
    • Filming locations
      • Carnforth Station, Carnforth, Lancashire, England, UK(exterior of Milford Junction Station)
    • Production company
      • Cineguild
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £170,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $87,103
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter (1945)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Brief Encounter (1945) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.