In Bournemouth, England, the Beauregard Hotel is located three minutes from the sea and managed by Pat Cooper (Wendy Hiller). It is off-season and only the resident guests are lodged in the hotel.
The timid Sibyl (Deborah Kerr) is a spinster and hysterical woman totally controlled by her arrogant and snobbish mother Mrs. Maud Railton-Bell (Gladys Cooper) that does not want that she works. Sybil is secretly in love with the reformed Major David Angus Pollock (David Niven) and she enjoys listening to his stories about his life. Lady Gladys Matheson (Gladys Cooper) is the only friend of Mrs. Railton-Bell. The medical student Charles (Rod Taylor) wants to marry his fiancée Jean (Audrey Dalton) but she refuses. Miss Meacham (May Hallatt) and Mr. Fowler (Felix Aylmer) like to play billiards and she always wins the game. The American John Malcolm (Burt Lancaster) is an alcoholic writer that is secretly engaged of Pat.
When the elegant and gorgeous Ann Shankland (Rita Hayworth) checks in the hotel, John is affected by her presence and Pat learns that Ann is his ex-wife that he had tried to kill five years ago. Meanwhile Major Pollock unsuccessfully tries to steal the newspaper West Hampshire Weekly News from the reception. However, Mrs. Railton-Bell arrives and finds an infamous article about him and she tries to expel him from the hotel. These events will affect the lives of the residents.
"Separated Tables" is a film based on a play with a story of loneliness, secrets and revelations in a hotel in Bournemouth. The theatrical plot is developed in slow pace inside the hotel and the lives of the lonely guests are entwined with the arrival of a beautiful woman and the discovery of a secret about the behavior of one guest, changing the relationship of them.
This film won the Oscars of Best Actor in a Leading Role (David Niven) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Wendy Hiller), and was nominated to five other Oscars (Best Actress in a Leading Role (Deborah Kerr); Best Cinematography in Black-and-White; Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture; Best Picture; and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium). In addition, "Separated Tables" has another five wins and seven nominations. The number of prizes (7) and nominations (12) is the best indication of how great this film is. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Vidas Separadas" ("Separated Lives")
