Brief Encounter (1945)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

(more)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wilfred Babbage	...	Policeman at War Memorial (uncredited)
Alfie Bass	...	Waiter at the Royal (uncredited)
Wallace Bosco	...	Doctor at Bobbie's Accident (uncredited)
Sydney Bromley	...	Johnnie, Second Soldier (uncredited)
Nuna Davey	...	Herminie Rolandson, Mary's Cousin (uncredited)
Valentine Dyall	...	Stephen Lynn, Alec's 'Friend' (uncredited)
Irene Handl	...	Cellist and Organist (uncredited)
Dennis Harkin	...	Stanley, Beryl's Man (uncredited)
Edward Hodge	...	Bill, First Soldier (uncredited)
Jack May	...	Boat Rental Man (uncredited)
Avis Scott	...	Cardova Waitress (uncredited)
George V. Sheldon	...	Clergyman, Train Passenger (uncredited)
Richard Thomas	...	Bobbie Jesson (uncredited)
Henrietta Vincent	...	Margaret Jesson (uncredited)

Directed by
David Lean

Writing credits
Noel Coward		(play "Still Life") uncredited
Anthony Havelock-Allan		uncredited
David Lean		uncredited
Ronald Neame		uncredited

Produced by
Noel Coward	....	producer
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	producer (uncredited)
Ronald Neame	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert Krasker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jack Harris

Art Direction by
Lawrence P. Williams		(as L.P. Williams)

Production Management
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	in charge of production
E.J. Holding	....	production manager (as E. Holding)
Ronald Neame	....	in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Pollock	....	assistant director
Victor Wark	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
G.E. Calthrop	....	artistic supervisor: Noel Coward
William Kellner	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Elven Webb	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Herbert Westbrook	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist
Stanley Lambourne	....	sound recordist
Harry Miller	....	sound editor
Peter Davies	....	dubbing sound camera (uncredited)

Special Effects by
George Blackwell	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
B. Francke	....	camera operator
Jim Body	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Alan Bryce	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Arthur Ibbetson	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Ronald Neame	....	director of photography: additional photography (uncredited)
E. Owen	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Margery Saunders	....	associate editor
John Cooke	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Winston Ryder	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
John Hollingsworth	....	associate musical director (uncredited)
Percival Mackey	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity (as Margaret Sibley)
Renée Glynne	....	production secretary (uncredited)
T. Tomson	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cineguild

Distributors

• Eagle-Lion Distributors Limited (1945) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Associated British Film Distributors (ABFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Park Circus (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• C-Sales (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Carlton International Media
• Carlton Visual Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Epix Media (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• F.J. Lucas (Brazil) (VHS)
• LW Editora (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (video)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Other Companies

• National Symphony Orchestra  musicians (as The National Symphony Orchestra)

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:

Use of the Second Piano Concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff was chosen for the film's soundtrack by Noel Coward.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Laura is running away from Dr. Lynn's apartment in the rain, her book is next to her body, under her purse. Halfway down the street, the angle changes on the still-running Laura, but now the book is outside her purse. And it never gets wet!

Quotes:

Laura Jesson: [thinking to herself] This can't last. This misery can't last. I must remember that and try to control myself. Nothing lasts really. Neither happiness nor despair. Not even life lasts very long. They'll come a time in the future when I shan't mind about this anymore. But I can look back and say quite peacefully and cheerfully how silly I was. No, no I don't want that time to come hither. I want to remember every minute, always, always to the end of my days.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Culture Show: British Film Special (#6.8)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Piano Concerto No. 2

A simple film with complex emotions

Brief Encounter is probably one of the finest romances made by the English film industry. The story line is simple, of a married woman who meets a stranger and falls in love, belies the complexity of the emotions involved. It ends poignantly, as both parties realise that their feelings have been overshadowed by the social impossibility of their situation.

The film is particularly good at reflecting the post-war austerity and morality of England. It may change your view of railway stations forever.