Brief Encounter
Short description
Brief Encounter is a British drama about Laura Jesson, a suburban housewife who, on the way home from a shopping trip, meets a doctor named Alec Harvey at a railway station. The two are married to other people, and what begins as a casual acquaintance develops through their weekly meetings into a deep emotional attachment. Both must confront what the relationship would cost them and the families they are bound to. The film is based on Noël Coward's one-act play Still Life, and Coward wrote the screenplay, producing alongside Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard lead the cast as Laura and Alec, with Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond and Everley Gregg among the credited players.
David Lean directed, placing the film second in the chronological list of his features, after In Which We Serve and before Blithe Spirit, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. Made for about 1 million USD, it runs 86 minutes. On IMDb it holds 8 out of 10 from around 48,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.7 out of 10 from 732 votes, suggesting a widely held reputation alongside a smaller but favorable audience sample. A critics' rating of 9 out of 10 from 48 reviews places the professional response above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's stunning success turned the railway station in Canford into a mecca for fans. The clocks have been restored using original parts, and the buffet where Alec and Laura met now houses a tourist center.
- Trevor Howard (1913-1988) almost missed out on the role in the film. The actor rarely checked his mail, so the script and offer to star in the film, sent to him by his agent, lay unnoticed on Howard's desk for several weeks. When he received a call asking him to come for a costume fitting for the role of Dr. Alec Harvey, Howard stated that he couldn't, as he had promised to take his wife to the cinema.
- Originally, the scenes at the railway station were supposed to be filmed in London, but due to the threat of bombing in the final days of World War II, the film crew had to evacuate. The station in Canford was chosen because it was large enough and located far from the coast, so that in the event of an air raid, the lights could be switched off on the set.
- Filming began in January 1945 and ended in the final days of World War II. A break was required on May 8th – not because of Victory in Europe Day, but because all the cameras were needed to film the celebrations in London.
- Because director David Lean and producer Ronald Neame were busy filming the melodrama "Great Expectations" (1946), a pre-premiere screening of "Brief Encounter" was organized for a working-class audience in the city of Rochester. The results were discouraging, as the audience roared with laughter throughout all the touching romantic scenes.
- In New York, the film was shown at the Little Carnegie cinema, which was frequented exclusively by a sophisticated audience. Both audience ratings and critical opinions were enthusiastic, and the public flocked to see the film. By the beginning of the 5th week of release, when interest in most films noticeably declines, "Brief Encounter" set a record for attendance. It ran at Little Carnegie for a total of 8 months.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
