Description
Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.
Her husband's words at the end are touching: "You were so far away. Thank you for coming back to me."
dir. David Lean is of course a master. and romance, and social drama (Oliver Twist (1948) and especially epic (Bridge over the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia).
in the list of Top 100 British films from the British Film Institute, the film is in 2nd place!
The funny name of the film's producer and the author of the play, Noël Coward, is the Christmas Coward.
offtop. The protagonist Dr. Alec Harvey deals with pneumoconiosis - Prof. the miners' disease. But I recently found out that Dad was growing up. Irina Shayk's top model died of lung disease just because of working as a miner.
It's unusual to see people smoking, handing out pastries with their bare hands, women in skirts (well, it was strict with that then), and a fireplace in an apartment. And the actors looked their age: Celia Johnson (1908-1982) was 36, Trevor Howard (1913-1988) was 32.
In November, the film is 80 years old. and I thought for sure all the actors had already died. But no, the children are alive. The heroine's son is Richard Martin (born in 1935), who turns 90 on January 3. I didn't find any information about Henrietta Vincent's daughter. and the "waitress girl" Margaret Barton (born in 1926) will be 99 years old on May 27!By
the way, the cafe has been restored and is working. Barton visited him😊