Eternal Romantic Classic: ‘Brief Encounter’ 1945

A railroad track cinder in the eye brings two people together, Celia Johnson
& Trevor Howard, in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

 

I can now check another classic film off my popcorn bucket list: 1945's Brief Encounter.  I have no real explanation as to why I have waited so long to see this romance classic. The British film never seemed to be on TV during my movie watching youth. Then a beautiful copy of Brief Encounter popped up on YouTube and I thought, "Oooh, I should watch this."

That’s the understatement of the century, right? Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter is many amazing things: a snapshot of an era; a simple but universal story; nostalgic but timeless; and superb storytelling with some subtle surprises.  

There are a number of moments that caught me off-guard in Brief Encounter. I think that's because I grew up watching American classic movies. As the story of Brief Encounter is about an extramarital affair, I had preconceived ideas as to how the story would play out. If this mid-‘40s film had been made in golden age of Hollywood, the stars would be impossibly gorgeous, suffer selflessly, with noble or judgmental dialogue to appease the almighty censors. And maybe a car crash at the finale, to punish the sinners.

Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are superb as the extramarital lovers of 1945's

 "Brief Encounter." 

Here, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard play two seemingly happily married people, Laura and Alec, who fall in love after a chance meeting. These two ordinary people randomly keep bumping into each other, without a Max Steiner score to trumpet the growing attraction. Eventually the two share lunch and a movie together, enjoying each other’s company. This leads to more meetings. He's a doctor, she's a housewife. In a Hollywood version, even if their occupations were the same, they would suffer in glamour, not at a gloomy train station diner. The same year, Gene Tierney and Cornell Wilde romanced in luxury, starting as strangers on a lavish train in Leave Her to Heaven. The restraint of the married lovers in Brief Encounter actually raises the tension. The couple never consummates their love, though they come close. There are no fireworks or waves crashing to suggest otherwise, just a great deal of romantic tension and yearning. Eventually, the couple decides to break off the romance, before they cause real damage to their marriages. The finale is a real tearjerker, in every sense.

There was much location shooting for 1945's 
Brief Encounter, especially impressive since WW 2 was still on.

Without totally giving anything away, there were a number of subtle moments and twists that I thought were wonderful. While there's an immediate spark of attraction between the leads in Brief Encounter, it's not the Hollywood sledgehammer love at first sight that is still a silly staple in mainstream movies. Their love develops over the simple things in their lives—no exotic backdrops, mansion-sized sets, tuxedos or designer gowns. When she returns home the first time, her husband and children are perfectly normal. His wife is never shown. Neither of their spouses is presented as villains. Both of the lovers are decent people, but the genuine joy they take in each other is eventually clouded by their having to lie and sneak around.

Celia Johnson's Laura, as she now sees herself, lying to cover her affair
in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

Brief Encounter’s finale comes full circle at the train station’s refreshment shop. Alec is morose, Laura feels suicidal. He is moving his family to Africa for a new job and to put distance between them. She will go back to her housewife life.

The train scene, where the lovers admit that their affair has nearly reached 

its final destination, is a classic, in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

When she runs out to see Alec’s train one more time, Laura considers jumping. There’s no noble copout; she doesn't back down because of her family.  Laura admits that she didn’t have the courage and that she’s exhausted by feelings. The wife returns home to her husband Fred (Cyril Raymond), who acknowledges their distance not with judgment, but understanding... and not the Herbert Marshall style of long-suffering spouses!  Unlike some people, I didn’t take Laura’s marriage to be unhappy, just unexciting.

The final moments of 1945's "Brief Encounter," when Laura's husband Fred
(Cyril Raymond), acknowledges her recent distance, is genuinely moving.

Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are superb as the lovers Laura and Alec. As the focus is on Johnson's middle-class matron, she gets more of a chance to shine. The restrained characters, true to their era, make Laura's guilt and heartache even more touching. Usually female characters get the brunt of punishment in these illicit romances, but not in this grownup British film. Even when Mary's late coming home from her lover, and finds that her son's been in a minor car accident—it’s handled realistically, where the guilt dissolves as the son is obviously okay. 

Johnson's huge eyes convey so much emotion and her husky Ethel Barrymore-esque voice adds immeasurably to her superb inner monolog. The finale, where her lover leaves on his train, to her reconciling with husband at home, is utterly heartbreaking in its even-handed realism. I've never seen Celia Johnson in anything and now I wish she had won the 1946 Best Actress Oscar instead of Olivia de Havilland for To Each Their Own. And this comes from an Olivia admirer! Brief Encounter was released in the United States in the summer of 1946.

Celia Johnson's huge, expressive eyes and distinctive voice make her
interior monologues devastating, in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

Trevor Howard, who I've only seen in later movies as an older, wizened man, is intense as the doctor who's sure of his love for Laura. And yet, he’s so gentle toward her doubts and guilt. He's very strong and masculine here, appealing without being a pretty boy, in the mold of a young Liam Neeson. 

Trevor Howard's rugged looks are an interesting contrast to his
gentle demeanor, as the doctor in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

Supporting cast standouts are Stanley Holloway as the ticket inspector and Joyce Carey as the refreshments room owner, conducting their own humorous courtship. They offer much needed levity. An interesting storytelling choice is that the train station and refreshment room folk take no notice of Laura and Alec falling in love.

The workplace romance of Stanley Holloway's ticket taker & Joyce Carey's
 refreshment room owner offers needed levity in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

Everley Gregg deserves a shout-out as Laura’s oblivious acquaintance, Dolly Messiter. Clueless and chatterbox she may be, but dear, dense Dolly does helps Laura pull herself together when she becomes undone at the train station, after her lover has departed for the last time.

The lovers, played by Trevor Howard & Celia Johnson, meet one last time,
 only to be intruded upon by Everley Gregg's garrulous Dolly Messiter,
in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

The story and screenplay is a model of economy and excellent storytelling. The Coward one-act was expanded into a feature film, perfectly timed at just under 90 minutes. Noel Coward, David Lean, and future director Ronald Neame (The Poseidon Adventure) all polished this gem of a character study. One of four collaborations with Coward, director David Lean’s smaller films of the ‘40s and ‘50s are a striking contrast to his later epics, like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. Lean’s prior experience as film editor shows, with Brief Encounter’s tight storytelling. The effects used to depict Laura’s climactic emotional state are simple but effective. And the restrained but rich performances by the leads speak to Lean’s strengths as a director.

The cinematography by Robert Krasker, especially at the train station, is mood-setting. Krasker also worked with director Carol Reed several times, and won an Oscar for Reed’s The Third Man. There was much location shooting for Brief Encounter, not all done at a studio, like the same year's American whirlwind lovers Judy Garland and Robert Walker in The Clock.

The second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 that’s played several times at key moments of Brief Encounter was later an inspiration for Eric Carmen's 1975 hit All by Myself. 30 years apart, and proved that Rach's music was still a cause for romantic tears!

I see there was a 1974 modern day TV version of Brief Encounter, with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren. Two great stars, totally miscast as average people, not to mention the story was taken out of its WWII era morality to modern day. No thanks, not even out of curiosity! 

The beautiful 1945 Brief Encounter has stayed in moviegoers’ hearts for over 90 years now. At age 66, as of this writing, this adult romance is now in mine. 

Noel Coward's screenplay of 1945's "Brief Encounter" is an expansion of a
one-act play. Coward's story of two extramarital lovers is extraordinary
in its emotional depth.