''Brief Encounter'' is a 1974 British-Italian television film starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

and Sophia Loren, adapted from the play '' Still Life'' by Noël Coward. The plot of the film is about two strangers, each married to another, who meet in a railway station and find themselves in a brief but intense affair. The material was previously the basis for the David Lean film ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

'' (1945). Burton was cast at the last moment, after Robert Shaw dropped out. The film had its premiere on U.S. television on 12 November 1974 as part of the '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' series on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. The two lead roles were cast with "wild disregard for suitability" according to Brian McFarlane, who has described the film as "a total disaster." Originally intended to have a television screening in the United States, followed by a cinema release in the rest of the world, its poor reception in New York led to the international plans being abandoned.

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

, who owned the theatrical rights in the UK, sold them to television.David Shipman ''The Great Movie Stars, Volume 2, The International Years'', London: Macdonald, 1989, p.335 According to David Shipman, reviewing Burton's career in ''The Great Movie Stars'', this remake was "widely viewed as a ludicrous undertaking."Shipman, p.85

Cast

as Alec Harvey * Sophia Loren as Anna Jesson *

Jack Hedley Jack Snowdon Hawkins (28 October 1929 – 11 December 2021), better known as Jack Hedley, was an English film, voice, radio, stage, character, theater, screen and television actor best known for his performances on television. His birth name n ...

as Graham Jesson *

Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...

as Mrs Gaines * Ann Firbank as Melanie Harvey *

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation c ...

as Stephen

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brief Encounter 1974 television films 1974 films British television films Films directed by Alan Bridges Italian television films Films shot at Pinewood Studios 1970s English-language films