Cinematography:
Jack AsherCast:
Celia Johnson, Noël Coward, Margaret Leighton, Joyce Carey, Michael Hordern, Mary Ellis, Anne Valery, Bill Owen, Alan Webb, Ralph Michael, Everley Gregg (more)Plots(1)
With his previous collaborator David Lean busy on other own projects, Noel Coward had to rely on director Terence Fisher to bring his The Astonished Heart to the screen. Fisher and his stars--Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, and Coward himself--vividly convey the playwright's brittle, sophisticated view of the world. Coward stars as Christian Faber, a psychiatrist who falls in love with the much-younger Leonora Vail (Leighton). This means that Faber must convince himself that his blissful 10-year marriage to wife Barbara (Johnson) is truly at an end. Once he's made this compromise with his conscience, Faber further deteriorates into petulant jealousy when Leonora begins roaming. The surprise ending is all the more surprising because the audience is pulling for Faber (despite his emotional immaturity) and is hoping that he'll pull himself out of his self-imposed mess. In addition to writing and starring in The Astonished Heart, Noel Coward also composed the musical score. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Celia Johnson
UK
Best movies:
Brief Encounter (1945)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
Les Miserables (1978) (TV movie)
Noël Coward
UK
Best movies:
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Our Man in Havana (1959)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Margaret Leighton
UK
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Best Man (1964)
Great Expectations (1974) (TV movie)
Joyce Carey
UK
Best movies:
Brief Encounter (1945)
Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985) (TV movie)
The V.I.P.s (1963)
Michael Hordern
UK
Best movies:
Gandhi (1982)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Shogun (1980) (series)
Mary Ellis
USA
Best movies:
The Magic Box (1951)
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
The Eligible Bachelor (1993) (TV movie)
Anne Valery
UK
Best movies:
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Bill Owen
UK
Best movies:
O Lucky Man! (1973)
Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)
Georgy Girl (1966)
Alan Webb
UK
Best movies:
The Taming of the Shrew (1967)
King Rat (1965)
The Great Train Robbery (1978)
Ralph Michael
UK
Best movies:
Grand Prix (1966)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
A Night to Remember (1958)
Everley Gregg
UK
Best movies:
Brief Encounter (1945)
Great Expectations (1946)
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
Amy Veness
UK
Best movies:
Oliver Twist (1948)
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
The Magic Box (1951)
Margaret Withers
UK
Best movies:
Man with a Million (1954)
John Salew
UK
Best movies:
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
John Warren
UK
Best movies:
Trouble in Store (1953)
A Night to Remember (1958)
Laughter in Paradise (1951)