Brief Encounter

Synopsis: At a café on a railway station, housewife Laura Jesson meets doctor Alec Harvey. Although they are both already married, they gradually fall in love with each other. They continue to meet every Thursday in the small café, although they know that their love is impossible.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director(s): David Lean
Production: Universal Pictures
  Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins.
 
IMDB:
8.1
Rotten Tomatoes:
90%
NOT RATED
Year:
1945
86 min
6,134 Views


Evening, Mr. Godby.

- Hello, hello, hello.

- Quite the stranger, aren't you?

- I couldn't get in yesterday.

- I wondered what had happened to you.

- I had a bit of a dustup.

- What about?

Saw a chap getting out

of a frst-class compartment.

When he came to give up his ticket,

it was only third class.

I told him to pay the excess,

and he turned nasty.

- I had to send for Mr. Saunders.

- Fat lot of good he'd be.

- He ticked him off.

- Seeing's believing.

I tell you,

he ticked him off proper.

"You pay the balance at once,

or I'll hand you over to the police. "

You ought to have seen the chap's face

at the mention of the word "police."

Changed his tune.

Then he paid up like lightning.

That's what I mean. He didn't have

the courage to handle it himself.

- He had to call in the police.

- Aw, he's not a bad lot, Mr. Saunders.

You can't expect much spirit from a man

with one lung and a wife with diabetes.

I thought something must be wrong

when you didn't come.

- I would've popped in to explain,

but I had a date and had to run.

- Indeed.

- Chap I know is getting married.

- Very interesting, I'm sure.

- What's up with you, anyway?

- I'm sure I don't know

to what you're referring.

- You're a bit unfriendly

all of a sudden.

- Beryl, hurry up.

Put some more coal in the stove

while you're at it.

I'm afraid I can't really

stand here wasting my time

in idle gossip, Mr. Godby.

- Aren't you going

to offer me another cup?

- When you've fnished that one.

Beryl'll give it to you.

I've got my accounts to do.

I see.

I'd rather you gave it to me.

Time and tide wait for no man,

Mr. Godby.

- Laura, what a lovely surprise!

- Oh, Dolly.

My dear, I've been shopping

till I'm dropping.

My feet are nearly off,

my throat's parched.

I thought of having tea in Spindle's,

but I was terrifed of losing the train.

- Oh, dear.

- This is Dr. Harvey.

- How do you do?

- Would you be a perfect dear

and get me my cup of tea?

I really don't think I could drag

my poor old bones over to the counter.

No, please.

Dear, what a nice-looking man.

Who on earth is he?

You're quite a dark horse.

I shall telephone Fred in

the morning and make mischief.

This is a bit of luck.

I haven't seen you for ages.

I've been meaning to pop in,

but Tony's had measles and I had

all that fuss over Phyllis.

- But, of course, you don't know.

My dear, she left me.

- Oh, how dreadful.

Mind you, I never cared for her much,

but Tony adored her.

I'll tell you all about that later

in the train. Thank you so very much.

There's certainly enough milk in it,

but still, it'll be refreshing.

- Oh, dear, no sugar.

- It's in the spoon.

Oh, of course.

What a fool I am.

Laura, you're looking

frightfully well. I wish I'd

known you were coming in today.

We could've come together

and lunched and had a good gossip.

I loathe shopping

by myself anyway.

- There's your train.

- Yes, I know.

- Aren't you coming with us?

- I go in the opposite direction.

My practice is in Churley.

- Oh, I see.

- I'm a general practitioner.

- Dr. Harvey's going out

to Africa next week.

- Oh, how thrilling.

... the 5:
40

to Churley, Leigh Green and Langdon.

- I must go.

- Yes, you must.

- Good-bye.

- Good-bye.

He'll have to run, or he'll miss it.

He's got to get over to the platform.

Talking of missing trains reminds me of

that awful bridge at Broadham Junction.

You've got to go traipsing all up one

side along the top and down the other.

- Well, the other day, I'd been

over about renewing the lease.

- Train Engine Chugging]

I arrived at the station at

exactly half a minute to spare.

My dear, I flew.

I'd got Tony with me,

and like a fool, I just bought a new

shade for the lamp in the drawing room.

I could've gotten it

just as easily here in Milford.

Well, it was the most enormous thing.

I could hardly see over it.

I've never been in such a hurry in

my life. I nearly knocked a woman down.

By the time I got home,

it was battered to bits.

- Oh, is that our train?

Is that the Ketchworth train?

- No, it's the express.

- The boat train.

Oh, of course. That doesn't stop,

does it? I want some chocolate, please.

- Milk or plain?

- Plain, I think.

Or, no, perhaps milk would be nicer.

Have you any with nuts?

Nestle's Nut Milk.

Shilling or sixpence?

I'll take one plain

and one nut milk.

- Large or small?

- Large, please.

Oh.

Where is she?

I never noticed her go.

Oh, I couldn't think

where you'd disappeared to.

I just wanted to see

the express go through.

What on earth's the matter?

Are you feeling ill?

- I feel a little sick.

- My dear, come and sit down.

- Bell Ringing]

- There's our train.

- It's all right.

Have you any brandy?

- I'm afraid it's out of hours.

- Oh, surely,

if somebody's feeling ill...

- I'm all right, really.

- Just a sip of brandy

will buck you up. Please.

- Very well.

- Thank you. How much?

- Tenpence, please.

The train for Ketchworth is now

arriving at platform three.

We shall have to hurry.

Oh, well, this is a bit of luck.

This train's generally packed.

I really am very worried about you,

dear. You look terribly peaky.

I'm all right. Really, I am. I just

felt faint for a minute, that's all.

It often happens to me. I did it once

in the middle of Bobby's school concert.

I don't think he's ever forgiven me.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Noël Coward

Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 1899 – 26 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Coward attended a dance academy in London as a child, making his professional stage début at the age of eleven. As a teenager he was introduced into the high society in which most of his plays would be set. Coward achieved enduring success as a playwright, publishing more than 50 plays from his teens onwards. Many of his works, such as Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Present Laughter and Blithe Spirit, have remained in the regular theatre repertoire. He composed hundreds of songs, in addition to well over a dozen musical theatre works (including the operetta Bitter Sweet and comic revues), screenplays, poetry, several volumes of short stories, the novel Pomp and Circumstance, and a three-volume autobiography. Coward's stage and film acting and directing career spanned six decades, during which he starred in many of his own works. At the outbreak of the Second World War Coward volunteered for war work, running the British propaganda office in Paris. He also worked with the Secret Service, seeking to use his influence to persuade the American public and government to help Britain. Coward won an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 for his naval film drama, In Which We Serve, and was knighted in 1969. In the 1950s he achieved fresh success as a cabaret performer, performing his own songs, such as "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "London Pride" and "I Went to a Marvellous Party". Coward's plays and songs achieved new popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and his work and style continue to influence popular culture. He did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, but it was discussed candidly after his death by biographers including Graham Payn, his long-time partner, and in Coward's diaries and letters, published posthumously. The former Albery Theatre (originally the New Theatre) in London was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in his honour in 2006. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Brief Encounter" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/brief_encounter_4686>.

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