The end of an affair
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The end of an affair |
| Original title | The end of the affair |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1955 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Edward Dmytryk |
| script | Lenore J. Coffee |
| production | David Lewis |
| music | Benjamin Frankel |
| camera | Alan Hume |
| cut | Alan Osbiston |
| occupation | |
| |
The end of an affair (Original title: The End of the Affair ) is an American film drama from 1955. The film was based on the novel The end of an affair by Graham Greene .
action
London in World War II . The writer Maurice Bendrix is writing a book about the "duty of civil servants in war". As part of his research, he also visits the senior civil servant Henry Miles. He meets his wife Sarah, with whom he begins a passionate relationship.
The fleeting affair gradually turns into love. He wants her to separate from her husband, wants to marry her. But then comes the day that changes everything. Sarah visits Maurice in his apartment. Suddenly the sirens wail, a bomb hits the house. Maurice is buried under rubble, Sarah remains unharmed and tries to free him. When she touches his hand, it is freezing. Desperate, she goes back to the apartment, where she falls on her knees and prays. Suddenly Maurice stands swaying on the doorstep. “Maurice, are you alive ?!” she asks incredulously. He needs medical help. When saying goodbye, he asks: "Will we see you tomorrow?" She replies: "I love you, even if we don't see each other."
Maurice cannot - for the time being - interpret the meaning of these words. He's recovering, but he doesn't hear from her anymore. He tries to reach her by phone, she can be denied. He can't explain it to himself, gradually doubts her love and leaves London.
A year later, the war is over. Maurice returns to London, where he meets Henry Miles again. Henry is worried about his wife. He fears she has someone else. Maurice meets Sarah on the street, wants to know why it ended so suddenly, but she evades him. Now he wants to know exactly and hires a detective. With his help it becomes clear that there really is another man, Richard Smythe.
And then the detective brings him Sarah's diary. Shaken he reads that when he was lying under the rubble as if dead, she made a promise to God. If God saved Maurice, she had sworn, she would do without him. Maurice was alive, and with that began a difficult struggle inside her. Of course she still loves Maurice, but can she give in to this love? What about the vow to God? These doubts led her to Richard Smythe, a priest who, despite many conversations, is not really helpful to her because he doubts God himself.
Maurice has read everything and calls Sarah, who is lying in bed with lung disease. He wants to visit her, she refuses him. Nevertheless, he makes his way to her. He arrives as she is escaping into the rain from the house in front of him. He confronts her. She tells of her torments of conscience, her religious conflict and her decision not to want to meet him again.
The fact that Sarah left the house seriously ill has serious consequences, she dies. When Maurice returns to his apartment, he finds a farewell letter from her.
background
The end of an affair started on February 23, 1955 in Great Britain, on April 28 in the USA and on October 28 of the same year in German cinemas.
The film is dramatically divided into two parts. The first shows the love story from Maurice's point of view. Some film scenes are accompanied by his voice from the off . From Maurice's review of Sarah's diary, which gives a review of the events since the bombing, we hear her voice off-screen.
Reviews
“It's a shame that the action is so confused, because the cast of the film is good. Miss Kerr is ideal as a woman, and Van Johnson is ideal as a man. Peter Cushing as the enigmatic husband and John Mills as the cocky private investigator also offer extraordinary potential in the only other major roles. But the story is not clearly structured and no matter how carefully and well Edward Dmytryk directs it, everything comes across as disordered and cool. "
"Full of inner tension, serious, profound, real in the milieu, strong in psychology - a valuable film for adults."
Awards
At the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 , the film was represented in the competition for the Palme d' Or, but lost to Delbert Mann's Marty .
In 1956, leading actress Deborah Kerr was nominated for Best British Actress at the British Film Academy Awards . The award went to Katie Johnson ( Ladykillers ) .
literature
- Graham Greene: The end of an affair. Roman (Original title: The End of the Affair ). German by Edith Walter. Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv), Munich 2000, 244 pages, ISBN 3-423-12776-7
Web links
- The end of an affair in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ The End of the Affair. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved on May 16, 2020 (English).
- ↑ The end of an affair. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 16, 2020 . .
- ^ "It is too bad, the drama is so muddy, for the cast is good for this film. Miss Kerr is ideal for the lady and Van Johnson is apt for the man. Peter Cushing as the lady's cryptic husband and John Mills as a jaunty private-eye are also exceedingly potential in the only other fair-size roles. But the story just is not articulate, so no matter how diligently and well Edward Dmytryk has directed, it all comes out cluttered and cold. ”- Review by Bosley Crowther in the New York Times of April 29, 1955, accessed January 11 2013.
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association Munich, Review No. 877/1955