The Astonished Heart (1950)
- Starring:
- Noël Coward, Celia Johnson, (more)
- Director(s):
- Terence Fisher, Anthony Darnborough, (more)
Synopsis of The Astonished Heart
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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Complete Cast of The Astonished Heart
- Noël Coward - Christian Faber
- Margaret Leighton - Leonora Vail
- Joyce Carey - Susan Birch
- Everley Gregg - Miss Harper
- Ralph Michael - Philip Lucas
- Anthony Darnborough
- Celia Johnson - Barbara Faber
- Graham Payn - Tim Verney
- Patricia Glyn - Helen
- Michael Hordern - Ernest
- Amy Veness - Alice Smith
- Director(s):
- Terence Fisher, Anthony Bamborough, Anthony Darnborough
- Writer(s):
- Noël Coward
- Producer(s):
- Sydney Box
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