| The Astonished Heart | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Terence Fisher Antony Darnborough |
| Written by | Noël Coward |
| Produced by | Antony Darnborough |
| Starring | Celia Johnson Noël Coward Margaret Leighton |
| Cinematography | Jack Asher |
| Edited by | Vladimir Sagovsky |
| Music by | Noël Coward William Blezard (uncredited) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £93,000 (by 1953)[1] 21,168 admissions (France)[2] |
The Astonished Heart is a 1950 British drama film directed by Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough. Starring Celia Johnson, Noël Coward, and Margaret Leighton, the film is based on Coward's play The Astonished Heart from his cycle of ten plays, Tonight at 8.30.[3]
Inspired by the great success of the 1945 film Brief Encounter, which also had been adapted from Tonight at 8:30, Coward agreed to have The Astonished Heart produced as a motion picture. As with the previous film, Coward also wrote the screenplay. Production began in 1949 and featured not only Noël Coward in one of his rare film appearances, but also actor-singer Graham Payn in a supporting role. The Astonished Heart was released in 1950 to indifferent reviews and was a commercial failure.
The title is taken from a passage in the Bible Deuteronomy 28:28: "The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart", referenced by the lead character.
- ^ Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
- ^ Box office information for Terence Fisher films in France at Box office Story
- ^ "Home to Danger (1951) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 22 June 2014.