Themes: Infidelity, Star-Crossed Lovers, Message From God
Main Cast: Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, John Mills, Peter Cushing, Stephen Murray, Michael Goodliffe
Release Year: 1955
Country: UK
Run Time: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Recently freed from his MGM contract, Van Johnson headed to England to star in a series of pictures, the first of which was The End of the Affair. Adapted by Lenore Coffee from the novel by Graham Greene, the film casts Johnson as Maurice Bendrix, the clandestine lover of married Briton Sarah Miles (Deborah Kerr). When Maurice disappears during the London blitz, Sarah feels responsible; perhaps if she hadn't been cheating on her husband Henry (Peter Cushing), Maurice might never have been placed in harm's way. She gets down on her knees and prays, promising to return to her husband and give up Maurice if her lover's life is spared. The film's title rather gives the game away. The best performance is delivered by John Mills, as an affable private detective hired by Henry Miles to check up on Sarah's whereabouts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The Graham Greene novel that is the basis of The End of the Affair is a difficult piece to translate to the screen, dealing as it does with complicated emotions and themes that go down more easily on the page than in the cinema. This version is acceptable, even if many of the complexities of the characters have been lost. Part of this is due to inadequacies in Lenore Coffee's screenplay, which captures the outlines of the novel but not its spirit. However, part of the blame also rests with the film's leading man, Van Johnson, and to a lesser extent with leading lady Deborah Kerr. Johnson is simply miscast; an able but limited actor, Johnson is called upon to portray a character that is simply beyond his ability, and so there is a hollowness to the central relationship in the story. An actress of immense skill, Kerr is much better than Johnson, but she's not at her best here, often pushing and straining for effect rather than letting it come naturally. Much better are Peter Cushing as Kerr's husband, and especially John Mills, who steals much of the film with his enjoyable and enlivening performance. Affair was remade more effectively in 1999. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Nora Swinburne - Mrs. Bertram; Charles Goldner - Savage; Joyce Carey - Miss Palmer; Frederick Leister - Dr. Collingwood; Elsie Wagstaffe - Bendrix's Landlady; Christopher Warbey - Lancelot Parkis; Nan Munro - Mrs. Tomkins; Josephine Wilson - Miss Smythe; John Watson - Guest; Bart Allison - Museum Attendant; Edwin Ellis - Rescue Worker; Stanley Rose - Fireman
This is the first film adaptation Graham Greene's novel. It stars Deborah Kerr and Van Johnson in WWII London and their romance is during the war meet with tragedy and tough choices.
The film is fairly faithful to the source novel. The biggest change is in Greene's character of Father Richard Smythe. In the film, he is split into two characters, Father Crompton (Stephen Murray, in a relatively minor role), and an atheist, Richard Smythe (Michael Goodliffe).
Media formats
This film has been made available on a DVD-video and was released on 16 May 2000. It contains both the 1955 and 1999 adaptations together with supporting material about their making.
