Noël Coward's classic tale - now 70 years old - of a passionate affair is all the more thrilling for being played out with British reserve of the tightest order. Laura (Celia Johnson) encounters the handsome Dr Alec (Trevor Howard) in a train station tearoom after her weekly shopping trip.
In a scene now infamous, he removes some grit from her eye but ignites a spark that burns deeper with every passing week that they meet. Both married, however, they know their romantic liaisons cannot continue. Boosted by fine supporting character actors, the film also contains comical moments one recognises as having influenced a young Victoria Wood, while the unrelenting use of Rachmaninov’s lyrical second piano concerto perfectly embodies all the fervent desire the fated pair have to contain.