Brief Ecstasy

Brief Ecstasy is a 1937 British drama film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Paul Lukas, Hugh Williams, Linden Travers and Marie Ney.[1] It was made at Ealing Studios.

Brief Ecstasy
Directed by	Edmond T. Gréville
Produced by	Hugh Perceval
Written by	Basil Mason
Starring	Paul Lukas Hugh Williams Linden Travers Marie Ney
Music by	Walter Goehr
Cinematography	Henry Harris Ronald Neame
Edited by	Ray Pitt
Release date	August 1937
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Cast

• Paul Lukas - Professor Paul Bernardy
• Hugh Williams - Jim Wyndham
• Linden Travers - Helen Norwood Bernardy
• Marie Ney - Martha Russell
• Renee Gadd - Marjorie
• Fred Withers - Gardener
• Howard Douglas - Coleman
• Fewlass Llewellyn - Director of Steel Company
• Peter Gawthorne - Chairman of Steel Company
• Norman Pierce - Landlord

Reception

Writing for Night and Day in 1937, Graham Greene gave the film a good review, expressing admiration for producer Perceval's ability to "wring twenty shillings' worth out of every pound" and director Gréville's recognition that for a film whose subject is sexual passion "the story doesn't matter; it's the atmosphere which counts". Greene praised Gréville's "wanton and vivid" depictions of "undifferentiated desire" as well as his French education in "photograph[ing] a woman's body - uncompromisingly", and noted that "the film at its finest [...] generalizes", and "there isn't, thank God, any love in it".[2]

References

1. BFI.org
2. Greene, Graham (16 September 1937). "Action for Slander/Brief Ecstacy". Night and Day. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 0192812866.)

External links

• Brief Ecstasy at IMDb