bobvend Although it bears many similarities to David Lean's excellent Brief Encounter (released in 1945), this effort adds a decidedly darker dimension to the familiar tale of illicit lovers. The Passionate Friends contains a wonderfully creepy Noir feel, with an almost Hitchcock-like suspense, especially in the way the camera angles in on the characters, emphasizing the inherent volatility of their situation.Much of the foreboding Noir doom can be attributed to the wonderful Ann Todd, who can't help but possess the dangerous look of the quintessential femme fatale, even when she's happily drinking in the excitement of a speedboat ride on a sun-drenched lake. She in fact might well have made the perfect "Hitchcock Blonde" ten years later.The venerable Claude Rains and Trevor Howard suit their roles to good effect, especially Rains as Todd's suspicious husband. The film ends predictably, with a production code-approved resolution. But it's well worth a look, and stands up well alongside Lean's earlier Encounter.

kenjha Lovers meet again after they had gone separate ways years earlier when she married an older man. With the parallels to "Brief Encounter," there is little doubt that Lean was going for another success like the 1945 classic. He even has Howard again playing a man involved with a married woman, but the magic is not there. In fact, it's quite a dreary affair based on a novel by Wells of all people. Not only is the script meandering, but the story is poorly structured, with flashbacks within flashbacks. It's a shame because a good cast is wasted. Todd, whom Lean married shortly after making this film, is radiant as the woman at the center of the love triangle. Howard as the lover and Rains as the unromantic husband are both fine.

MartinHafer As I watched this film, I couldn't help but thinking that it looked an awful lot like BRIEF ENCOUNTER. Like this other film, Trevor Howard plays a man who is married (once again playing "the other man") but in love with someone else (Ann Todd). In addition, the music, cinematography and style all look like BRIEF ENCOUNTER. The big difference is that instead of two married strangers meeting and falling in love, this film concerns two people who were once in love and have since gone their separate ways. Now, they meet once again and the old love is rekindled--even though she is now married to another man (Claude Rains).The film is told through flashbacks. The first is when the two were both single and in love. Somehow, despite their love, they separated and went their own way. Several years later, Todd is married to Claude Rains and meets up with Howard again. They begin an affair but Rains soon finds out about it. Despite it looking like Todd will leave her husband and go with Howard, she stays. Now, almost a decade later, Todd and Howard meet by chance in Switzerland. She is still married to Rains and Howard has finally married as well. In an interesting daydream, you see Todd imagining that when they met again that Howard had told him he never married. Only if...Now in Switzerland, the two old lovers spend a lot of time together--boating, hiking and the like (though, like in the rest of the film they never get around to sleeping together). Unexpectedly, Rains arrives back at the hotel unexpectedly early to find that his wife, once again, has taken up where she left off a decade earlier. He is furious and is determined to not only divorce her once and for all, but name Howard as the co-respondent--thus ruining Howard's marriage as well.What happens next, is simply amazing and makes the film. Up until then, the film seemed to excuse or even glamorize adultery. However, in a splendid twist, Rains' character opens up emotionally AND the film's ending is simply terrific.Like BRIEF ENCOUNTER, I was at first irritated with the couple because of their selfishness. Rains seemed like a nice enough but perhaps too emotionally-controlled guy and Todd cheating on him just seemed tawdry. Had he been a monster or if the affair didn't damage others or if she had divorced Rains and later taken up with Howard, then the film would have resonated more with me. However, the last 20 minutes of the film really turned my opinion around.Exceptionally well-paced, interesting and worth seeing--I ended up liking this one much more than BRIEF ENCOUNTER. I'm glad I stuck with it.

samhill5215 Invariably this film is bound to be compared to "Brief Encounter" and I guess that's to be expected given they were both directed by David Lean, starred Trevor Howard and featured adultery. Frankly I think any comparison to be unfair because that's where their similarities end. I've seen both and I favor "Passionate Friends". I should add that Ann Todd is not one of my favorite performers. Her demeanor can be expressionless and somewhat off putting. But here she truly shines. In Lean's extensive close ups she reveals inner feelings without uttering a word. And her smiles are explosively radiant. She utterly owns this part. The male parts are equally excellent. All the performances wrap the viewer with their passion and involve him in the characters' fates. This is not light viewing. It's an emotional roller coaster and as the climactic finale unfolded I found myself talking to the screen trying to influence the outcome. Without a doubt this is a story by adults, for adults. Highly recommended.