User reviews

This is not a great film, but it is better than many critics said it was when the 1999 remake came out. THE END OF THE AFFAIR was one of the key novels of Graham Greene in the 1950s that delved into his intense Catholicism.

With a background of World War II, neighbors Maurice Bendrix and Sarah Miles (Van Johnson and Deborah Kerr) have a deep, passionate romance. But they are separated for a year or so, and when they try to resume the relationship (or when Johnson tries to resume the relationship - Kerr seems relatively hesitant). It turns out that, due to personal experiences, Kerr has had a religious revelation. She is listening to a Catholic priest. She is also trying to help a man with a deformity (a birthmark) on his face who hates God. She is also concerned about the spiritual health of Johnson and of her actual husband Henry (Peter Cushing, in a very moving - and non-horrific role). The film shows how Kerr affects all the lives around her, even beyond her death after a short illness (as the novel does). Yes, it is too talky - novels about ideas (and here it is the age old question of what is real love, the spiritual or the profane)usually are. Greene, good Catholic exponent that he was, would have said that Kerr's devotion to her God was an outpouring of divine true love to her fellow creatures. Her death is not a tragedy. But Greene the novelist and part-time realist cannot leave it there. Johnson's character is bitter at the end of this remarkable novel, and at the end of the film. And his bitterness is directed at the source of that love that triumphed over his profane one.

Van Johnson is good as the brooding Maurice Bendrix, and Deborah Kerr is marvelous in the challenging, nuanced role of Sarah Miles. Realistic flavor of WWII London, haunting music, excellent direction and performances combine to make this a memorable, mature film that invites multiple viewings.

Graham Greene's The End Of The Affair has Van Johnson coming over from America and Deborah Kerr returning to the United Kingdom for this British film with British supporting cast. Of all the Graham Greene work I've seen on the big and small screen this is the most overtly Catholic film I think was ever done.

Kerr is married to dull and earnest Peter Cushing and one night at a party during World War II she meets American writer Johnson who after being invalided out of the service stayed on Great Britain. Johnson intrigues and excites Kerr and the two of them are soon in love. Then the guilt starts. Guilt on Kerr's part, jealousy on Johnson's. Poor Cushing for most of the film he hasn't a clue.

After the beginning the two can never quite get together. Imagine Johnson who is the paramour hires a private detective to keep track of Kerr's movements to reassure Cushing. This is after things have cooled down. What a pair Johnson has. The detective is John Mills who I'm surprised is taking a small supporting role. He even takes along his young son Christopher Warbey for his surveillance work, the better that his subject doesn't think he's being followed. Besides he's breaking him into the business. The part must have intrigued Mills because he's the best one in the movie.

I suppose being a Catholic really helps understand all the subtleties in the story. I much preferred that other affair film Johnson did with Jane Wyman, Miracle In The Rain. No guilt, just people in love.

Cushing's character was odd. He was sweet but weak, the kind you feel sorry for. No grand passion was ever to be forthcoming with Kerr or anyone else he would have ever hooked up with.

The End Of The Affair is all right. The remake done in 1999 with Ralph Fiennes in the Van Johnson role was more explicit. If you like Graham Greene you'll like both versions.

This is an astonishing artifact from 1955 -- astonishing because it is so grownup and sophisticated in its outlook, and because it grapples with moral complexities and ambiguities that English language films of this period never went near. An adulterous affair begun with a certain amount of cynicism on both sides grows into a true and passionate love affair, which in turn raises issues of guilt, trust, duty, self-denial and religious belief. As a story, it holds our interest and causes us to wonder where it will end. As a parable and philosophical meditation on belief and its role in love and contemporary life, it is both stimulating and unexpectedly moving.

That a novel as layered and difficult was attempted with major stars at this time is surprising enough. That THE END OF THE AFFAIR succeeds on so many levels seems miraculous, especially in the context of most mainstream film product of the mid-'50s.

Van Johnson is not as expressive or deep an actor as the excellent Deborah Kerr and Peter Cushing (and John Mills, Michael Goodliffe and Nora Swinburne) yet his character's relaxed masculinity, reluctant anguish and saturnine, rather malicious jealousy are well-conveyed, and he manages to be a presence you remain interested in. As Greene's Mary Magdalene character, the woman in whom the sacred and profane are mingled, Kerr is terrific in a complex role that is an interesting inversion of her promiscuous, childless woman in the far more famous and popular FROM HERE TO ETERNITY of just two years before. ETERNITY, done for Columbia, the same studio that released this, was far more shallow and conventional in the way it dealt with Kerr's Karen Holmes and her redemption. Just as shallow (and evasive) was TEA AND SYMPATHY, which Kerr did after this, and which received far more fame and attention than was merited.

This 1955 version of THE END OF THE AFFAIR deserves to be much better known and remembered, and all concerned deserve belated kudos for attempting such a provocative film in the midst of Hollywood's synthetic movies of the period. I saw this after recording it on TCM, and would like to see it scheduled in prime time, to perhaps begin to get the wider audience it deserves and to hear commentary from moderator Robert Osborn (for that matter, he ought to do one hour interviews with both Kerr and Johnson while they are still around).

Let the rediscovery and rehabilitation of this good film begin . . .

Van Johnson is miscast but still surprisingly good as the loving/bitter writer who tells this story; Kerr is very good and Cushing is even better. In fact, Cushing is distinctly superior to Stephen Rea, who played the role of the husband in the 1999 version. Rea was mopey and morose, but Cushing is a mild man doing the best he can, a picture of unexpected courage -- and frailty. It's one of the best performances he ever gave; it's a shame it didn't lead to bigger roles.

The movie does not, cannot, express the passion so much a part of Neil Jordan's version; furthermore, it's talkier, and the talk isn't as good. It doesn't capture the period (World War II and just after) in the slightest, despite some newsreel footage, but otherwise London is presented very well in handsome black and white photography. It's an honest and respectable version of Greene's novel, but Jordan's is the classic.

Originally a Graham Greene novel, this wartime story has been made into movies several times over the years; this first time is from 1955, with Van Johnson and Deborah Kerr. Johnson is the writer Bendrix, who falls for a friend's wife Sarah (Kerr). It takes place during the London air-raids of WW II, and Sarah's husband is right nearby the whole time. We know it can't end well, but we go along for the ride. We keep hearing how temporary and uknown things are during wartime... it's good! a tad philosophical, since war is so dangerous, combined with the danger and emotions of falling in love with another's spouse. Directed by Edward Dmytryk, who had directed a WIDE range of film genres, several of them war films. Probably his best known project was Murder my Sweet!

When I saw that this movie was by Graham Greene, I expected a suspense story, maybe a spy story. So I wanted to warn people that this movie is nothing like that. It is about faith and God.

It is couched as a love triangle melodrama. This disguise is so well-wrought that it seems to have fooled a lot of people into thinking the movie is a love story. But all that is merely an excuse for the rather deep philosophical issues that the movie tackles.

In typical Greene manner, though, it is rife with unexpected plot twists. For example, just when I thought the movie was about to wrap itself up, it launched into the real reason for its existence, via a flashback into "what really happened" in Sarah's life. This is an unusual place in a movie to have a long flashback, it seems to me.

After this point, there is one change of direction after another. Up until the very last scene, the movie is quite ambiguous, and it is not at all clear whether Greene views belief in God as a bad, destructive thing or not. Even the last scene does not completely resolve this question.

Johnson has a particularly unusual part, his all-consuming passion for Sarah inadvertently causing her misfortune after misfortune. His understated guilt and horror each time he discovers the effects of his actions is an interesting part of the story.

The acting by the three mains, Kerr, Johnson and, surprisingly, Peter Cushing, is top notch. This movie is not "entertainment," however. It is an intellectual challenge, engaging the viewer to wrestle with issues most thinking humans must come to terms with at one time or another in their lives.

The dialogues between Johnson and Kerr remind me very much of a non-humorous presentation of the themes dealt with in "The Screwtape Letters," with Johnson (and Goodliffe) presenting all the rational, reasonable conclusions favoring atheism, but Kerr inevitably being drawn deeper and deeper into faith in God, more because of their efforts than in spite of them.

As has been demonstrated in other comments, this movie will not be enjoyed by those unwilling to examine their stances towards these fundamental issues of human existence.

I am indebted to Turner Classic Movies for televising this film today. I had not seen it. I am a great admirer of both the novel and the 1999 film version by Neil Jordan. I count it as one of the greatest love stories in literature.

Yes, Van Johnson is miscast as Maurice Bendrix. Still, he is a sincere actor and his work is good considering that Maurice has been "Americanized." I wasn't prepared for the devastating performance by Deborah Kerr. Sarah Miles is one of literature's greatest creations. The "saint" as "whore." Or is it the "whore" as "saint?" I found myself engrossed and deeply moved watching her. It only confirmed my belief that she was with Vivian Leigh one of the two best English actresses in cinema. I love Julianne Moore in the 1999 version and equally love Deborah Kerr in the 1954 version. Sarah Miles is such a great creation that it would be wonderful to see another filmed version and compare the work of three actresses.

Incidentally, "The End of the Affair" is one of those notable works of literature that went from the page to the screen to the opera house (Jake Heggie, composer -- commission by The Houston Grand Opera -- 2004.) I do like the treatment given to the other characters in the 1954 film version. We get to meet Smythe and the priest and Sarah's mother. In the Neil Jordan screenplay, Smythe and the priest are combined into one character, a Catholic priest named Smythe. Sarah's mother is omitted in that version. If I was disappointed in the 1954 version it has to do with the character of Smythe. His character has a horrible facial birthmark that Sarah kisses when she parts from him. In the novel we are told that the birthmark disappeared upon her death. We have no idea that this happens in the 1954 film version. In the 1999 film version, the birthmark is given to Lance, Parkis's son. Also, in the novel, Lance suffers from stomach disorders. We learn that he is cured of that upon Sarah's death. No mention is made of this disorder in the 1954 film version.

Henry Miles, the cuckold, is more tragically portrayed in the 1999 film version. I tip the scales in favor to Stephen Rea whose performance is so true to the gravity of Graham Greene's creation.

A great story of human and Divine love with Maurice and Henry fighting for possession of Sarah's soul and only God receives it.

Van Heflin is woefully miscast in this film. His shortcomings are emphasised when seen against the acting of Deborah Kerr and Peter Cushing, not to mention the wealth of British talent in the secondary roles.

During WW2, Deborah Kerr falls in love with a soldier. The only trouble is, she's already married to Peter Cushing, and her husband is friends with her lover, Van Johnson. As evident by the title, Deborah and Van's love affair ends, but the question remains as to why.

This film was remade in 1999, but I prefer the original version, since I find Deborah Kerr more likable than Julianne Moore. Also, even though John Mills isn't the lead in the 1955 version, he classes up any movie he's in, so that's also a bonus to watching the original. I won't spoil the plot and tell you the reason behind The End of the Affair, but I will say the film focuses on a range of emotions that coincide with infidelity: guilt, resentment, hope, and fear. There's also a strong religious element to the film, one that really makes you think after the movie's over. In a way, it's more of a thoughtful film than a romance. While this isn't a very good choice to watch with your sweetie pie, feel free to watch it by yourself and think about what really matters in life.

This is the first version of the movie Neil Jordan remade in the late nineties.Based on a Graham Greene novel,it looks like a melodrama ( the chandelier scene is pure poetic melodrama) but with a strong metaphysical side.

The construction of the film is complex,showing the same events from two points of view.Sometimes you may lose the vital lead ,for a lot of important things are not necessarily on the screen.

If the movie is successful ,it's because of Deborah Kerr's extraordinary skills.She is sensational in her part of an unhappy woman,in search of something really worthwhile.Whereas Maurice (Van Johnson) is all passion and jealousy,her quest is much more demanding.

A lot of us have ,at least once in our lives,asked God for something.And if this wish comes true,is it proof positive that God exists?And if the person who prayed Him is an atheist?Does it mean that she has got to change her way of thinking? That she is indebted to Him?That's Sarah's moral dilemma ,lost between her love for Maurice and her moral concern,and trying to find her way ,helped by two men Father Crompton and Smythe.

Deborah Kerr's fans should watch this .

At the time,Edward Dmytryk had probably moral concern too.

The two lovers in this picture who were having an affair, namely: Deborah Kerr, (Sarah Miles) and Van Johnson, (Maurice Bendrix) both bored me to death with their flashbacks about their so called love affair. The entire picture went around in complete circles along with bombs exploding in London during World War 11. The End of the Affair should have been over before it started, I doubt very much if this couple even enjoyed their so called sexual affair, the both acted way out of character and Van Johnson and Deborah Kerr were not suited for each other as actors in this film. It is a depressing horrible film and it really gave me a Headache to watch.

Reams have been written by assorted critics, academics and theologians as to the nature of Graham Greene's 'faith' and some have even suggested that he wasn't a true Catholic at all but merely used Catholicism as a framework for his 'serious' novels. Very few however would deny his narrative skills and his gift for penetrating characterisation.

His fourth so-called 'Catholic' novel opens with the words 'This is a record of hate, far more than of love' and is indeed one of his most personal, based as it is upon his lengthy affair with the beautiful and married American Catherine Watson. He has become writer Maurice Bendrix and his paramour is named Sarah Miles. In Lenore J. Coffee's adaptation Bendrix is played by Van Johnson and is a far more sympathetic character, in keeping with Mr. Johnson's persona, whilst Sarah gives Deborah Kerr the opportunity to once again tug at our heartstrings.

On paper Mr. Johnson and Miss Kerr would not really be a match but their pairing works surprisingly well. They are complemented by Peter Cushing whose performance as her ineffectual husband Henry is simply superlative. Director Edward Dmytryk is also well served by excellent performances from Michael Goodliffe as an avowed atheist whose 'gospel of hate' brings Sarah closer to God and Nora Swinburne, perfectly cast as Sarah's mother. John Mills does one of his Mockney turns as a private detective and although his character is well observed, its value as a bit of comedy relief is debatable. Greene noted in his diary that he watched the film one and a half times as he couldn't face the detective a second time! The pivotal but underwritten role of the Catholic priest is played by Stephen Murray who again succeeds in taking dullness to a new level.

It is by and large the very Englishness of this film that makes it so effective and this is aided immeasurably by Wilkie Cooper's greyish cinematography. It also confirms the universal image of England as a nation in which it never stops raining.

As a man obsessed with jealousy who finds to his horror that the rival for his affections is God, Van Johnson has never to my knowledge been quite as effective whilst Peter Cushing's character is so convincing that one yearns to shake him out of his complaisancy. This film is of course all about the wondrous Deborah Kerr as Sarah whose angst-ridden guilt and interminable soul-searching could so easily be tedious. Although one of Miss Kerr's least lauded performances it is undeniably one of her most hauntingly heartfelt.

Handling tough issues of life if the heart and love of God. A consuming love for God.

All great character work. Superb writing by Graham Greene who lived this in his life.

Sarah (Deborah Kerr) was illuminated and a pure actress. She is amazing to watch. She committed to each word and is fully living the emotions. For that alone it's beautiful.

Van Johnson is a superb, steady actor. He's always going to produce great work.

I thought Deborah was miscast as someone having affairs and as kissing a soldier when Van Johnson saw her the first evening? In her own home and party and at the door? It seemed out of place. I also didn't believe that in less than 10 lines of dialogue they jump into bed. She seemed more upright. We also didn't get the chance to have them develop their relationship.

A greatly acted movie, well written and biographical to Graham Greene. It's about life if a person and love of God. It's thought provoking, and for me, how committed I am to God. Could I express and engage in it deeply?

I read most of Graham Greene's novels many, many years ago and am therefore well aware of how often he returns to the subject of religion and in particular his own Catholicism in his work.

The theme is certainly writ large in this British-made movie adaptation of his novel of the same name. Deborah Kerr is the vibrant, attractive woman trapped in a loveless marriage to her cold-fish senior British civil servant Peter Cushing, at the time of the Blitz over London during World War II. The couple meet up with handsome American novelist Van Johnson, only for he and Kerr to fall for each other and from there to the end, the narrative is more or less a slow expiation of her guilt as she wrestles with her commitment to. Cushing and her passion for Johnson.

The crux of the movie occurs when a bomb hits the house where the lovers are having an assignation. Kerr survives but sees under the rubble an apparently lifeless body she believes to be Johnson. In desperation she offers up a prayer telling God that if He lets Johnson live, she will give him up for good and dutifully return to Cushing's side. And Johnson does indeed survive, leaving Kerr feeling obligated to keep to her celestial bargain. Only she can't get over Johnson and so turns for advice to both a male friend, who bears a disfiguring birthmark over half his face and also a less-than-dogmatic priest after hours in church.

A year ater, a still pining Johnson bumps into Cushing, who, still unsuspecting of the affair, invites him to their house to await her return from her habitual troubled, nocturnal wanderings. The scene is seemingly set for a final resolution of this romantic triangle before fate steps in again with devastating implications for all three.

The film features two fine lead performances by both Kerr and Cushing, although Johnson is a bit over-dramatic at times, and is atmospherically directed by noir-specialist, Edward Dmytryk, then in Blacklist exile, who captures well the furtive element of the secret affair, capturing the pair walking the darkened, rainy streets of London or meeting in gloomy interiors.

Ultimately, the film fails, its theme of Catholic guilt proving too much of a cross to bear coupled with two over-dramatic life-or-death plot points, which I readily concede were present in the novel and so probably unavoidable.

Still, these narrative weaknesses apart, the good performances and skilful direction already mentioned carry the film a good way, if not quite down the road to ultimate redemption.

I noticed in this film Van Johnson's voice has started to obtain gravel. Previously he just had a kind of whiny snide voice (Best example of this is in the 1948? 49? film "Battleground") I will always love Deborah Kerr, from my POV she can never do any wrong. It is all the better when she was handed a good script and a good director.

I would classify this as one of the better scripts. This film is almost like a comedy of errors, instead it is a tragedy of errors. Actually it is quite a sad movie, I would have to read the original book that this was based upon.

What attracted me to this film, are the spiritual aspects. If this film were to be remade today, and I see it was remade in 1999, I wonder how much of the spirituality would remain? I have yet to see the newer version. This film is a quest into the reason behind Faith. I can't explain it, but this film makes a lot of sense. Mrs Miles questions to the priest, to the atheist, and to God are all valid.

Most people will see this film and will only consider the "affair" between Johnson's character and Kerr's... But that is not what this film is about at all: The affair is just a device author Graham Greene used to tell a story about Faith: What it means to have, and what is expected of us who have it.

Of course this film has its melodramatic aspects. Also it has Peter Cushing, who is not chasing vampire Christopher Lee for once.

The only weak things in this film are the confrontations between Van Johnson and Cushing- If I were Cushing and I had a wife that looked like Kerr I would have punched Johnson in the nose. But maybe the weakness of the encounters were to display that Cushing really did not care about his wife, being more interested in becoming a Lord or some important personage.

The first disadvantage of THE END OF THE AFFAIR is that the star chemistry between DEBORAH KERR and VAN JOHNSON is not there. Each does a respectable job as two people burdened under the strain of a doomed love affair, but the motivations are murky, the talk is endless and the resolution seems more like a cop-out than anything else.

The second disadvantage is that this is from a novel by Graham Greene, a writer whose works don't seem to translate well to the screen--too intellectual, too complex and too pseudo-religious for their own good, with the exception of THE THIRD MAN.

And last but not least, the story itself is dull--the "she loves me, she loves me not" theme goes back and forth between Kerr and Johnson with no meeting of the minds to bring them together. Finally, it becomes tiresome to see both of them wallowing in self-pity because their love cannot be consummated.

PETER CUSHING, as the mild-mannered husband who is clueless about his wife's "problems" is effective and natural enough in the sort of low-key performance one doesn't expect from him. JOHN MILLS does nicely as the detective hired by Johnson to spy on Kerr, adding a bit of much needed humor to the rather dour storyline.

Downbeat romance with mismatched stars in the leading roles, it never amounts to much. Someone like DIRK BOGARDE might have been able to be create a more believable portrait than Johnson does and at least provide the missing chemistry with Kerr. No matter, it's a tiresome tale of mutual distrust that kills any chance of a relationship.

An American writer meets the wife of a civil service acquaintance and quickly starts an affair with her. However Maurice is plagued with feelings of guilt and jealousy against Henry having Sarah, and bitterness that Sarah is being deceitful to her husband and perhaps, him too. After a bombing falls near their love nest, Sarah leaves and Maurice assumes that she had wished him dead. When Henry confides in him about his wife's possible infidelity, Maurice poses as her husband and hires a private detective to follow her and find out what she's doing.

I have not seen the remake but was quite interested to see how a 1950's movie would manage to depict the illicit affair between Maurice and Sarah without breaking every moral code of the day. The answer is – with lots of talking. The film is significantly shorter than the modern version and had less controversy (or at least, does now) but it still manages to bring things out. The plot is pretty good but relies very heavily on the extended flashback/journal sequence to keep things going. The talk heavy feel is a little tiring but does work well – the characters' emotions are brought out well without profanity or nudity.

I don't think Johnson fitted the role that well but he was still good. His inner bitterness and guilt came out well at points and he brings his complex character out well. Kerr is also good although her role is less difficult. She does have to carry the whole journal sequence near the end and she doesn't let the film dip. Cushing only has a few scenes but he is very good. He gives an English gent performance but eventually you can see the cracks as he tries to hold his feelings together.

Overall this is a solid adaptation of the book that manages to bring out the subject matter without the sexual excess of the modern version. While it is a little heavy on dialogue at times, the emotions come out with all the stilted control of the period and it works quite well as a subversive melodrama.

The Hays Moral Code specifically stated "Adultery and illicit sex, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated or justified, or presented attractively." Still in effect at that time, this is certainly the most explicit treatment of the subject of adultery during the time of the code's strict enforcement from 1935-1955. ("Baby Doll" released in December, 1956 goes a bit further).

While the movie should gets points for its explicit and adult treatment of the subject matter, the film does explicitly preach Catholicism which may be the reason that the theme was allowed. In the 1950's and early 1960's there was a Catholic anthology drama series on U.S. television which often dealt with serious issues like adultery, communism, abusive families, racism, incest, rape and abortion; issues that were almost never raised on television at the time. The show was apparently given a pass because it always ended with one character realizing the issues of his/her ways and having their soul redeemed by joining or rejoining the Catholic Church. This movie reminded me of that show.

The movie does have terrific performances by Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, and Peter Cushing. It should be watched just for the performances. They underplay their roles beautifully and hit emotional high points in just the scenes that need them.

Graham Greene is an excellent writer and knows how to keep a plot moving and constantly surprises the audience.

One can dismiss this movie as Catholic Propaganda, but the movie is touching, thoughtful and well done. The Catholic Propaganda only mars it slightly, a small price to pay for the pleasure it brings. It is a good affair between two handsome/beautiful people, even if it ends with a bit of repentance and feelings of guilt.