GB
1964
1hr 40mins
Dirs: Henry Hathaway, Bryan Forbes and Kenneth Hughes
Starring: Laurence Harvey and Kim Novak
A medical student becomes obsessed with his faithless lover
This was the third screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s 1915 novel of the same name, yet despite it forming part of the depressing ‘kitchen-sink’ genre popular at the time it was not well received. It was largely filmed in Ireland and features some good shots of CIE steam in its final years of operation. Ex-Great Southern Railways J15 Class 0-6-0’s dominate proceedings with some nice shots in Dublin Connolly station where class member No.187 is identifiable. Another J15-hauled train appears near the end of the film, passing by on an embankment behind the characters who are attending a funeral. Nonetheless, there are several night scenes filmed at an unknown Western Region station which is masquerading as ‘Battersea East’. In this instance a train of suburban stock is arriving in the hands of an ex-GWR 2-6-2 ‘Prairie’ tank.