A Brief Encounter with Carnforth Station.Carnforth station was used as a location by the production team of "Brief Encounter" All the train shots and many of the platform scenes were filmed at Carnforth station.
Brief Encounter and Carnforth Railway Station."Brief Encounter" was originally a half hour stage play,
called "Still Life", written by Noel Coward, but, under the Direction
of David Lean, it was re-written, re-named and starring Celia Johnson
and Trevor Howard, filmed for Cinema release. By 1944 the main air raid danger to London, came from V1 and
V2 rockets, which had no particular targets, but were just aimed
generally at London. In July 1944 a mass evacuation had been ordered,
and the LMS moved its office staff. The "Brief Encounter" production
had originally been assigned a London station to film at, but Carnforth
was considered to be safer. One book reports David Lean as saying that Carnforth was chosen, as a location, because of the slopes from the subway onto the platforms, which allowed the actors to run up (and down) the slopes. David Lean offering the comment that Celia Johnson would have looked somewhat ridiculous running up and down steps. Another book reports David Lean as saying that Carnforth was chosen because :- "The war was still on and the railway people said ' There may be an air raid at any moment and you'll have time to put out the lights in that remote part up in the North. We'll know when the planes are coming '. We were a blaze of lights from filming". In all probability, the Ministry of War Transport, offered Cineguild / David Lean a number of possible stations, where they would be happy for the filming to take place, and Carnforth was chosen as the most suitable. The London Midland and Scottish Railway Co. were very happy for the production to use Carnforth Station, and allowed them to use Carnforth Station without charge. Perhaps as part of the deal, or perhaps as a way of saying "thank you" Cineguild allowed a number of LMSR posters, and logo's to be seen behind the action - particularly when Alec and Laura are walking towards Milford Junction Station, and about to descend the steps to the booking hall and the platforms. Brief Encounter was filmed between February and May 1945, the Carnforth element being in February 1945. At least some of the film equipment travelled from London Euston to Carnforth on the weekend of the 3rd and 4th February, and the filming started on the evening of the 5th February 1945. Filming continued until the evening of Friday 16th February. On Sunday 18th February sound effects of the steam engine and train were recorded, with the train moving about, and through the station Work on the film started late in the evening, after the last local train had departed, and finishing early morning, when the first local trains started arriving at the station. February 1945 was very cold, and the Station Master, who is described as an "old fashioned gentleman" by Celia Johnson, allowed Celia Johnson to warm herself in-between takes in front of the fire in his office. This room has recently been refurbished, and will soon become a souvenir shop on Carnforth Station. Most of the platforms scenes were filmed at Carnforth, with the exception of the two scenes where Laura and Alec (Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard) arrive at the station, and walk down some steps and through the booking hall and onto the platforms. This booking hall was actually a set in Denham studios. It has been claimed that some of the filming took place at Watford Junction Station. There is no record of any filming having taken place at Watford Junction, and there are no shots which show Watford Junction, in Brief Encounter, . The Milford Junction Refreshment Room.The "Milford Junction" refreshment room externally was film
"flats" specially erected on Carnforth station. The inside of the
"Milford Junction" refreshment room was in Denham studios.
The above
drawing (by Derek Kellett) shows how the Milford Junction refreshment
room would have looked, had it existed in a "complete" form on the
platforms at Carnforth. At no point in the film however can both sides
of the Milford Junction refreshment room be seen in the same
shot. The reality is that probably only one side and one end
flat were made, and then were moved into the appropriate position on
the platform, as required by the cameraman and director for each shot. This "Milford Junction" refreshment room set was situated on what is now the open space between the Clock, and the buildings. The southern edge of the set would be approximately 3 - 4 metres to the south of the roof support pillar, in the middle of the Carnforth platform
The FilmingCelia
Johnson wasn't looking forward to the filming on Carnforth station, and
in a letter described it as "we have to go up North for 4 weeks'
location on some horrible railway station. I don't yet know
where". The Carnforth station refreshment room ( the station buffet) must have been open at least some of the time during the filming, as Elaine Maudsley, who worked in the refreshment room, remembers handing out cups of tea to the film crew. As she handed out cups of tea they chatted, and this chat got her a place as an extra in the film. At the start of the film, Stanley Holloway crosses the tracks, climbs the platforms and enters the Milford Junction refreshment room. As he climbs onto the platform, a young lady passenger can be seen walking up and down the platform, this was Elaine Maudsley. Stanley Holloway must have had a sense of humour, because he kept on trying to grab Elaine Maudsley's leg.. and she had to be moved up the platform a little way. Stanley
Holloway was concerned by the way that the express trains just suddenly
appeared out of the darkness, and rushed through the station, and a
local "stand in", Bill Fawcett
from Ulverston, was found for him. Bill Fawcett probably
stood in for Stanley Holloway on the rehearsals, and possibly
the wide angle shots, that were filmed, but ended up on the
cutting room floor.
In Brief Encounter the person crossing the tracks and going into the
Milford Junction refreshment room certainly looks very much like
Stanley Holloway, and not a stand in. Another local extra was Chris Woodford from Morecambe. Chris saw the advertisement in the Morecambe Visitor and applied straight away. Her appearance was as one of the couple who ran down the subway laughing, whilst Laura and Alec where discussing Alec taking a job in Africa. The branch line train had three locals as its crew. George Farrer - the engine driver, Alf Bergus - the engine fireman and Bob Hetherington - the train guard. Brief Encounter Acting Credits.
The "Brief Encounter" timescale 1935 "Still Life" a half-hour playlet is written by No�l Coward. Circa 1944, David Lean Tony Havelock-Allan and Ronnie Neame were looking for another film to shoot after "Blithe Spirit", and were discussing this with No�l Coward, who suggested that a sketch he had written (Still Life) may be suitable. Ten days later a script of "Still Life" was ready, but David Lean was not happy with it. About four days later No�l Coward had re-written "Still Life" into what was essentially "Brief Encounter" The title for the new film caused problems. No�l Coward wanted good title "A brief something - something short" It was Gladys Calthrop ( the Art Supervisor to No�l Coward )who suggested "Brief Encounter" David Lean Tony Havelock-Allan, Ronnie Neame and No�l Coward, all wanted Celia Johnson to play the part of Laura Jesson. Celia Johnson hated making films, but after No�l Coward read the part to her in October 1944, she knew that she had to play that part. The first choice for the
Doctor, Alec Harvey had been Roger Livesey, but when David Lean and
Tony Havelock-Allan saw Trevor Howard, in a rough cut of The
Way to the Stars they decided to offer the part
to Trevor Howard, who at that time was an unknown actor, who had been
invalided out of the army. The production team had originally been assigned a London station, but Carnforth was considered safer by the Ministry of War Transport. Pre-production work was under way by the start of 1945, and in January 1945 Carnforth station was visited by a stills photographer to take reference photographs for planning the shooting. 9th January 1945 Celia Johnson wrote a letter to her husband Peter Fleming telling him of the agonies of getting clothes made for the filming. Because of the war, she had a very limited personal wardrobe, and there she was being fitted out with clothes that she would love to have for herself, but wasn't allowed to keep. 23 rd January 1945 Celia Johnson wrote again to
her husband, telling him that she would have to go to the north west of
England to film on some horrible railway station, but she didn't know
which one. 24th January 1945, and advertisement appeared In the Morecambe Visitor asking for applications for jobs as "extras" in No�l Coward's new picture "Brief Encounter", featuring Celia Johnson and Stanley Holloway. The weekend of 3rd and 4th February, at least some of the filming equipment travels by train from London Euston to Carnforth. 4th February 1945 Trevor Howard's contract starts. 5th February 1945 Filming starts on the station. 11th February 1945 Celia Johnson wrote from the Low Wood Hotel, in Ambleside, that they were on the film and enjoying it. She mentions that working on the station is far better than she was expecting, and that there is a very good atmosphere on location. 11th February Filming is stopped by a major fire in a nearby petrol dump. Circa 13th February Stanley Holloway's contract starts. The contract is for a guaranteed 12 days, over a period of 12 weeks, commencing on or about the 13th February 1945. 16th February 1945 Last evening of filming on the station 18th February,
during the day, sound effects of the steam engine and train recorded. The production team had to wait for two days, after the filming finished at Carnforth Station, for the light to be acceptable, before the sequence at "Middle Fell" bridge, could be completed. After the filming finished in the North of England, the filming moved back to the south of England. 25th February 1945 Filming of the boating scenes in Regents Park Circa 5th March to 18th May 1945, Filming in studio Circa 17th March 1945 Margaret Barton's contract starts. The contract is for a guaranteed 12 days over a period of 7 weeks, commencing on, or about 17th March 1945. In the middle of March 1945 Celia Johnson wrote about the dream sequences they had been shooting for the previous few days. A week later she wrote about working with Joyce Barbour on some scenes in the station refreshment room (at Denham Studios) 4th May 1945 and Celia Johnson wrote "we've only got another 10 days in the studio" - "and then about 10 days night exteriors" 18th May 1945 Celia Johnson wrote saying there were only about ten days of exteriors to do, and those would be starting on Tuesday night at the Metropole Cinema, Victoria. 22nd May 1945 Exterior filming starts. The filming at (or near?) to the Metropole is from 10pm until 6am the following morning. Circa 22nd to 28th May 1945 night and imitation sequences are filmed. 13th June 1945 Celia Johnson finished working on "Brief Encounter" Later in
1945, a preview of "Brief Encounter" was shown in a Rochester cinema,
but wasn't a success, with the audience laughing at the love scenes. Brief Encounter StatisticsI did wonder just how much of Carnforth Railway Station, had been featured in "Brief Encounter" and so I went through and timed the scenes filmed at Carnforth. I have included all the scenes where Carnforth is identifiable, but excluded scenes which were probably filmed Carnforth, such as the interior of railway carriages, which may have been filmed at Carnforth or elsewhere. Next time you view the film, make note of the SECOND shot in the film.. the express train appears to be travelling North through the SOUTH bound main line platform at Carnforth. This isn't a special working, or anything unusual by the railways.David Lean realised that for his next shot, of the ticket inspector on the platform, watching the train going by the train had to be travelling North, and that he didn't have a suitable shot, and so, rather than go back to location again, he used an existing shot of a train travelling south, and reversed the negative, to make the train APPEAR to be going north. I calculate that 523 seconds out of the 4920 seconds (about 10.63%) of the film "Brief Encounter" was definitely filmed at Carnforth. This amount increases to approximately 15% if the scenes inside the carriage and one or two of the scenes outside the Refreshment Room are included. Local "Stars"Of course every film needs to have its main characters, usually played by professional actors, but the smaller "walk on" parts are in many ways just as important, and here I'm attempting to credit some of the "other" people who helped to make "Brief Encounter"
The music used in the film Brief Encounter was unusual in that it was normal at the time for film background music to be specially written, whereas Brief Encounter used the piano concerto in C Minor, 2nd movement, Opus 18, written by Rachmaninov conducted by Muir Matheson and played by Eileen Joyce and the National Symphony Orchestra. The organist in the Palladium was playing "March Militaire" The small orchestra in the Kardomah Cafe played "Spanish Dances No. 5" by Moritz Moszkowski and also music by Domenico Scarlatti
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