Brief Encounter (1974 film) Brief Encounter (1974 film) Brief Encounter is a 1974 British-Italian television film starring Richard Burton and Sophia Loren, adapted from the play "Still Life" by Noël Coward. The plot of the film is about two strangers, both married to others, who meet in a railway station and find themselves in a brief but intense affair. The material was previously the basis for the David Lean film "Brief Encounter" (1945). Burton was cast at the last moment, after Robert Shaw dropped out. The film had its premiere on U.S. television on 12 November 1974 as part of the "Hallmark Hall of
The Sleeping Prince (play) and the Showgirl" (1957), with Rattigan also writing the screen adaptation. The film was directed by and costarred Olivier, who reprised his role as Prince Charles. Although a box office disaster in its day, the "New York Times" credits Olivier with extracting a "delightful, comic performance" from Monroe. In 1963 the play was also adapted into a musical as "The Girl Who Came to Supper", with music and lyrics by Noël Coward. The Sleeping Prince (play) The Sleeping Prince: An Occasional Fairy Tale is a 1953 play by Terence Rattigan, conceived to coincide with the coronation of Elizabeth II in