Synopsis
Based on Graham Greene’s novel, a married colonial police chief struggles with his conscience when he has an affair with a younger woman.
The Heart of the Matter
1953 Directed by George More O'Ferrall
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"Do you seriously believe in hell... in flames and torment?"
"Not quite like that. It may be a permanent sense of loss."
"That kind of hell wouldn't worry me."
"Perhaps you've never lost anything of importance."
Part of my slow trek through obscure Graham Greene adaptations. The Heart of the Matter was one of the first Greene novels I read and I remember liking it a great deal; it's only in more recent years that I've noticed it isn't held in super high regard by certain critics, and I've often thought I should revisit it. O'Ferral directs this adaptation competently and the performances are solid (in some cases, very good); I was also surprised to see Denholm Elliott of Indiana…
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Scobie was perhaps the most tortured of all of Graham Greene's tortured Catholics and he's played magnificently by that most underrated of great actors, Trevor Howard in George More O'Ferrall's mostly superb and largely forgotten screen version of "The Heart of the Matter". One reason Scobie is such a tortured Catholic is that he is torn between the faith he's largely lost since the death of his daughter and his love for a young refugee, (another wonderful performance from Maria Schell); he's happy to sleep with her but thinks he will go to hell if he takes Holy Communion while in mortal sin.
This is a wonderfully acted picture throughout; Howard and Schell may have the best of it but…
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George More O’Ferrall’s British drama, based on Graham Greene’s 1948 novel, stars Trevor Howard as an assistant policeman posted in Sierra Leone in WW2. With Elizabeth Allan and Maria Schell.
In 1940s Sierra Leone, refugee Harry Scobie (Trevor Howard), a Catholic cop, is stuck in a cruel marriage. While his unfortunate wife is out of town, Harry rapidly falls in love with Helen (Maria Schell), a war widow.
As his Catholicism looms to keep him guaranteed to his wife Louise (Elizabeth Allan) and separately from the woman he adores, Harry is disbursed with responsibility and becomes frantic for an explanation to his predicament. Harry’s religion haunts him during this story of prohibited love and inner chaos.
Trevor Howard gives a…
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Not great, (has the lead simply considered avoiding his fear of damnation by not sleeping with a young, vulnerable refugee?) but I stand by my opinion that Trevor Howard is best with playing unsympathetic Colonial relics – he's wonderfully sweaty, closed-off, and intense here.
Hi also to Earl Cameron and Judith Furse (in small roles), and to Peter Finch as a disapproving priest.
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Trevor Howard is a policeman who tries to get to "The Heart of the Matter" in this 1953 film based on the Graham Greene novel. It also stars Elizabeth Allan and Maria Schell.
Howard plays Harry Scobie, a police officer in Sierra Leone. He and his wife have lost their young daughter, and now his wife is miserable in Sierra Leone. In order to get money for a trip for her, Scobie borrows money from an unsavory character - later on, this will lead to problems for him with his superiors.
He meets a stranded widow, Helen (Schell), and the two fall in love. When his wife returns, he is faced with a religious dilemma. She is told he has…
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The Heart Of The Matter – A Rare Classic
While this might not offer much appeal to movie buffs hooked on action flicks - any that value truly classic writing (Graham Green) will be more than compensated by this in-depth character study of the eternal triangle - as examined through the eyes of Catholic guilt and dedication to specific vows and doctrine. Trevor Howard is absolutely superb as Scobie, the trapped in a loveless marriage, deputy commissioner of the Sierra Leone Police in the early 40s. With the arrival of survivors from a torpedoed ship, Scobie finds himself drawn to a vulnerable young woman. Lovely Award-winning Austrian-Swiss born, Maria Schell is his equal in her performance of the young survivor.…
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I’ve not read the novel but it seemed to capture the Catholic-guilt ridden tone of the GG books I have read very well. Trevor Howard is excellent and the Sierra Leone location adds a great deal to the over-cooked atmosphere.
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The Heart of the Matter (George More O'Ferrall, 1953) 8/10
Graham Greene's story about Catholic guilt with everyone wallowing in it. In colonial Sierra Leone - 1942 - a British policeman (Trevor Howard), stuck in a miserable marriage, finds love with a shipwreck survivor (Maria Schell). When his staunch Catholic wife (Elizabeth Allan) finds out she nags him to go to church to confess his sin which he is not prepared to do causing everyone a great deal of stiff hand wringing and misery. Extremely well acted by the three leads (both Howard and Schell were nominated for Baftas) and the fine supporting cast - Denholm Elliott, Michael Hordern, Peter Finch. The film superbly creates the opressive atmosphere (shot by…
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I'll post a few thoughts later, when I have some time. For now: I'm amazed that I haven't heard this film discussed heavily in conversations about faith and art in cinema.