The Heart of the Matter is a 1953 British film based on the book of the same name by Graham Greene. It was directed by George More O'Ferrall for London Films. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot, cast and production

Trevor Howard plays Scobie, a policeman in Sierra Leone. He is unhappily married to Louise, played by Elizabeth Allan. While she is away, he begins a love affair with Helen, a European played by Maria Schell. However, Scobie's Catholic faith leaves him tormented with guilt.

The film also stars Denholm Elliott, Peter Finch, Gérard Oury, George Coulouris and Michael Hordern.

It contains no original score, but instead features indigenous music from Sierra Leone in West Africa, where location filming took place. The interiors were filmed at Shepperton Studios in London. It was lensed in black and white by noted cinematographer Jack Hildyard.

Differences between film and book

The main difference between the film and the book is in the ending, which is almost equally bleak, but reversed from Greene's original story. In the book, Scobie's servant is killed (apparently an act of revenge by Yusef, here played by Gérard Oury). Scobie commits suicide. In the film, Scobie intends to kill himself, but is interrupted by a fight breaking out. He intervenes and is shot. The servant (John Akar) does not die, but instead Scobie dies in his servant's arms.

References

External links

• Channel Four review