Editing Brief Encounter (section)

==Adaptation==
{{main|Still Life (play)}}''Brief Encounter'' is based on [[Noël Coward]]'s [[one-act play]] ''[[Still Life (play)|Still Life]]'' (1936), one of ten short plays in the cycle ''[[Tonight at 8.30]]'', designed for [[Gertrude Lawrence]] and Coward himself, to be performed in various combinations as triple bills. All scenes in ''Still Life'' are set in the refreshment room of the fictional Milford Junction railway station.

As is common in films adapted from stage plays, the film includes settings that are only mentioned in the play, such as Dr. Lynn's flat, Laura's home, a cinema, a restaurant, and a branch of [[Boots (company)|Boots the Chemist]]. Several scenes were added for the film, including a scene on a lake where Dr. Harvey gets his feet wet, Laura wandering alone in the dark and smoking on a park bench where she is confronted by a police officer, and a drive in the country in a hired car.

Some scenes were altered to be less ambiguous and more dramatic in the film adaptation. The scene in which the lovers are about to commit adultery is toned down; in the play, it is left to the audience to decide whether they actually consummate their relationship, while in the film, they do not. In the film, Laura has only just arrived at Dr. Lynn's flat when the owner returns, prompting Dr. Harvey to quickly escort her out via the kitchen service door. Additionally, when Laura contemplates suicide by throwing herself in front of a train, the film makes her intention clearer through voice-over narration.

In the play, the characters at Milford station—Mrs. Bagot, Mr. Godby, Beryl, and Stanley—are aware of the growing relationship between Laura and Alec and occasionally mention it in an offhand manner. In the film, these characters pay little attention to the couple. The film's final scene, where Laura embraces her husband after he acknowledges her emotional distance and possibly suspects the cause, is not present in the original play.

Two editions of Coward's original screenplay for the film adaptation are available, both listed in the bibliography.