A Severed Head is a 1970 British drama film starring Claire Bloom, Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough and Ian Holm based on a novel of the same name

A Severed Head

A Severed Head is a satirical, sometimes farcical 1961 novel by Iris Murdoch.Primary themes include marriage, adultery, and incest within a group of civilized and educated people. Set in and around London, it depicts a power struggle between grown-up middle class people who are lucky to be free of...

 by Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch

Dame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...

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Plot

Antonia is the pampered wife of an upper class wine merchant, Martin Lynch-Gibbon. She tells her husband that she is in love with their best friend, psychiatrist Palmer Anderson. Palmer and Antonia wish to deal with the situation in a civilized manner by remaining friends with Martin. Meanwhile, Martin tries to keep his mistress, Georgie Hands, a secret. However, Palmer's sister, Honor Klein, who once taught Georgie at Oxford University, tells Palmer and Antonia about their affair. Honor then introduces Georgie to Martin's womanizing brother, Alexander. This is just the start of the various liaisons.

Cast

• Lee Remick
  Lee Remick
  Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
  
   - Antonia Lynch-Gibbon
• Richard Attenborough
  Richard Attenborough
  Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
  
   - Palmer Anderson
• Ian Holm
  Ian Holm
  Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
  
   - Martin Lynch-Gibbon
• Claire Bloom
  Claire Bloom
  Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
  
  - Honor Klein
• Jennie Linden - Georgie Hands
• Clive Revill - Alexander Lynch-Gibbon
• Ann Firbank - Rosemary Lynch-Gibbon
• Rosamund Greenwood - Miss Seelhaft
• Constance Lorne - Miss Hernshaw