Director terence fisher brings noel coward's the astonished heart to the screen'. '.strtoupper('f')isher and his stars celia johnson, margaret leighton, and coward himself vividly convey the playwright's brittle, sophisticated view of the world'. '.strtoupper('c')oward stars as christian faber, a psychiatrist who falls in love with the much younger leonora vail leighton'. '.strtoupper('t')his means that faber must convince himself that his blissful 10 year marriage to wife barbara johnson is truly at an end'. '.strtoupper('o')nce he's made this compromise with his conscience, faber further deteriorates into petulant jealousy when leonora begins roaming'. '.strtoupper('t')he surprise ending is all the more surprising because the audience is pulling for faber despite his emotional immaturity and is hoping that he'll pull himself out of his self imposed mess'. '.strtoupper('i')n addition to writing and starring in the astonished heart, noel coward also composed the musical score.