While I Live (1947): Cast & Plot
While I Live is a 1947 thriller directed by John Harlow, starring Audrey Fildes as Olwen Trevelyan, Sonia Dresdel and Carol Raye. It runs 1 hour 25 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 25m (85 min)
- Director
- John Harlow
- Genre
- Thriller
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Edward Dryhurst Productions
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is While I Live About?
The premise of While I Live without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
In 1922, gifted pianist‑composer Olwen Trevelyan, tormented by sleeplessness and the unfinished final notes of her work, falls from Cornwall’s cliffs. Twenty‑five years later her tragic death and the haunting fragment “The Dream of Olwen” have earned her posthumous fame. Her reclusive sister Julia (Sonia Dresdel), still unable to accept Olwen’s loss, becomes convinced the spirit has returned when an amnesiac woman bearing Olwen’s likeness appears.
While I Live Themes & Keywords
· 5 tags- house
- woman
- reincarnation
- amnesia
- based on play
While I Live Cast & Characters
Audrey Fildes leads the cast as Olwen Trevelyan, with Sonia Dresdel as Julia Trevelyan and Carol Raye as Sally Grant. Directed by John Harlow; 9 actors are credited in all.
- Director John Harlow
- Audrey Fildes as Olwen Trevelyan
- Sonia Dresdel as Julia Trevelyan
- Carol Raye as Sally Grant
- Tom Walls as Nehemiah
Also Starring in While I Live
· 5 more- John Warwick George Grant
- Ernest Butcher Ambrose
- Clifford Evans Peter Sloan
- Patricia Burke Christine Sloan
- Enid Hewitt Ruth
More from John Harlow
More films directed by John Harlow: Dangerous Cargo, The Blue Parrot, Those People Next Door and Green Fingers.
While I Live Plot Summary
What happens in While I Live from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 2-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
In Cornwall in 1922, Olwen Trevelyan is a young pianist and composer who fights to finish a piano tone poem that haunts her evenings as much as it breathes with life. The piece’s ending has become a pressure point she can barely bear, especially under the watchful eye of her domineering elder sister, Julia Trevelyan, whose urgency to see Olwen complete the work only amplifies the tension between duty and creativity. Olwen’s nerves fray as she wrestles with the piece’s final bars, until one night she sleepwalks to the edge of a cliff near their home. Julia follows, shouting her name, but Olwen wakes suddenly, loses her balance, and plummets to the rocks below.
Full summary
The whole story of While I Live, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know While I Live?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
In which English county does the story of *While I Live* take place?
Seen While I Live?
Movies Like While I Live
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including While Mortals Sleep, Won’t Write Home, Mom–I’m Dead and While the Children Sleep.
While I Live FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of While I Live, each answered in a sentence.
How long is While I Live?
While I Live runs 1 hour 25 minutes (85 minutes).
When was While I Live released?
While I Live was released on October 7, 1947.
Who directed While I Live?
While I Live was directed by John Harlow.
More films by John Harlow Who is in the cast of While I Live?
While I Live stars Audrey Fildes as Olwen Trevelyan, Sonia Dresdel as Julia Trevelyan and Carol Raye as Sally Grant, among 9 credited actors.
Does While I Live have a post-credit scene?
No. While I Live has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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