In 1945 a man removed sand from the eye of a woman in a film scene that has gone down as one of the most romantic in history.
But when Brief Encounter was previewed the test audience laughed at the love scenes. David Lean was so worried that he considered breaking into Denham Studios to steal the negative, in order to prevent the making of more prints for general release.
It went on to become his first critical and popular success, so why does this period piece still enchant people today, so much so the station where it was filmed, Carnforth, has just been refurbished to appeal to lovers of the movie.
Professor Sue Thornham who lectures in film at Sunderland University and Richard Howells join Jenni to discuss whether today's romantic movies have the same appeal as those of 50 years ago. Do we make romantic films like we used to?
