A Severed Head
Directed by	Dick Clement
Written by	Frederic Raphael
Based on	A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
Produced by	Elliott Kastner Alan Ladd, Jr. Denis Holt
Starring	Lee Remick Richard Attenborough Ian Holm Claire Bloom
Cinematography	Austin Dempster
Edited by	Peter Weatherley
Music by	Stanley Myers
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	December 1970 (1970-12) (UK) 28 March 1971 (1971-03-28) (USA)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

A Severed Head is a 1970 British comedy-drama film directed by Dick Clement, and starring Claire Bloom, Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough, and Ian Holm. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Iris Murdoch. ^[1]

Opening credits

The highly unique credits features accurate dolls of each cast member in turn, rotating against a black background.

Plot

The story is set in and around London.

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.^[2]

Meanwhile, Martin tries to keep his mistress, Georgie Hands, a secret.

Palmer's sister Honor Klein is met at a railway station by Martin instead of Palmer. Honor, who once taught Georgie at Oxford University, tells Palmer and Antonia about the affair between her former student and Martin. Honor then introduces Georgie to Martin's womanizing brother Alexander. This is just the start of the various liaisons.

Martin visits his sculptor brother Alexander who lives in a large suburban villa.

Georgie works with historic looms in the Royal College of Art in a room overlooking the Albert Memorial.

Martin, Antonia, Palmer and Georgie go for a posh meal together. Georgie can't stand the arrangement and runs off. Martin goes home, and Honor is at the dinner table eating fruit. She has an unsheathed samurai sword. She demonstrates her skill with the sword.

Martin finds Alexander and Georgie together in her college studio and gets annoyed. When Alexander leaves, he proposes to Georgie. When he goes home, Antonio and Antonia are in his bed. They have a casual conversation.

Cast

• Lee Remick - Antonia (Tony) Lynch-Gibbon
• Richard Attenborough - Palmer Anderson
• Ian Holm - Martin Lynch-Gibbon
• Claire Bloom - Honor Klein
• Jennie Linden - Georgie Hands
• Clive Revill - Alexander Lynch-Gibbon
• Ann Firbank - Rosemary Lynch-Gibbon
• Rosamund Greenwood - Miss Seelhaft
• Constance Lorne - Miss Hernshaw
• Nerys Hughes - nurse