Black Narcissus (1947)

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Rumer Godden (novel)
Michael Powell (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

December 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Exquisite Yearning ! . . . Exotic Living ! High in a hidden mountain village of a strange land and extravagant dreams and desires become exciting realities !

Plot:

Anglican nuns, led by the stern Sister Clodagh, attempt to establish a religious community in the Himalayas...

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Convent | General | Mountain | School

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Sister Clodagh
Flora Robson	...	Sister Philippa
Jean Simmons	...	Kanchi
David Farrar	...	Mr. Dean
Sabu	...	The Young General
Esmond Knight	...	The Old General
Kathleen Byron	...	Sister Ruth
Jenny Laird	...	Sister Honey
Judith Furse	...	Sister Briony
May Hallatt	...	Angu Ayah
Shaun Noble	...	Con, Clodagh's Childhood Sweetheart
Eddie Whaley Jr.	...	Joseph Anthony, Young Interpreter
Nancy Roberts	...	Mother Dorothea
Ley On	...	Phuba, Dean's Servant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joan Cozier	...	Girl in classroom (uncredited)
Helen de Broy	...	Clodagh's mother in flashback (uncredited)
Maxwell Foster	...	Clodagh's father in flashback (uncredited)
Margaret Scudamore	...	Clodagh's grandmother in flashback (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writing credits
Rumer Godden		(novel)
Michael Powell		(written by) &
Emeric Pressburger		(written by)

Produced by
George R. Busby	....	assistant producer
Michael Powell	....	producer
Emeric Pressburger	....	producer

Original Music by
Brian Easdale

Cinematography by
Jack Cardiff

Film Editing by
Reginald Mills

Casting by
Adele Raymond		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Alfred Junge

Costume Design by
Hein Heckroth

Makeup Department
George Blackler	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Biddy Chrystal	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Ernest Gasser	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
June Robinson	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sydney Streeter	....	assistant director (as Sydney S. Streeter)
Laurie Knight	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Robert Lynn	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Pat MacDonnell	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Kenneth K. Rick	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Arthur Lawson	....	assistant art director
Harold Batchelor	....	chief construction manager (uncredited)
Ivor Beddoes	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Beatrice Dawson	....	jewellery (uncredited)
Allan Harris	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
William Kellner	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Don Picton	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Elliot Scott	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stanley Lambourne	....	sound
Gordon K. McCallum	....	dubbing
John Dennis	....	chief production mixer (uncredited)
George Paternoster	....	boom operator (uncredited)
John Seabourne Jr.	....	dubbing editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
E. Hague	....	special effects (uncredited)
Jack Higgins	....	special effects (uncredited)
Sydney Pearson	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
W. Percy Day	....	process shots
Ivor Beddoes	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Arthur George Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Thomas Sydney Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Peter Ellenshaw	....	assistant matte artist (uncredited)
E. Hague	....	special effects camera (uncredited)
Jack Higgins	....	foreground miniatures (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dick Allport	....	assistant camera: Technicolor (uncredited)
George Cannon	....	still photographer: color (uncredited)
Christopher Challis	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ian Craig	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Ronald Cross	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Fred Daniels	....	still photographer: portraits (uncredited)
Michael Livesey	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Max Rosher	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Herbert Salisbury	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Stanley W. Sayer	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Edward Scaife	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Bill Wall	....	lighting electrician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dorothy Edwards	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)
Elizabeth Hennings	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Bob Rayner	....	wardrobe master (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Noreen Ackland	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Lee Doig	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Seymour Logie	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Brian Easdale	....	conductor: The London Symphony Orchestra
Ted Drake	....	music recordist (uncredited)

Other crew
Joan Bridge	....	associate colour control
Natalie Kalmus	....	color control
J. Arthur Rank	....	presenter
Joanna Busby	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)
Winifred Dyer	....	continuity (uncredited)
Vivienne Knight	....	publicist (uncredited)
Bill Paton	....	assistant: Mr. Powell (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Archers, The
• Independent Producers

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1947) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• VidAmerica (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Filmax Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film (1949) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Carlton International Media
• F.J. Lucas (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• VZ-Handelsgesellschaft (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by (as The London Symphony Orchestra)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  by arrangement with: Deborah Kerr
• Universal International Pictures (UI)  us releasing agent

Also Known As:

Le narcisse noir (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Schwarze Narzisse (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Czarny narcyz (Poland) [pl]
De zwarte narcissus (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Den sorte lilje (Denmark) [da]
Die schwarze Narzisse (Germany) [de]
Het huis der vrouwen (Netherlands) [nl]
Musta narsissi (Finland) [fi]
Narciso Negro (Brazil) [pt]
Narciso negro (Spain) [es]
Narciso nero (Italy) [it]
O mavros narkissos (Greece) [el]
Quando os Sinos Dobram (Portugal) [pt]
Svart narcissus (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 (2004) | West Germany:16 | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #11874, Adult Audience) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) (uncut) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1985) (uncut) | UK:A (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

County Galway, Ireland

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

The much admired Himalayan scenery was all created in the studio (with glass shots and hanging miniatures).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: An Australian kookaburra is heard laughing in a bamboo forest in the Himalayan foothills.

Quotes:

Mother Dorothea: -
[With Sister Clodagh: looking at photos of the palace at Mopu]
Mother Dorothea: The house is nine thousand feet up - very cold, but good air. General Toda Rai, who has invited us to Mopu, has promised us every help. He was a little afraid when he learned that we are bound to our order only by yearly vows. I explained this rule to him.
Sister Clodagh: Yes, Reverend Mother.
Mother Dorothea: For more than a century, to serve voluntarily has been one of the glories of our Order.
Sister Clodagh: And our greatest strength.
Mother Dorothea: Exactly. He understands now. Is there anything you would like to ask?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Damned If You Don't (1987)

Soundtrack:

Lullay My Liking

One of the 3 most gorgeous films ever made

Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is promoted to Sister Superior, and sent to establish an Anglican mission/convent/school in a remote village high in the Himalayas. With her she brings several other nuns (a level-headed Judith Furse, an older nun Flora Robson, and a neophyte Kathleen Byron). The strange atmosphere of this remote region affects all those involved. Ruth (Kathleen Byron) falls hopelessly in love with a British jack-of-all trades and local agent (David Farrar). The surrounding events and Farrar's presence also rekindle Kerr's memories of a failed love affair she once had with a young man (Shaun Noble). When Noble left her life, Jesus Christ entered, and Kerr became a nun. Jean Simmons plays a beautiful beggar girl, who is placed in the care of Kerr by Farrar. Simmons later becomes Prince Dilip Raj's (Sabu's) wife, of sorts. The most stunning scenes occur toward the end of the movie. Ruth's mental disintegration and her pathetic pass at Farrar are very sad. Ruth's change in appearance is visually riveting, as much perhaps as Isabelle Adjani's transformation in The Story of Adele H. The performances by Kerr and Byron are superlative, their facial expressions revealing deep heartfelt emotion and pain. If you think Holly Hunter did a great (non-speaking) acting job in The Piano, see Black Narcissus for a real revelation!

This Powell-Pressburger film is one of the most beautifully photographed color movies ever made. Black Narcissus won two Academy awards, for art direction and cinematography. It would take over 3 decades for a comparable film (Days of Heaven) to come along. If you are fortunate enough to have viewed the laserdisc version of the movie, you will be able to listen to Powell and Scorsese do a running commentary of the movie. Toward the end, you will learn how the final scene was shot to a film score, and not the other way around.