'I Know Where I'm Going!' (1945)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Michael Powell (written by) &
Emeric Pressburger (written by)

Release Date:

9 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Joan Webster is an ambitious and stubborn middle-class English woman determined to move forward since her childhood...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Scotland | Dream Sequence | Pastoral | Phone Booth

Cast

Wendy Hiller	...	Joan Webster
Roger Livesey	...	Torquil MacNeil
Pamela Brown	...	Catriona
Finlay Currie	...	Ruairidh Mhór
George Carney	...	Mr. Webster
Nancy Price	...	Mrs. Crozier
Catherine Lacey	...	Mrs. Robinson
Jean Cadell	...	Postmistress
John Laurie	...	John Campbell
Valentine Dyall	...	Mr. Robinson
Norman Shelley	...	Sir Robert Bellinger (on radio telephone) (voice)
Margot Fitzsimons	...	Bridie
Murdo Morrison	...	Kenny
Captain C.W.R. Knight	...	Colonel Barnstaple (as Captain C.W.R. Knight, F.Z.S.)
Walter Hudd	...	Hunter

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Scottish Gaelic

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Not Rated | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U (video rating) (1991) (uncut) | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

Captain C.W.R. Knight was a real life falconer and trained the golden eagle "Torquil" in this film.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The reflection of a boom mic is visible in a picture frame in Joan's hotel room.

Quotes:

Torquil MacNeil: Have you got any beams in your room?
Joan Webster: Yes, why?
Torquil MacNeil: Count them before you go to sleep and your wish'll come true.
Joan Webster: As easy as that?
Torquil MacNeil: Only the first night under the roof.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Arena: A Pretty British Affair" (1981)

Soundtrack:

I Know Where I'm Going

One of the best pictures of all time

Whenever I am asked what my favorite movie of all time is, I laugh and say it's an impossible question, but if pressed, I usually say it's I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. I never, ever tire of watching this movie. It is a beautiful picture in every way. On the one hand, it is perfectly crafted with extraordinary visuals ("a new visual trick every minute," said Powell), and on the other, the story is a gem of romanticism.

The movie is ultimately about Wendy Hiller's character coming to terms with her emotions, with her romanticism, with the idea that love is something one cannot and should not control, and that the greatest thing about love is allowing it to wash over you and transform you. Hiller is transformed, and the process is a miraculous sight to behold. You will be transformed, too. The movie gets you to experience the process of falling in love, and it does so through a magnificent story and acting, and directing choices which especially use the Hebrides landscape to sort of cast a spell on the characters and on you. The landscape is one of the most special elements of this picture. See how carefully Hiller's train journey is presented..... it's like she's being transported to another world, a powerful world of romanticism and emotion.

On the surface, there is not much "plot" to this picture. But underneath, there is so much going on that the movie is tremendously engaging on an emotional level. It also contains what I think is the greatest, most joyous movie wedding of all time!