| Photos (see all 23 | slideshow) |
| 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 | (photographed by) | ||
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) | |
| 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 | |||
| W. Percy Day | .... | process shots | |
| Ivor Beddoes | .... | special photographic effects (uncredited) | |
| W. Percy Day | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
| Douglas Hague | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
| Jack Higgins | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
| Sydney Pearson | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Arthur George Day | .... | matte painter (uncredited) | |
| Thomas Sydney Day | .... | matte painter (uncredited) | |
| W. Percy Day | .... | matte painter (uncredited) | |
| Peter Ellenshaw | .... | assistant matte artist (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) | |
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| The Night of the Hunter | Giant | The Fall | Gone with the Wind | Au revoir les enfants |
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A small group of nuns, working nuns, not contemplatives, journey to the Himalayas to establish a school and dispensary in a high and remote deserted palace. It was a palace built for a ruler's women, and every wall painting, every decoration, contrasts the sensuality of this society with the chaste and energetic vocation of the nuns. Only Dean (David Farrar), the ruling General's Agent, links the steamy life of the valley with the wind-blown austerity of the nunnery above.
It is the destructive power of emotions reppressed and released that is most obvious in 'Black Narcissus', but more fundamental to this beautiful film is a stronger, yet quieter, ancient and more subtle power, that of place. The Himalayan setting is established surprisingly convincingly for the period, in a series of vivid shots that disclose the fact of that landscape's power from the beginning. And the particular quality, the particular power of that place is continuously present in the wind that blows constantly, stirring every fabric, every soft thing. Only as that power of place begins to work its insidious magic on the nuns does it begin to reveal its nature. Everyone there is affected, their practical efforts diverted by poetry and passion. Somehow flowers are planted, not potatoes. The Young General (Sabu) falls in love with a dancing girl (Jean Simmons). Two of the nuns are drawn to the rough Agent, already sunk into the life of the society around him. Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), the Sister Superior, initially drawn back to memories of her lover in Ireland, remains strong in her faith, yet is softened, becomes more human. Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron), on the other hand, becomes maddened by jealous passion and it is her tragedy, itself peculiarly bound up with the geography of the place, that brings the drama to an end.
The testing of a few people brought together in isolation is a familiar theme, but this is an unusual example. 'Black Narcissus' has an unusual symmetry: acceptance of this tainted life, in the person of the agent, is compared with the surrender to her passions of Sister Ruth, whose irrational passion, in turn, contrasts with the gentle loves of the Sister Clodagh; the abandonment of this world by the holy contemplative who lives in the nunnery grounds contrasts with the nun's holy yet practical struggles. So, too, we see the valley richly coloured, but the Mopu Palace nunnery almost monochrome, washed out.
The project at Mopu fails, the struggle against the genius of the place is abandoned. But not everything fails: Sister Clodagh has become wiser and less proud. Some struggles are too great, but we learn that there can be victories in small things: the Young General wins Kanchi, his dancing girl.
This is a fine film, well acted. David Farrar, though at times uneasy in a difficult role, requiring roughness and sympathy in equal measure, generally manages to strike the right balance. Kathleen Byron grows convincingly mad with jealousy and is stupendous in her dramatic final scene. Flora Robson, as Sister Phillipa, tending her gardens, has a small part which she plays to perfection. Deborah Kerr is outstanding: that Sister Clodagh has a fundamental sympathy disguised by pride is apparent from the beginning, and the progressive disclose of the quiet, loving, passion of her character, is finely judged. The art direction and cinematography, too, is excellent: the wind tugging at every fabric, the sputtering candles, the long shots of the landscape, Sister L pausing momentarily to caress a strikingly phallic baluster. It is astonishing that this was all achieved without leaving the suburbs of London. The music is ravishing and, in the later scenes, intense. Finally, in its emphasis on the spirit of place, even set in the Himalayas, 'Black Narcissus' is a very British film.