I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

A young Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. When the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts.

Directors:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Stars:

Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, George Carney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Carney	...	Mr. Webster
Wendy Hiller	...	Joan Webster
Walter Hudd	...	Hunter
Duncan MacKechnie	...	Capt. 'Lochinvar' (as Captain Duncan MacKechnie)
Ian Sadler	...	Iain
Roger Livesey	...	Torquil MacNeil
Finlay Currie	...	Ruairidh Mhór
Murdo Morrison	...	Kenny
Margot Fitzsimons	...	Bridie
C.W.R. Knight	...	Col. Barnstaple (as Captain C.W.R. Knight F.Z.S.)
Pamela Brown	...	Catriona
Donald Strachan	...	Shepherd
John Rae	...	Old Shepherd
Duncan McIntyre	...	His Son
Jean Cadell	...	Postmistress

Storyline

Joan Webster is an ambitious and stubborn middle-class English woman determined to move forward since her childhood. She meets her father in a fancy restaurant to tell him that she will marry the wealthy middle-aged industrial Robert Bellinger in Kiloran island, in the Hebrides Islands, Scotland. She travels from Manchester to the island of Mull, where she stays trapped due to the windy weather. Whilst on the island, she meets Torquil McNeil and as the days go by they fall in love with each other.

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Plot Keywords:

hebrides | naval officer | scotland | sea storm | scottish hebrides | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

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

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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.

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Crazy Credits

'Torquil the Golden Eagle' .... Mr Ramshaw

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Alternate Versions

When Bridie and Joan are arguing in Joan's bedroom when Joan is about to try to get to the island, Bridie has a little speech where she says "Some folks there are, who want to drown fine young men and break young girls' hearts so that they can be bedded one day sooner." Risqué stuff for 1945. It was dubbed in the initial American release for her to say "wedded" instead of "bedded".

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Connections

Referenced in The South Bank Show: Michael Powell (1986)

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Soundtracks

I Know Where I'm Going
(uncredited)
Traditional County Antrim song
Sung by Boyd Steven with The Glasgow Orpheus Choir

User Reviews

One of a kind

It's really "It Happened One Night" -- spoiled girl, on the way to wed her rich fiance, is escorted by a younger man and falls in love with him -- but it's so much more. Powell's and Pressburger's imaginations are boundless. They create characters who are lovable eccentrics, but believable. They shift tone effortlessly from comedy to thriller to travelogue to romance and back again. They employ every resource of cinema, without being showy about it: watch the camera tricks in the first ten minutes alone. They fill the movie with diversions that have little to do with the plot but create a beautifully picaresque atmosphere.

I don't know of any other movie that is so inconsequential on the face of it, yet packs such an enormous emotional wallop. Ostensibly an assembly-line romantic comedy, it's really about spiritual growth, opening yourself to all sorts of new experiences and learning to see things from others' points of view. It's whimsical, but not thin. With its moody photography, wonderful musical score, and numerous coups de cinema, it lingers in your memory months after you've seen it. And the ending is one of the most satisfying in all the movies.

One minor complaint: Hiller is a tad too steely in the beginning, too crisp, too calculating-actress-playing-calculating-character. As she succumbs to the charms of her surroundings and her leading man, though, she's bewitching. And Livesey has one of the most beautiful speaking voices you'll ever hear. Their chemistry is terrific. And when he recites a Celtic poem ending in, "you're the one for me," and looks right at her, it's quite sexy.

There's no other movie quite like it. And I defy anyone to see it on a date and not fall in love with his/her vis-a-vis.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

9 August 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Know Where I'm Going!

Filming Locations:

Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Archers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1