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IMDbPro

Black Narcissus

  • 19471947
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
26K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,317
5,188
Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, David Farrar, Judith Furse, Jenny Laird, Flora Robson, and Sabu in Black Narcissus (1947)
Trailer for this classic drama
Play trailer2:35
1 Video
99+ Photos
Drama
A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.A group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
26K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,317
5,188
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
    • Rumer Godden(adapted from the novel by)
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
  • Stars
    • Deborah Kerr
    • David Farrar
    • Flora Robson
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
    • Rumer Godden(adapted from the novel by)
    • Michael Powell
    • Emeric Pressburger
  • Stars
    • Deborah Kerr
    • David Farrar
    • Flora Robson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 186User reviews
    • 115Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars

    Videos1

    Black Narcissus
    Trailer 2:35
    Watch Black Narcissus

    Photos360

    Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Kathleen Byron in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, and David Farrar in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, and David Farrar in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr, Judith Furse, Jenny Laird, and Flora Robson in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Sabu in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Esmond Knight in Black Narcissus (1947)
    Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus (1947)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Deborah Kerr
    Deborah Kerr
    • Sister Clodagh
    David Farrar
    David Farrar
    • Mr. Dean
    Flora Robson
    Flora Robson
    • Sister Philippa
    Jenny Laird
    Jenny Laird
    • Sister Honey
    Judith Furse
    Judith Furse
    • Sister Briony
    Kathleen Byron
    Kathleen Byron
    • Sister Ruth
    Esmond Knight
    Esmond Knight
    • The Old General
    Sabu
    Sabu
    • The Young General
    Jean Simmons
    Jean Simmons
    • Kanchi
    May Hallatt
    May Hallatt
    • Angu Ayah
    Eddie Whaley Jr.
    Eddie Whaley Jr.
    • Joseph Anthony
    Shaun Noble
    • Con
    Nancy Roberts
    Nancy Roberts
    • Mother Dorothea
    Ley On
    • Phuba
    Joan Cozier
    • Girl in Classroom
    • (uncredited)
    Maxwell Foster
    • Clodagh's Father in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
    Margaret Scudamore
    Margaret Scudamore
    • Clodagh's Grandmother in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
    Helen Debroy Summers
    • Clodagh's Mother in Flashback
    • (uncredited)
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
      • Rumer Godden(adapted from the novel by)
      • Michael Powell
      • Emeric Pressburger
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The backdrops were blown-up black-and-white photographs. The Art Department then gave them their breathtaking colors by using pastel chalks on top of them.
    • Goofs
      An Australian kookaburra is heard laughing in a bamboo forest in the Himalayan foothills.
    • Quotes

      Sister Clodagh: [to Mr. Dean] You are objectionable when sober, and abominable when drunk!

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits:- Convent Of The Order of The Servants Of Mary - Calcutta
    • Alternate versions
      The flashbacks of Sister Clodagh's life prior to her becoming a nun were deleted from the original U.S prints of the film.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
    • Soundtracks
      Lullay My Liking
      (uncredited)

      Old Edwardian Carol

      Music by Sir Richard Terry

      New music by Brian Easdale

    User reviews186

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    A Hypnotic and Dazzling Film
    This spellbinding movie from that spellbinding film-making team (Powell and Pressburger) is another entry in the long line of literary and film stories that revolve around British restraint and repression unraveling under the force of mysterious foreign cultures (usually Eastern and frequently Indian), and it's one of the best.

    A group of nuns travel to the Himalayas to do missionary work among the natives, but instead find themselves coming under the mystical spell of the place and people around them. Deborah Kerr is stunning as the head nun, who's determined to maintain order and British civility at all costs. I still can't decide whether this or "The Innocents" (1961) gave her her best role. At the other extreme is Kathleen Byron's Sister Ruth, who renounces her vows, paints her lips bright red, and engages in a fierce battle of wills with Kerr. What follows is a film that is surprisingly sexual, erotic and wild.

    Powell and Pressburger are experts at using color. Instead of employing their Technicolor to simply make their film look pretty, the color almost becomes a character in itself, creating a feverish, hyper-realistic glow to the film. Legendary cameraman Jack Cardiff is responsible for the sterling and Oscar-winning cinematography. Equally stunning is the art direction, which created very realistic mountains out of papier-mache.

    A simply sensational film, one that holds up completely and could be watched again and again. This and "Out of the Past" vie in my esteem for best film released in 1947.

    Grade: A+
    helpful•53
    9
    • evanston_dad
    • Apr 24, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1947 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • County Galway, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • The Archers
      • Independent Producers
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 41 minutes

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    Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, David Farrar, Judith Furse, Jenny Laird, Flora Robson, and Sabu in Black Narcissus (1947)
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