I can only agree with the other fans of IKWIG here in praising this movie. A few corrections: Joan Webster, the heroine, does *not* have a private income, she got to know her fiancé because he's the owner of Consolidated Chemical Industries, where she works. It's not clear from the film, but apparently Powell and Pressburger said she is supposed to be a chemist (not a receptionist) at CCI. Also, the money her father gives her is not an allowance from him, but her own savings - she's cleaning out her bank account. The reason he has the money is because he's a bank manager, and presumably her account is with his bank.
Also, her fiancé, Sir Robert Belinger, a rich industrialist, was probably knighted for "services to the crown", but I don't think he's a lord, and I don't think that Torquil MacNeil, the hero, is "descended from royalty", just the local aristocracy.
Somebody mentioned a "witch's curse". A family curse certainly is part of the story, but the woman who started it was not a witch, and no one ever had a better reason for cursing someone than she did (and in the end, of course, it turns out not to be a curse at all)!
I read a review saying that the film is great, but Wendy Hiller is too unsympathetic as Joan. Where??? If I had to decide what I love best about this film (after the whole atmosphere), it would be Wendy Hiller's performance. She starts out as a sophisticated, slightly brittle city girl, but as the story unfolds, you can just feel the vulnerability and deep emotions under the brittle shell, as if it were happening to you. Now, that's acting!
I always look forward to the scene at Port Erraig, when Joan arrives expecting the boat that will take her to Kiloran, and the islands start to cast their "spell" on us. In the fog, all you can see is the mysterious outlines of the people waiting there, and the music fits the scene. I especially love the "seals singing" - I wonder if seals really do "sing" like that? The Gaelic contributes to the atmosphere, too - I'd love to ask someone who knows Gaelic if they're speaking the real thing, and if the accents of the actors are right!
Other favorites: Pamela Brown's luminous performance as Catriona MacLean, the eagle-training Colonel, the chemistry between the two leads, the on-location filming, Roger Livesey's voice (especially in the scene at Moy Castle where he begins "I'd better introduce myself" - I'm a sucker for that one!), and the underlying message of the film. Others have mentioned Petula Clark's small but notable performance as Cheryl. I think Powell and Pressburger did a fine job of showing Cheryl as a real child here, not as a sickeningly sweet Hollywood child. Cheryl is different from her affectionate but oblivious parents, and different again from Joan.
Has anybody else noticed that the timing is off in this film? The story works both dramatically and emotionally, but the timing *is* wrong! The most obvious slip is that Torquil announces at least twice that he has eight days' leave from the navy. On the second full day (at Achnacroish), he says that he has six more days, which is about right, but the next day they attempt to cross to Kiloran, and the day after that he's headed back to his ship, which leaves at least three days unaccounted for! A small thing: at Catriona's house, Torquil tells Joan that he's known the island of Kiloran for 29 years, and she replies "I shouldn't have thought you as old as that". I'm sorry, Roger Livesey looks good, but he looks his age (late 30s, early 40s - I believe he was 39 when he made the movie), not under 29!
Anyway, this is a quiet but wonderful movie. Watch it, more than once if necessary, and give it a chance to work its magic on you - you'll be glad you did!
Also, her fiancé, Sir Robert Belinger, a rich industrialist, was probably knighted for "services to the crown", but I don't think he's a lord, and I don't think that Torquil MacNeil, the hero, is "descended from royalty", just the local aristocracy.
Somebody mentioned a "witch's curse". A family curse certainly is part of the story, but the woman who started it was not a witch, and no one ever had a better reason for cursing someone than she did (and in the end, of course, it turns out not to be a curse at all)!
I read a review saying that the film is great, but Wendy Hiller is too unsympathetic as Joan. Where??? If I had to decide what I love best about this film (after the whole atmosphere), it would be Wendy Hiller's performance. She starts out as a sophisticated, slightly brittle city girl, but as the story unfolds, you can just feel the vulnerability and deep emotions under the brittle shell, as if it were happening to you. Now, that's acting!
I always look forward to the scene at Port Erraig, when Joan arrives expecting the boat that will take her to Kiloran, and the islands start to cast their "spell" on us. In the fog, all you can see is the mysterious outlines of the people waiting there, and the music fits the scene. I especially love the "seals singing" - I wonder if seals really do "sing" like that? The Gaelic contributes to the atmosphere, too - I'd love to ask someone who knows Gaelic if they're speaking the real thing, and if the accents of the actors are right!
Other favorites: Pamela Brown's luminous performance as Catriona MacLean, the eagle-training Colonel, the chemistry between the two leads, the on-location filming, Roger Livesey's voice (especially in the scene at Moy Castle where he begins "I'd better introduce myself" - I'm a sucker for that one!), and the underlying message of the film. Others have mentioned Petula Clark's small but notable performance as Cheryl. I think Powell and Pressburger did a fine job of showing Cheryl as a real child here, not as a sickeningly sweet Hollywood child. Cheryl is different from her affectionate but oblivious parents, and different again from Joan.
Has anybody else noticed that the timing is off in this film? The story works both dramatically and emotionally, but the timing *is* wrong! The most obvious slip is that Torquil announces at least twice that he has eight days' leave from the navy. On the second full day (at Achnacroish), he says that he has six more days, which is about right, but the next day they attempt to cross to Kiloran, and the day after that he's headed back to his ship, which leaves at least three days unaccounted for! A small thing: at Catriona's house, Torquil tells Joan that he's known the island of Kiloran for 29 years, and she replies "I shouldn't have thought you as old as that". I'm sorry, Roger Livesey looks good, but he looks his age (late 30s, early 40s - I believe he was 39 when he made the movie), not under 29!
Anyway, this is a quiet but wonderful movie. Watch it, more than once if necessary, and give it a chance to work its magic on you - you'll be glad you did!