Black Narcissus***

(GB 1947)                

A new convent in the Himalayas is threatened by the lofty atmosphere and rebelliousness among the nuns.
A cliched story of nuns tempted by local pleasures is turned into one of the most beautiful looking British films ever made - British in name, but only betraying its status in the accents, in what is a magnificent depiction of a fictional Indian mountain commune - all within the imaginative confines of Pinewood. Powell and Pressburger in their vintage era.

Written, Produced and Directed by: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, from the novel by Rumer Godden.
Starring: Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Flora Robson, Jenny Laird, May Hallatt, Judith Furse, Esmond Knight.
Photography: Jack Cardiff.
Music: Brian Easdale.
Art Direction: Alfred Junge.

Preceded by:
Alice in Wonderland
(GB 1903. 8m. bw(colour inserts). First known film version of Lewis Carroll, functional as a film and pre-emptive as a narrative, but a priceless restoration of the remaining negative.; d: Cecil Hepworth, Percy Stow; s: May Clark.)