Black Narcissus(1947). British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden. It is a psychological drama about the emotional problems that happen within a convent of nuns in a Himalayan valley. Cast: Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar and Flora Robson, and features Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons and Kathleen Byron.
A group of nuns, headed by the young and inexperienced Sister Clodagh, is sent to the Himalayas to open a convent with a school and a clinic. They live in a beautiful palace.
Sister Clodagh arrives with Sister Briony, picked for her strength; Sister Philippa, for her gardening skills; Sister Honey, the most popular nun; and Sister Ruth, who is in poor health and wants a challenge. Having trouble communicating with the people, the Sisters must rely on the manager, Mr. Dean, an Englishman. Sister Clodagh takes in Kanchi, an Indian girl turned away from her family, and the Young General, looking for an education. The high altitude has ill effects on their memories and even for one nun, madness.
This film is one of the most beautifully photographed color movies I have seen. The most stunning scenes happens near the end of the movie. Ruth's mental disintegration is very sad and her change in appearance will take your breath away. (bottom picture).
Kathleen Byron (11 January 1921 – 18 January 2009). She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She made her film debut in Carol Reed's The Young Mr Pitt (1942), in which she had two lines as a maid.
She was best known for her roles in the films: A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Small Back Room (1949)and Black Narcissus (1947). Byron was romantically linked with Michael Powell around the time the film was made; he was named as co-respondent when she was divorced in 1950.
Her success in Black Narcissus led her to Hollywood, which resulted with a supporting role in Young Bess (1953). Her later roles were mostly in B-movies.
Ah the sweet pairings of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr gave the three films they made together an air of sophistication. The little seen and underrated Dream Wife (1953) was their first film together and is a good romantic comedy which has Grant trying to romance a visiting foreign princess while trying to keep his girlfriend (Kerr) from getting jealous. It's a typical 50's comedy that benefits greatly from the presence of Cary and Deborah. They would team up again four years later for the sentimental classic An Affair To Remember (1957). Constantly ranked as one of the all time romantic films, Grant and Kerr's chemistry is rock solid. This film was remade in the 90's with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and while that pair did a commendable job, the original is the best version. The last film our couple would make was the 1960 romantic comedy/drama The Grass Is Greener, which featured the pair as a married couple for the first time. They shared the screen with Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons, and a love quadrangle forms over the course of the film. It's a good film that gets tons of airplay on cable. So Grant and Kerr wound up with three good films and one of them being an all time classic. Not too bad.
I was so happy when I got home from school and I saw all of the Cary Grant "Happy Birthday" posts on my dashboard! I was like this.
January 18th 1904 - November 29 1986
So, in honour of his awesomeness, I am going to review An Affair To Remember which not only has him in it, it has Deborrah Kerr as well. Need I say more? Also, thanks so much to everyone who read my North By Northwest post. I have had loads of great comments on it. So whithout further ado, here is the review!
Plot: International playboy, Nickie Ferrante and refined singer and muscician, Terry McKay could not come from more different worlds. They meet on a cruise from Europe to New York and fall in love. They both have the same problem, they are each engaged to someone else.
While on the ship they live a glamourous life of pink champagne and fine dining experiences, but they both know that they will have to go back to their partners after the voyage. When they stop off in France, Nickie takes Terry to see his grandmother in her mountainside villa.
They grow even more close after his grandmother expresses her admiration for Terry and how she is helping Nickie to be more like he used to be before he became a renowned playboy. Now seeing Nickie in a new light she falls even more in love with him, and at the end of the voyage they both decide that they will meet each other at the Empire State Building (Terry says "It's the closest thing we have to heaven in New York") in six months if they still feel the same way about each other.
All goes according to plan at first, with Terry breaking up with her partner and going back to work as a singer and Nickie effectively doing the same and starting to paint again (he had always had a gift for art). But on the way to the skyscraper to meet Nickie...
~ ~ ~ SPOILERSAHEAD ~ ~ ~
Terry is hit by a taxi and is paralyzed from the waist down. Nickie, unaware of Terry's situation, waits at the top of the Empire State Buildinguntil midnight and then assumes that she no longer feels the way she did about him. Once recovered sufficiently, Terry starts teaching music at a local elementary school. Nickie is still devastated by the incident, but Terry refuses to go to see him because she doesn't want to be accepted just because of her injury. Later on, at Christmas, Nickie goes to see her, and because she is sitting down (and can't get up) he thinks she is being rude and makes some none too subtle remarks about how he waited for many hours for her at the Empire State Building.
But he sees something that makes him realise why she couldn't make it... And they all thive happily ever after :-)!!! Review: This is such a weepy film, and I just love Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant together. What a great duo! Watching this I realise yet again that I love Cary Grant so much and he is probably one of the best actors evah. You may or may not have read my post on double-takes, but I found a picture of the woman (playing Nickie/CG's grandmother) who does that really strange one!
Yay! I would reccomend this film to anyone, it is such a weepy!
The Night of the Iguana (1964). Based on the 1961 play The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams. Directed by John Huston.Cast: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. It won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Actress Grayson Hall received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and Cyril Delevanti received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
A defrocked Minister by the name Shannon, is now working as a tour guide for Blake Tours, his first job is to take a group of Baptist School teachers on a bus to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Charlotte's aunt, accuses Shannon of trying to seduce her niece and fires him. Panicked, Shannon drives the bus and ladies, to a Costa Verde Hotel in Mismaloya on the coast of Mexico, where he tries to prevent Fellowes from calling his boss. Shannon is surprised when he hears that his old friend Fred, died a month earlier, and the hotel is now run by Fred's widow, Maxine Faulk. Soon after, Hannah Jelkes, a painter from Nantucket who travels from place to place with her elderly poet grandfather show up. They have run out of money and Shannon convinces the not to happy Maxine, to let them stay.
While Shannon ties to battle his demons, Miss Fellows niece continues to make trouble for him.
Shannon suffers a breakdown, the cabana boys tie him in a hammock, Hannah calms him with poppy tea and understanding..
Another emotional scene.
Night of the Iguana is deeply emotional film. The characters all have their troubles, but.. they are also thoughtful and courageous. Creating a film that is absolutely amazing. One that you will want to watch many times.
The Hucksters (1947). Cast: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner and Keenan Wynn .
War veteran Victor Albee Norman returns to New York City, wanting to land an advertising job with the Kimberly Advertising Agency. During his interview with Mr. Kimberly, Victor agrees to take on the company's toughest client, Evans Beauty Soap. Victor likes the idea of the new advertising campaign, in which twenty-five women, give testimonials for the soap in exchange for a donation to their favorite charity. At the photographer's studio, Victor and a representative from the Kimberly agency argue over how Kay should dress for the shoot. The argument results in an emergency board meeting, during which Victor meets Evans. To prove his point that consumers can be shocked into paying attention to advertisements, Evans catches the attention of the board members by spitting on the table. Evans shares his belief that the radio ad should irritate its listeners in order to be best remembered, Victor tell him that the soap should talk about cleanliness. Victor then impresses Evans with a new classier radio ad.
To celebrate, Kimberly and his wife take Victor and Kay out to the dinner club where Victor's past lover, Jean Ogilvie, is singing, Kimberly gets drunk and almost ruins the evening.
Later when they are alone, Victor and Kay make plans to spend a romantic evening together at the, Blue Penguin Inn. Victor is surprised to see that the hotel is under a new and less-than-attentive management. When Kay arrives, she takes one look at the hotel and misinterpreting Victor's intentions, immediately leaves. Victor is still waiting for Kay when he is called back to New York. His next job is to go to Hollywood to sign up radio personality Buddy Hare for the show.
While traveling Victor runs into Jean, after their conversation, Jean realizes that he is in love with Kay. Will Victor and Kay become engaged and will Victor complete his new assignment?
This was Ava Gardner's first big role in a major film. This was the first of three films she did with Gable, besides Lone Star and Mogambo. I think that you will love Ava's and Gable's, on screen chemistry.
Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was a character actor and member of a well-known show business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he very rarely had a lead role, he received prominent billing in most of his movie and TV roles.
List of Keenan films I have seen : Week-End at the Waldorf Easy to Wed (1946) The Hucksters (1947) Song of the Thin Man Neptune's Daughter (1949) Annie Get Your Gun (1950) Angels in the Outfield (1951) Royal Wedding (1951) Kiss Me Kate (1953) The Long, Long Trailer (1954) Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) The Glass Slipper (1955) The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) That Kind of Woman (1959) A Hole in the Head (1959) The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) Son of Flubber (1963) Dr. Strangelove (1964) Bikini Beach (1964) The Great Race (1965) Stagecoach (1966) Welcome to Hard Times (1967) The War Wagon (1967) Point Blank (1967) Terror in the Sky (1971) (TV) The Mechanic (1972) Hijack! (1973) Herbie Rides Again (1974) The Devil's Rain (1975) The Shaggy D.A. Best Friends (1982)
A grandmother seeks a governess for her 16 year old granddaughter, Laurel (Hayley Mills)who manages to drive away each and every one so far by exposing their past, with a record of three in one week! When an applicant named Miss Madrigal (Deborah Kerr) with a mysterious past manages to get the job, Laurel vows to expose her. Meanwhile, Laurel's married-divorced-married mother tries to get her back. This is a terrific film with solid performances by Kerr and Mills. It's always a joy to watch Ms. Kerr perform in her films because she never disappoints. The Chalk Garden features her in one of her best films. And Hayley Mills holds her own as Laurel. The Chalk Garden is one of my favorite films.
An Affair to Remember (1957). Cast: Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and directed by Leo McCarey.The movie was a remake of the film Love Affair(1939). Cast:Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. An Affair to Remember was almost identical to Love Affair on a scene to scene basis. McCarey used the same screenplay as the original film, which was written by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart.
The theme song "An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)' was composed by Harry Warren with lyrics by Leo McCarey and Harold Adamson. The song is sung by Vic Damone during the opening credits and then sung later by Deborah Kerr's character, a nightclub singer. Kerr's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed for Kerr in the film The King and I.
Ladies man and artiest Nickie Ferrante, meets Night Club singer Terry McKay, aboard the SS Constitution traveling from Europe to New York. Each is engaged to someone else. They soon begin a love/friendship. One of my favorite scenes is when Terry joins Nicky for a few hours visiting his grandmother beautiful home, on the Mediterranean coast.
Before the ship reaches New York they agree to tie up loose ends of their lives and to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months.
On the day of their reunion, Terry, running and not watching the on coming traffic, is hit by a car. Seriously injured, she is rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile Nickie, waiting for her at the top of the Empire State Building, is unaware of what happened and after many hours, believes she has rejected him.
Six months later, she sees Nickie with his former fiancee at the ballet,who does not notice her condition says "hello" as he passes by.
Later Nickie, finds her and wants her to explain why she did not meet him. Surprised and happy, Terry tries to avoid the subject, never leaving the couch. As he is leaving, Nickie mentions a painting he had done of her that had been given to a woman. He is about to say that the woman was in a wheelchair when he suddenly, realizes the woman was Terry. He walks into her bedroom and sees his painting. He then knows that something had happened to keep her from meeting him at the Empire State Building.
I thought this was a wonderful film with Beautiful costumes, scenery, clever photography ( open patio door shows the Empire State Building in its reflection). Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr make this a never-forgotten romantic classic.
Fun Facts:
Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant improvised many of their scenes throughout filming, and a number of lines that made it to the final cut of the film came from the actors' improvisation.
Ingrid Bergman was the first choice to play Terry McKay.
Deborah Kerr plays Terry McKay, previously played by Irene Dunne in Love Affair (1939), of which this film is a remake - both were directed by Leo McCarey. The year before this film was made, Kerr played Anna Leonowens in The King and I (1956), also a role that had previously been played by Irene Dunne in the black-and-white classic Anna and the King of Siam (1946). "The King and I" is a musical based on the same book.
Second of three movies that paired Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant.
Neva Louise Patterson(10 February 1920 – 14 December 2010). In 1952, she played "Helen Sherman" in The Seven Year Itch. Her first movie was the 1953 film Taxi. Other film credits include The Buddy Holly Story, All of Me, and as Cary Grant's fiancee in An Affair to Remember.
Deborah Kerr, gave a perfect performance as a spinster governess who must fight for the souls of two orphan children. A classic thriller from 1961 that uses beautiful black and white cinematography. One of the best ghost films of all time.
FACTS TRIVIA:
To create such sharp visuals, director of photography Freddie Francis used lots of huge bright lamps.
Deborah Kerr sometimes had to resort to wearing sunglasses between takes.
Deborah Kerr always regarded this as her finest performance.
When the governess first arrives at the house, it's a bright, sunny day. In fact, Freddie Francis had had some of the trees painted lighter to exaggerate this.
At one point when Deborah Kerr's character wanders around the house at night with only a candelabra for illumination, you might think you see something in the corner of your eye. You do. It's the clapperboard which had briefly wandered into shot. Jack Clayton decided to keep it in because he liked the idea of something almost subliminal being present to add to the air of unease.
The film opens with a creepy song written by Paul Dehn and Georges Auric sung over a black screen for about 45 seconds before the 20th Century Fox logo appears. In some cinemas, the projectionists assumed this was a mistake on the print and edited the film so it began with the appearance of the Fox logo.
One of Deborah Kerr's first on screen performances was in the film, Hatter's Castle (1942), with Robert Newton and James Mason. The following year, she played three women in, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. It was her role in Black Narcissus (1947) which caught the attention of Hollywood producers. Kerr won the New York Film Critics Award as Actress of the Year. In Hollywood, her British accent and manners led to her many roles portraying a refined and proper English lady.
She performed in one of my favorite films,(pictured above)King Solomon's Mines(1950), shot on location in Africa with Stewart Granger and Richard Carlson. This was followed by her performance in the epic, Quo Vadis? (1951), filmed in Cinecitta in Rome, which she played Lygia, a first century Christian.
Kerr changed her typecasting with her performance as a military wife in the film, From Here to Eternity (1953). (pictured above)For which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Kerr's career choices made her one of the most versatile actress in Hollywood. She played a nun in, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, a mama's girl in, Separate Tables, and a governess The Chalk Garden. She also played an Australian sheep-herder's wife in, The Sundowners and beautiful Bonjour Tristesse. She also starred in comedies, The Grass is Greener and Marriage on the Rocks. Her best known films: The King and I (1956). A Musical film , directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The film King and I, is based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. The plot comes from the story written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s.
She also performed opposite Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember (1958).(Pictured below). The film is considered one of the most romantic films of all time. The movie was a remake of McCarey's film Love Affair (1939). An Affair to Remember was almost identical to love affair on a scene to scene basis. The films theme song "An Affair to Remember (Our Love Affair)' composed by Harry Warren. The song is sung by Vic Damone during the opening credits and then sung later by Deborah Kerr's character, a nightclub singer. Kerr's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed for Kerr in the film The King and I.
In 1967, at the age of 46, she starred in Casino Royale, being the oldest 'Bond Girl' in any James Bond film.
In 1969,she agreed to appear nude in, The Gypsy Moths, the only nude scene in Kerr's career. Which led to her decision to leave film for television and theatre. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TCM, is showing the following films today,as a Birthday tribute to the wonderful actress:
Please Believe Me (1950). Three men pursue a shipboard romance with a woman they think is an heiress. Cast: Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, Peter Lawford.
Avengers, The (1942) . A war correspondent fights to stop the German invasion of Norway. Cast: Hugh Williams, Griffith Jones, Deborah Kerr. Dir: Harold French.
Dream Wife (1953). For state reasons, a diplomat fakes an engagement to a Middle Eastern princess. Cast: Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon. Dir: Sidney Sheldon.
King Solomon's Mines (1950). A spirited widow hires a daredevil jungle scout to find a lost treasure in diamonds. Cast: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson. Dir: Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton. Here is some behind the scenes video.
From Here To Eternity (1953). Enlisted men in Hawaii fight for love and honor on the eve of World War II. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra. Dir: Fred Zinnemann.
Tea And Sympathy (1956) . A faculty wife risks her marriage to help a troubled teen tormented by his fellow students. Cast: Deborah Kerr, John Kerr, Leif Erickson. Dir: Vincente Minnelli.
If Winter Comes (1947) . Scandal results when a well-meaning man takes in a pregnant girl. Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Deborah Kerr, Janet Leigh. Dir: Victor Saville.
I always find it fascinating to learn what goes on behind the scenes of my favorite films. The Night of the Iguana(1964), is one of my favorites. The film is based on the 1961 play The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams. Directed by John Huston. Cast: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. It won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Actress Grayson Hall received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and Cyril Delevanti received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film had plenty of behind the scene stories. Richard Burton brought his soon-to-be-wife Elizabeth Taylor to the location shoot. The filming attracted the paparazzi, and turned the city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico into a tourist attraction.
Director John Huston, was a filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. Along with Night of the Iguana, he directed: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952) The Misfits (1960), and The Man Who Would Be King (1975). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poem from Night of the Iguana
How calmly does the olive branch Observe the sky begin to blanch Without a cry, without a prayer With no betrayal of despair
Some time while light obscures the tree The zenith of its life will be Gone past forever And from thence A second history will commence
A chronicle no longer gold A bargaining with mist and mold And finally the broken stem The plummeting to earth, and then
And intercourse not well designed For beings of a golden kind Whose native green must arch above The earth's obscene corrupting love
And still the ripe fruit and the branch Observe the sky begin to blanch Without a cry, without a prayer With no betrayal of despair
Oh courage! Could you not as well Select a second place to dwell Not only in that golden tree But in the frightened heart of me.
