Black Narcissus (1947)
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 101 mins
Theatrical Release Information:
Black Narcissus
British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger once again deliberately courted controversy and censorship with their 1947 adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel. Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron play the head nuns at an Anglican hospital/school high in the Himalayas. The nuns' well-ordered existence is disturbed by the presence of a handsome British government agent (David Farrar), whose attractiveness gives certain sisters the wrong ideas. Meanwhile, an Indian girl (Jean Simmons) is lured down the road to perdition by a sensuous general (Sabu). While Kerr would seem most susceptible to fall from grace --we are given hints of her earlier love life in a long flashback--she proves to have more stamina than Byron, who delivers one of moviedom's classic interpretations of all-stops-out, sex-starved insanity. The aforementioned flashback was removed from the US release version of Black Narcissus so as not to offend the Catholic Legion of Decency. While the dramatic content of the film hasn't stood the test of time all that well, the individual performances, production values, and especially the Oscar-winning Technicolor photography of Jack Cardiff are still as impressive as ever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast of Black Narcissus:
Sabu also in The Jungle Book , The Thief of Bagdad , The Arabian Nights
Kathleen Byron also in Hedda Gabler , The Small Back Room , Emma , The Elephant Man , Craze
Esmond Knight also in The River , The Element of Crime , Henry V , Peeping Tom , Contraband
Jenny Laird also in Wanted for Murder
Black Narcissus Trivia
Other Movies From 1947
Apache Rose
Big Town After Dark
Blonde Savage
Born to Kill
Dark Passage
The Devil on Wheels
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
Dick Tracy's Dilemma
Dishonored Lady
More Movies
Drama movies from 1947
Drama movies from 1946
Drama movies from 1948
Best Drama Films from 1947
Best Drama Films from 1946
Best Drama Films from 1948




