DB7

Must-have movies: I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)

The classics that every film-lover will want to own. This week, Marc Lee remembers Powell and Pressburger's Scottish romance

By the mid-1940s, Powell and Pressburger, one of the greatest partnerships in cinema, were churning out one masterpiece after another. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes (among others) all appeared between 1942 and 1948, all richly deserving of their classic status.

Yet, despite their technical innovation and narrative ambition, none is quite as charming, loveable and re-watchable as the relatively small-scale I Know Where I'm Going!

The story is simple: flighty city girl Joan heads off for her wedding to "one of the richest men in England" on a remote Hebridean island only for the sea crossing to be stymied by bad weather, the delay leaving her prey to the charms of Torquil, the dashing but straitened local laird.

This is so much more than a slight, light romcom. It's also a celebration of Gaelic culture, and a paean to the breathtaking Scottish landscape. It subtly captures an era when top hats could still be seen in the streets, and a young woman would insist on separate tables rather than take lunch with an unattached male acquaintance.

There's also something mysterious and magical about the setting, with its mist-shrouded castles and ancient curses that trouble even the war-hero Torquil. Plus the climactic sequence in which the protagonists' flimsy motor boat is drawn perilously towards a vicious whirlpool could not have been shot more thrillingly even with all the computer technology available to today's filmmakers.

In the lead roles, Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey are superb. She brings extraordinary depth to an initially shallow character: the scene in which she's so desperate to escape the burgeoning love affair that she's willing to risk not only her own life but someone else's, too, is truly chilling.

And Livesey is one of the few romantic heroes who can convincingly spend an entire movie with a pipe clamped between his teeth.

sunofyork

Love this film. Is it true - P&P addicts may be able to assist - that Roger Livesey never went to the Scottish locations and all the exterior shots featuring his character are of a double?

And did the bloke who plays the ex-Army falconer type ever do any more films? He sounds like he's trying to make himself heard over a pnuematic drill all the time! "I'VE NAMED HIM AFTER YOU TORQUIL!!!HOPE YOU DON'T MIND OLD BOY!!!"

Steve Crook

It's true that Roger Livesey never went anywhere near the Western Isles where the locations were shot. He was appearing every night (& some afternoons) on stage in London in "The Banbury Nose" by Peter Ustinov.

All the exterior shots are using a double (we still don't know the name of that double). But the difficulty is identifying exactly which are the exterior shots as some which are set outside are actually filmed in the studio. The Archers were a bit clever like that. It's sometimes very hard to tell. But if you see Roger's face then you can be sure it was in the studio.

The falconer was Capt. C.W.R. Knight. I don't know of any other films he appeared in although he was in a few clips from newsreels. Considering that he wasn't an actor it's a very good performance. He has to shout loudly to make himself heard above the noise of the waterfall in the scene you mention - but he does have quite a loud voice.

Capt. Knight was the uncle of actor Esmond Knight and he was the falcon/hawk handler & trainer on a few other films like The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Gone to Earth (1950) and Geordie (1955). He toured the world giving demonstrations and lectures, usually accompanied by the Golden Eagle that also stars in IKWIG, Mr. Ramshaw. He wrote "All British Eagle", London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1943.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

Rob Compton

Steve, you are an absolute goldmine of information thumbs_u

rgds
Rob

sunofyork

Many thanks Steve, fascinating stuff.

Raymond

Ed Parsons

I loved 'I Know Where I'm Going!' so much I bought the BFI book about the film. If anyone's in any doubt about which version of the film to buy then I can tell you that the Criterion DVD is stunning - one of the best in my collection. 'I Know Where I'm Going' is up there with 'A Canterbury Tale' as one of Pressburger / Powell's best.

"I'm a reasonable man. As long as I can keep body and soul together that's all I ask for here below."

Steve Crook

If you can find a copy (they're quite rare) there was a "book of the film" I Know Where I'm Going! by Eric Britton, World Film Publications: London 1946.

Yes, the Criterion DVD is the better one. But for anyone who thinks they might have trouble playing it (even though it's not region coded) IKWIG is also available on a triple DVD from Carlton along with Blimp and AMOLAD.

But that doesn't have all the wonderful extras that are on the Criterion DVD.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

Paul E

I have a very unhappy copy of this book (looks like it was once dropped in the bath) which I'd love to replace with a minter if anyone has one.....

Steve Crook

ABE Books is your best bet for that and any other second hand books .

ABE stands for Advanced Book Exchange and they act as a clearing house for lots of second hand book sellers from around the world.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

joanwebster

this was my favourie p&p film til i found out roger livesey never went to scotland, this ruined the romance, the bit about counting the 4 corners of the room is an old hungarian superstition, if you do this whatever
you dream will come true, but only if it is a room you have never slept in before. anyway i now like a canterbuury tale better

Steve Crook

Hello Joan, how are you doing? How's Torquil? :)

Sorry, I certainly didn't mean to ruin the romance (if it was me that gave it away about Roger not going to Scotland). I thought that just affected how they made the film, not the story they were telling.

I did go into their story before and after the part that was filmed in some detail with one lady. The results of our meanderings are at Intelligent Female Nonsense.

Interesting to hear about the old Hungarian superstition as Emeric Pressburger, the writer, was born in Hungary. Although I like the way they adapted it to counting the beams because you can only do that when your room has beams.

Steve

P.S. If you now prefer A Canterbury Tale why did you choose the name JoanWebster rather than AlisonSmith?

Steve Crook

PaPAS

MrDrakesDuck

Steve, as somone has already fired a shot across your bows wink I must admit my heart sank when I read that.

Next time I watch it I won't be able to stop thinking about him not actually being there.

It's something I've done with movies before, when I've delved for info about the production & cast and then wished I hadn't spoiled the illusion.

Although thinking about it now, I can't actually think of another film I wouldn't see again because of something I've discovered.

So perhaps it's just a little shock at first but it's easy to put it to the back of ones mind when watching a film next time.

"I thought I had to shoot Germans, not chew 'em"

Ed Parsons

I sat down to watch the 'Amelie' director's DVD commentary. The first thing Jean-Pierre Jeunet says on the commentary track is to stop listening if you don't want the magic of the film to be ruined. So I switched it off straight away.

"I'm a reasonable man. As long as I can keep body and soul together that's all I ask for here below."

Steve Crook

I must have what is looking like it might be an unusual ability to either watch a film and get totally involved in the story, or to admire how they made it, without letting the one interfere with the other.

Steve

Steve Crook

PaPAS

Jim

Wasn't it counting the beams in the ceiling of the room???

Good morning boys.