The Innocents (1961) - Britmovie

Repo Man · 17-01-2005, 09:35 PM

What a great and much underrated classic this is, I first watched this as a young child and it had a huge impact on me. I think Robert Wise had viewed this movie before filming The Haunting wink

I dug out the video the other night and it still packs an almighty punch.

Anyone else enjoy this movie?

Clare · 17-01-2005, 10:40 PM

You're right, this is a great film. The cinematography and soundtrack is fantastic, it's certainly one of my favourite chillers.

Repo Man · 17-01-2005, 11:04 PM

Yes Freddie Francis's cinematogrpahy is sublime, he and Jack Clayton also collaborated on the superb Room at the Top.

David Challinor · 18-01-2005, 10:24 AM

I love this film too. I particularly love the haunting opening, of a child's voice singing to darkness on the screen before the opening film studios title even appears. Very original and spooky.
A cinema ambition of mine is to see it on the big screen.
And do any of you know it was the inspiration for a Kate Bush song? She saw it in the late 1960s or 1970s and wrote 'The Infant Kiss' for her 1980 Never For Ever album....''I say good night-night, I tuck him in tight...''

dylan · 18-01-2005, 12:57 PM

The *child's voice* was that of the folk singer Isla Cameron who played Anna in the film. The song was the traditional *Oh, willow waly*.

David Challinor · 18-01-2005, 01:42 PM

..sorry gang and Dylan. I meant Kate wrote a song about the entire film, not just it's opening - originally my message was going to read like the following, before I was daft enough to change it's order around ...:
''I love this film too.
And do any of you know it was the inspiration for a Kate Bush song? She saw it in the late 1960s or 1970s and wrote 'The Infant Kiss' for her 1980 Never For Ever album...I particularly love the haunting opening, of a child's voice singing to darkness on the screen before the opening film studios title even appears. Very original and spooky.
A cinema ambition of mine is to see it on the big screen.''

DAVID RAYNER · 18-01-2005, 03:46 PM

Regrettably, this superb British classic from 1961 is not available in this country on either video or DVD. Fox home video are the worst company in the trade for not issuing titles from their back catalogue. If The Innocents had been a Warner or MGM picture instead of a 20th Century-Fox picture, it would have been available by now.

dylan · 18-01-2005, 03:49 PM

"So many films touch you, even if it's only the atmosphere you're left with. There was The Innocents (adapted from Henry Jame's ghost story The Turn Of The Screw and directed in 1961 by Jack Clayton, starring Deborah Kerr and Michael Redgrave), which I saw when I was a kid. It was so strong, and years later I wrote The Infant Kiss. There's an old horror film called Night Of The Demon (adapted from M.R. James short story Casting The Runes and directed in 1957 by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins) and that very much inspired Hounds Of Love."

Kate Bush. Q Magazine. 1990.

David Challinor · 18-01-2005, 04:41 PM

How about giving Kate an honorary membership of this site!!!! Sorry to drag this thread towards my favourite female songwriter but there were other recording on Never For Ever based on films...''Delius'' is based on young KB watching a famed b/w BBC doc about the composer screened in the late 60s, and ''The Wedding List'' is also - I've cut and pasted the following old KB interview.
''
That was based on a film, a Jeanne Moreau film I once saw on the telly, when the bride's husband was killed and she sought revenge for those responsible. [She spends the next 15 minutes relating the plot of the film, ending in a breathless flourish]. It was an amazing film. Can't remember what it was called, though. [The film, truffaut's tribute to alfred hitchcock, is called la mariee etait en noir, or the bride wore black. - ied] (1980, Oct 10, Melody Maker)

''

dylan · 18-01-2005, 05:09 PM

Maybe Morrissey deserves a honarary membership too. From the lyrics of Now My Heart Is Full:

Tell all of my friends
(I don't have too many
Just some rain-coated lovers' puny brothers)
Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt
Rush to danger
Wind up nowhere
Patric Doonan - raised to wait
I'm tired again, I've tried again, and

Now my heart is full
Now my heart is full
And I just can't explain
So I won't even try to

Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt
Every jammy Stressford poet
Loafing oafs in all-night chemists
Loafing oafs in all-night chemists
Underact - express depression
Ah, but Bunnie I loved you
I was tired again
I've tried again, and

More Britmovie references in his lyrics at:

http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/nicked.htm

ollie · 19-01-2005, 06:13 PM

The INNOCENTS has been shown a lot recently on sky cinema so i grabbed it on dvd to take a look,and i wasn't disapointed very atmospheric and a bit of peter wyngaurd too!.

cheers Ollie.

glyn horton · 19-01-2005, 08:02 PM

Kate Bush has been heavily influenced by British films - one of her earliest songs was 'Hammer Horror' She directed the video to 'Hounds of Love' very much in the style of 'The Thirty Nine Steps' and her most recent album (1993!) was 'The Red Shoes'. She met Michael Powell not long before his death and the line in 'Moments of Pleasure'-"he steps out the lift like Douglas Fairbanks" is apparently about him.
Excuse me, I think I'll put a CD on!

Steve Crook · 19-01-2005, 10:16 PM

We have a page about Famous Fans of Powell & Pressburger. Of course Martin Scorsese heads the list. But Kate Bush is there as well and there are a couple of extracts from magazine interviews where she's spoken about The Red Shoes & meeting Powell.

Steve

The_Late_Peter_Cook · 21-01-2005, 05:29 PM

Quote:

DAVID RAYNER:
Regrettably, this superb British classic from 1961 is not available in this country on either video or DVD. Fox home video are the worst company in the trade for not issuing titles from their back catalogue. If The Innocents had been a Warner or MGM picture instead of a 20th Century-Fox picture, it would have been available by now.

If you have a multi-region tv/video you should be able to import the American video from the likes of Amazon. I've done that for a lot of hard to get titles (British and American), such as No Highway, The Univited, The Skull as well as The Innocents (which I got in 2002).

The only complant is that the video is 'pan and scan' and not widescreen.

DAVID RAYNER · 21-01-2005, 06:55 PM

Thanks, Peter. I have bought quite a few titles from amazon.com and MoviesUnlimited.com through mail order that aren't available over here. I think the pan and scan version of the film is a transfer done by Fox Home Video years ago. I look forward to the day (although I shan't hold my breath meanwhile) when they re-master this classic for DVD in it's original CinemaScope format. I do have a multi-region DVD player, so Region 1 DVD's from America aren't a problem.

17-01-2005, 09:35 PM	#1
Repo Man has no status. Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 iTrader: (0)	The Innocents (1961) What a great and much underrated classic this is, I first watched this as a young child and it had a huge impact on me. I think Robert Wise had viewed this movie before filming The Haunting wink I dug out the video the other night and it still packs an almighty punch. Anyone else enjoy this movie?

19-01-2005, 06:13 PM	#11
ollie has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: broomhall Posts: 588 Country: iTrader: (0)	The INNOCENTS has been shown a lot recently on sky cinema so i grabbed it on dvd to take a look,and i wasn't disapointed very atmospheric and a bit of peter wyngaurd too!. cheers Ollie. __________________ "Bullseye !!"

19-01-2005, 10:16 PM	#13
Steve Crook is still cheeky Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 9,672 My Mood: Country: iTrader: (1)	We have a page about Famous Fans of Powell & Pressburger. Of course Martin Scorsese heads the list. But Kate Bush is there as well and there are a couple of extracts from magazine interviews where she's spoken about The Red Shoes & meeting Powell. Steve __________________ Steve Crook PaPAS

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17-01-2005, 10:40 PM	#2
Clare has no status. Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Suffolk Posts: 29 Country: iTrader: (0)	You're right, this is a great film. The cinematography and soundtrack is fantastic, it's certainly one of my favourite chillers.

17-01-2005, 11:04 PM	#3
Repo Man has no status. Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 iTrader: (0)	Yes Freddie Francis's cinematogrpahy is sublime, he and Jack Clayton also collaborated on the superb Room at the Top.

18-01-2005, 10:24 AM	#4
David Challinor has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Reigate Posts: 203 Country: iTrader: (0)	I love this film too. I particularly love the haunting opening, of a child's voice singing to darkness on the screen before the opening film studios title even appears. Very original and spooky. A cinema ambition of mine is to see it on the big screen. And do any of you know it was the inspiration for a Kate Bush song? She saw it in the late 1960s or 1970s and wrote 'The Infant Kiss' for her 1980 Never For Ever album....''I say good night-night, I tuck him in tight...''

18-01-2005, 12:57 PM	#5
dylan has no status. Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 517 Country: iTrader: (0)	The child's voice was that of the folk singer Isla Cameron who played Anna in the film. The song was the traditional Oh, willow waly.

18-01-2005, 01:42 PM	#6
David Challinor has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Reigate Posts: 203 Country: iTrader: (0)	..sorry gang and Dylan. I meant Kate wrote a song about the entire film, not just it's opening - originally my message was going to read like the following, before I was daft enough to change it's order around ...: ''I love this film too. And do any of you know it was the inspiration for a Kate Bush song? She saw it in the late 1960s or 1970s and wrote 'The Infant Kiss' for her 1980 Never For Ever album...I particularly love the haunting opening, of a child's voice singing to darkness on the screen before the opening film studios title even appears. Very original and spooky. A cinema ambition of mine is to see it on the big screen.''

18-01-2005, 03:46 PM	#7
DAVID RAYNER has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: none Posts: 370 iTrader: (0)	Regrettably, this superb British classic from 1961 is not available in this country on either video or DVD. Fox home video are the worst company in the trade for not issuing titles from their back catalogue. If The Innocents had been a Warner or MGM picture instead of a 20th Century-Fox picture, it would have been available by now.

18-01-2005, 03:49 PM	#8
dylan has no status. Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 517 Country: iTrader: (0)	"So many films touch you, even if it's only the atmosphere you're left with. There was The Innocents (adapted from Henry Jame's ghost story The Turn Of The Screw and directed in 1961 by Jack Clayton, starring Deborah Kerr and Michael Redgrave), which I saw when I was a kid. It was so strong, and years later I wrote The Infant Kiss. There's an old horror film called Night Of The Demon (adapted from M.R. James short story Casting The Runes and directed in 1957 by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins) and that very much inspired Hounds Of Love." Kate Bush. Q Magazine. 1990.

18-01-2005, 04:41 PM	#9
David Challinor has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Reigate Posts: 203 Country: iTrader: (0)	How about giving Kate an honorary membership of this site!!!! Sorry to drag this thread towards my favourite female songwriter but there were other recording on Never For Ever based on films...''Delius'' is based on young KB watching a famed b/w BBC doc about the composer screened in the late 60s, and ''The Wedding List'' is also - I've cut and pasted the following old KB interview. '' That was based on a film, a Jeanne Moreau film I once saw on the telly, when the bride's husband was killed and she sought revenge for those responsible. [She spends the next 15 minutes relating the plot of the film, ending in a breathless flourish]. It was an amazing film. Can't remember what it was called, though. [The film, truffaut's tribute to alfred hitchcock, is called la mariee etait en noir, or the bride wore black. - ied] (1980, Oct 10, Melody Maker) ''

18-01-2005, 05:09 PM	#10
dylan has no status. Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 517 Country: iTrader: (0)	Maybe Morrissey deserves a honarary membership too. From the lyrics of Now My Heart Is Full: Tell all of my friends (I don't have too many Just some rain-coated lovers' puny brothers) Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt Rush to danger Wind up nowhere Patric Doonan - raised to wait I'm tired again, I've tried again, and Now my heart is full Now my heart is full And I just can't explain So I won't even try to Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt Every jammy Stressford poet Loafing oafs in all-night chemists Loafing oafs in all-night chemists Underact - express depression Ah, but Bunnie I loved you I was tired again I've tried again, and More Britmovie references in his lyrics at: http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/nicked.htm

19-01-2005, 08:02 PM	#12
glyn horton has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: newport Posts: 138 Country: iTrader: (0)	Kate Bush has been heavily influenced by British films - one of her earliest songs was 'Hammer Horror' She directed the video to 'Hounds of Love' very much in the style of 'The Thirty Nine Steps' and her most recent album (1993!) was 'The Red Shoes'. She met Michael Powell not long before his death and the line in 'Moments of Pleasure'-"he steps out the lift like Douglas Fairbanks" is apparently about him. Excuse me, I think I'll put a CD on!

21-01-2005, 06:55 PM	#15
DAVID RAYNER has no status. Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: none Posts: 370 iTrader: (0)	Thanks, Peter. I have bought quite a few titles from amazon.com and MoviesUnlimited.com through mail order that aren't available over here. I think the pan and scan version of the film is a transfer done by Fox Home Video years ago. I look forward to the day (although I shan't hold my breath meanwhile) when they re-master this classic for DVD in it's original CinemaScope format. I do have a multi-region DVD player, so Region 1 DVD's from America aren't a problem.