This very fine romance tells the story of Joan Webster, a determined
young woman at the tail end of WWII, who has always known where she's going,
which is mainly getting ahead. At the moment, she's on her way to
the island of Kiloran, off the coast of Western Scotland, to marry Sir
Robert Bellinger. Sir Robert has amassed a considerable fortune during
the war via his Consolidated Chemical company. He makes sure that
Joan travels in style, according to a precise schedule, with folks waiting
on her every step of the way, right up until the time comes for her to
take a boat over to the isle. At that point, nature intervenes, in
the form of gale force winds, and she's prevented from joining Sir Robert
for several days.
Meanwhile, she meets the colorful inhabitants of the little town, among
them the handsome and dashing Torquil MacNeil, a Naval Lieutenant, who
it turns out is the real Laird of Kiloran, forced to rent out the family
estate for several years at a time to get the money to maintain it the
rest of the time. The entirely predictable complications follow,
but where a modern film would rely on slapstick and broad humor, Pressburger
and Powell are more subtle. The film is humorous, but the filmmakers
are more intent on exploiting the natural beauty and wildness of their
setting than in getting cheap laughs and they cleverly tap in to several
mythological themes. There is a castle with a curse on it and a treacherous
whirlpool lies between the town and the isle. In the end, legend
and convention combine to bring the story to its necessarily romantic conclusion.
I have to admit, I normally loathe these stories where one betrothed,
or the other, or both, break off an engagement because they've found "true
love." (I guess at the time it was also considered daring to implicitly
criticize war profiteering by having Joan choose the poor sailor over the
industrialist.) But the movie's so enchanting and the use of myth
so effective that I eventually surrendered to it. Powell and
Pressburger made many great films and this one, though I'd not rank it
with their very best, is delightful. Highly recommended for husbands
who owe their wives a chick flick.
