If you have never watched classic film noir "Black Narcissus" before, you could be forgiven for thinking, based on the title alone, that it is a psychological murder mystery about a serial killer whose nickname inspires the title of the movie. In fact, the title refers to the mysterious perfume, Narcisse, that one of the protagonists wears, and it also refers to the condition of being a narcissist - a condition that is exhibited by more than one of the movie's characters. The film is based upon a novel of the same name written by Rumer Godden in 1939, and like many of Godden's novels was set in colonial India during the fading days of the British Empire. Godden also contributed to the screenplay.
Released in 1947, the film directs its microscope upon a convent of nuns in the Himalayas; there are personality clashes, jealousies and a good portion of lust, despite the piety of the leading characters' daily lives, building like a pressure cooker until the film's climax, a murder attempt on the cliffs. Although the nuns begin their time in India with the most innocent and earnest of intentions, such as building a school and educating the local children, they are soon under the spell of the heady and seductive surroundings that they see every day, and despite their best efforts, the nuns are unable to escape their individual pasts, each demonstrating the maxim "wherever you go, there you are."
However despite the beautiful images of the vast Indian mountain ranges that were seen on the screen, the film was shot almost entirely at Pinewood Studios in England, with the so-called Indian extras hired from the dock workers at Rotherhithe docks in the east end of London. Geography aside, the most outstanding thing about "Black Narcissus" is the cinematography and this was richly rewarded; Jack Cardiff won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography.
The film stars Deborah Kerr, who was best known for her Golden Globe-winning role of Anna Leeonowens in the musical film "The King and I". Until this year, Kerr held the record for the most Academy Award nominations without a win, but she did receive an honorary Oscar which paid tribute to her extraordinary body of work that also included "An Affair to Remember", "From Here to Eternity" and "King Solomon's Mines". Kerr was awarded a New York Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.
As was the case with many films of the late nineteen forties, the backdrop to the plot was colonial India, which was interesting in that its release was just a few months before Indian independence from England was achieved, and many felt that the film's last images of the nuns retreating down the mountains and leaving the convent was actually a symbol of the British leaving India behind.
