Category Archives: Deborah Kerr

1953 Films, Best Film of the Year, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Drama, Frank Sinatra, Jack Warden, Montgomery Clift, Romantic Drama, War

From Here to Eternity-1953

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From Here to Eternity-1953

Director Fred Zinnemann

Starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr

Scott’s Review #875

Reviewed March 7, 2019

Grade: A

Based on a popular novel of the same name, written by James Jones in 1952, From Here to Eternity (1953) tells a powerful story of romance and drama set against the gorgeous backdrop of Hawaii.

The film is poignant and sentimental for its build-up to the World War II Pearl Harbor attacks, further enhancing the storytelling.

With great acting and a compelling story, the film is a bombastic Hollywood creation that conquers the test of time remaining timeless.

A trio of United States Army personnel is stationed on the sunny island of Oahu. First Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster), Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), and Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) are the main principals, and their life in the Schofield Army Barrack is chronicled.

They are joined by respective love interests Alma Lorene (Donna Reed) and Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) and the triumphs and sorrows of each are explored dramatically before the devastating incident set to take place.

The perspective of the film is centered around the male characters which risks the film being classified as a “guy’s movie” but it isn’t. There exists enough melodrama and romance to offset the testosterone and masculinity and as the characters weave in and out of each other’s lives a broader canvas is painted.

This point is to the film’s credit as each character is rich with development, sympathy, or sometimes pure anger.

Many films have been told, and continue to be told throughout the decades, of the terrors and after-effects of World War II but From Here to Eternity remains towards the top of the heap. While not going full throttle with too much violence or grit, the film tells of the trials and tribulations of people affected by and soon to be affected by the war.

The characters co-exist peacefully in their little slice of the world though there is the occasional bullying or insubordination among the ranks, the romance soon takes center stage followed by the dire attacks.

The smoldering beach scene featuring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr on the ravaging shores of Halona Cove is as iconic as a cinematic moment ever existed. Rumors of the star’s torrid love affair and the need to run off to make love after shooting the scene could be a pure myth but have never been disproven either.

Reportedly the camera crew shot the scene quickly and left the duo to their desires. Regardless, the scene may very well cause the iciest of hearts to turn into a torrent of heart-pounding flutters.

The film suddenly takes a dark turn as if realizing that it is a film about a devastating war. A major character dies and another character goes on the hunt for revenge. Despite these deaths not being at the hands of an enemy or a battle they are nonetheless powerful and dim the mood of the film.

Finally, the attack on Pearl Harbor is upon us just as the audience no doubt will sense is coming and ends sadly with simple dialogue between the two main female characters.

Thanks to fine direction by novice director Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity (1953) elicits a pure breadth of emotions and subject matters.

At its core a cynical film, the picture is also rich with courage, integrity, and love of one’s country without suffering from any phony false patriotism.

With a dash of romance and sexuality, the film is utterly memorable and deserving of the hefty Academy Awards it achieved.

Oscar Nominations: 8 wins– Best Motion Picture (won), Best Director-Fred Zinnemann (won), Best Actor-Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Best Actress-Deborah Kerr, Best Supporting Actor-Frank Sinatra (won), Best Supporting Actress-Donna Reed (won), Best Screenplay (won), Best Musical Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Sound Recording (won), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (won), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing (won)

1947 Films, Best Film of the Year, British, David Farrar, Deborah Kerr, Drama, Emeric Pressburger, Jean Simmons, Michael Powell

Black Narcissus-1947

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Black Narcissus-1947

Director Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Starring Deborah Kerr

Scott’s Review #688

Reviewed October 5, 2017

Grade: A

A British film made in 1947 that is way ahead of its time, Black Narcissus is a brilliant foray into the mysterious entity of nuns and the bitterness, both from humanity and from the elements, a group of nuns must face as they attempt to establish a new school atop the hills of the Himalayas.

The look of the film is as fantastic as the story itself, with incredible cinematography, and a foreboding eerie quality.

Black Narcissus is one of the great treasures of classic cinema.

Based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden, Black Narcissus tells the story of revolving jealousy, rage, lust, and tension, amid a convent of nuns living in isolation.

Deborah Kerr, wonderful in the lead role of Clodagh, Sister Superior, and leader of the group, faces the temptations and anger of men while dealing with an unbalanced nun, Sister Ruth, played terrifically by Kathleen Byron.

The cinematography and the art direction must be praised as the lavish sets are just that- sets. However, the average viewer will be whisked away on a magical experience where it seems the sets are real locales- high atop the Himalayan mountains.

Scenes contain howling wind, mist, and fog that is believable- all of the sets are built and structured and Black Narcissus was filmed entirely on a set. This tidbit is unbelievable given the realism, especially since the film was made in 1947.

The lighting in the film is unique, specifically the vibrant colors of the pink flowers, and later, the closeups of Sister Ruth. A fantastic example of this is her descent into madness during the final act as her face, maniacal, yet lovely, is heavily featured. Her face appears bright and hypnotic.

The main event, though, belongs to the tales that the film tells, which are quite edgy for the year the film was made. The subject matter of religion is always risky, and the treatment of the nuns as real human beings with true emotions, even lustful ones, is brazen.

Specifically, Clodagh (Kerr),  is an interesting study as the character teeters on a romance with the charismatic, handsome, local British agent, Mr. Dean (David Farrar) while attempting to forget a failed romance during her youth in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Sister Ruth spirals out of control leading to a dire climax involving an enormous church bell atop the restored structure.

A slight misstep the film makes is casting mostly white actors with heavy makeup in the Indian roles instead of actors with authentic ethnicity.

This detail is glaring because the makeup used is not overly convincing and especially guilty is the casting of the gorgeous Jean Simmons as Kanchi, a lower-class dancing girl, who the Prince becomes infatuated with in a subplot.

Still, this pales in comparison to the fantastic story and look of the film.

Black Narcissus is a classic film that contains a bit of everything- drama, thrills, intrigue, gorgeous sets, lavish design, even a bit of forbidden passion- and executes all aspects of the film in brilliant fashion.

A film admired by critics and directors through the ages, specifically championed by Martin Scorsese, the film has the unique quality of getting better and better with each viewing.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color (won)

1961 Films, British, British Horror, Deborah Kerr, Horror, Scott's Top 100 Films, Scott's Top 20 Horror Films

The Innocents-1961

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The Innocents-1961

Director Jack Clayton

Starring Deborah Kerr

Top 100 Films #98        Top 20 Horror Films #19

Scott’s Review #639

Reviewed April 29, 2017

Grade: A

The Innocents is a 1961 British, psychological horror film, that is a ghost story, of sorts, and based on the novella, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James.

The film, though clearly horror, contains few of the traditional horror elements, such as contrived frights, jumps, and blood. Rather, the film succeeds by using lighting and magnificent cinematography by Freddie Francis.

And, of course, wonderful storytelling and direction from Jack Clayton.

Deborah Kerr gives a wonderful turn as a beleaguered governess hired by a wealthy bachelor (Michael Redgrave) to tend to his young niece and nephew- Flora and Miles.

The setting is a lavish, yet creepy, mansion somewhere outside of London. As the Uncle goes away to India on business, Miss Giddens, with no previous experience, is left to tend to Flora and Miles, who both begin acting strangely.

To complicate matters, Miss Giddens begins to see sinister ghosts lurking around the property. The ghosts are former servants of the household, who have died, whom Miss Giddens has never met before.

Miss Giddens is assisted only by the kindly housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, who fills her in on the servant’s tragic deaths.

The Innocents, shot in black and white, a very wise decision in my book, uses sound to its advantage and combined with the interesting camera angles and focus shots- mostly of the ghosts Miss Giddens sees, makes the film unique and downright scary.

As she begins by hearing strange voices, she becomes convinced that Miles and Flora are playing tricks on her, engaging in mischievous games. The sounds of the whispers are quite haunting and do wonders for the effects and chill it will undoubtedly give the viewer as the film moves along.

The question throughout the film is whether Miss Giddens is imagining the voices and visions, or if this is a true reality. Could the children be sinister and be playing a vicious prank on her? Could Mrs. Grose be evil?

Certainly, nobody else within the household sees or hears anything amiss- or admits to it.

Kerr, a treasured actress, plays the part with emotional facial expressions and true fear, so much so that she will win the audience over, as we side and empathize with her character. Still, is she a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown? Does she have past mental problems?

Like the uncle, we know nothing of her past, only that she claims to be a minister’s daughter. How then does she have stylish, expensive clothes? Could she only be pretending to be a governess? Has she run away from her past?

The Turn of the Screw is a true ghost story, but The Innocents is a bit different- it relies upon, successfully, as more of a character-driven story.

As Miss Giddens becomes convinced that both children have become possessed by the spirits of the servants, she makes it her mission to rescue the children from the spirits. We have an ominous feeling that events will not end well and they most certainly do not.

Several scenes will frighten the viewer- as Miss Giddens sees a haggard ghost (the female servant) quietly standing in the distance near a lake as Flora dances chirpily, the image of the faraway ghost figure is eerie and well-shot.

The film draws comparisons to the classic Hitchcock film, Rebecca, as each is British, takes place in large mansions, and features dead characters as complex villains. Also, in each film, the sanity of the main character is in question.

With a compelling story and the nuts and bolts surrounding the story to add clever effects and a chilling conclusion to the film, the film succeeds as a wonderful and smart horror film.

With great acting all around, including great performances by the child actors, The Innocents (1961) scares the daylights out of any horror fan and uses exterior and interior scenes to make the film an all-around marvel.

1957 Films, Cary Grant, Comedy, Deborah Kerr, Delmer Daves, Romantic Comedy

An Affair to Remember-1957

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An Affair to Remember-1957

Director Leo McCarey

Starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr

Scott’s Review #105

232349

Reviewed July 12, 2014

Grade: B

An Affair to Remember is an excellent example of how romantic comedies have changed over the years.

‘Rom-coms’ are not my genre of choice as typically they are clichéd and predictable. The romantic comedies in years past were vastly different- they had a glamorous, innocence to them that is lacking in the generic rom-com of today.

In An Affair to Remember, the charisma of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr is what makes the movie. They portray two strangers who are taking a luxury cruise and inexplicably fall madly in love despite having significant others at home.

The couple wine and dine with each other revel in merriment for a week and make a pact that if they cannot forget each other in a year they will meet at the top of the Empire State Building on a specified day and time.

It does not get much more romantic than that.

The extravagance of the gorgeous sets on the cruise ship makes the film a visually satisfying experience and any film set in New York City, as the second half does, is a plus in my book.

An Affair to Remember is not a cutting-edge film, though for 1957 the subject matter of adultery may have raised a few eyebrows, but rather a pleasant, warm romantic comedy of the past.

A film meant to sit back with an escape with a sappy, sweet, fun romance.

Oscar Nominations: Best Scoring, Best Song, “An Affair to Remember”, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography

1956 Films, Alan Mowbray, Deborah Kerr, Musical, Walter Lang, Yul Brynner

The King and I-1956

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The King and I-1956

Director Walter Lang

Starring Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr

Scott’s Review #26

671936

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: B

The King and I is another countless Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that dominated the 1950s and 1960s film era.

Having seen the stage version, the film contained two gigantic stars of the period (Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr), Brynner having made this role his legacy.

The story is similar to The Sound of Music as the teacher takes on children of the King, but not quite as gripping, and the chemistry among the leads is there, but not quite completely there.

The Bangkok palace set and the costumes are stylish and fantastic in design.

As a whole, the songs are not as memorable as some other similar musicals, but that is compared to magnificence.

Interesting how much of the cast is not Asian, a characteristic of the stage version too, that is often overlooked and accepted. This is not a criticism, merely a notice.

It’s a nice musical, but not as enjoyable as others, but is still worth watching.

Oscar Nominations: 5 wins-Best Motion Picture, Best Director-Walter Lang, Best Actor-Yul Brynner (won), Best Actress-Deborah Kerr, Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (won), Best Sound Recording (won), Best Art Direction-Color (won), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color (won)