Review of Black Narcissus (1947) by Keith W — 29 Mar 2018

I watched this again for the umpteenth time recently and still got something new from it. What struck me was the conversation between Sister Clodagh (Kerr) and Dilip Rai (Sabu) with the painted cruciifix dividing them in the background and the erotic nature of how Kanchi (Simmons) approaches Dilip Rai when he's supposed to be beating her - did the censors miss that one?

The film starts with Clodagh walking brusquely past one of her students (who will "continue the lesson") back in Calcutta, and ends with her offering her hand to Mr Dean (Farrar) submissively palm upwards. Mr Dean takes her hand by placing his palm under hers in one of the tenderest moments in cinema: Sister Clodagh does not snatch it away as the experience has made her "nicer".

I've always been puzzled by why the American version cuts out Clodagh's memories of her earlier life in Ireland. She could not "hide the mountain".