There
now began one of the busiest and most fruitful periods of Esmond
Knight's career. In the next two years (1946-7) he worked on no less
than seven films. Nor were these run-of-the-mill projects; two were
Powell and Pressburger masterpieces and the third another superb
Laurence Olivier adaptation of Shakespeare following in the wake of
Henry V, a film
which was to become the first ever foreign production to win the Oscar
for Best Picture. The first of these was Powell and Pressburger's
adaptation of the Rumer Godden novel about Anglo-Catholic nuns
struggling to run a school and hospital high up in the Himalayas -
Black Narcissus (1947).Esmond's appearance in Black Narcissus is brief but as characterful as ever as The Old General, the man who invites the nuns to live and work in his former "house of women". Thus his character is the catalyst that brings together the ingredients for what has frequently been described as one of the most erotic films ever produced in a British film studio. With the exception of a few jungle scenes filmed in a tropical garden in Sussex and a brief flashback sequence in Ireland, the entire convent and Himalayan backdrop was recreated at Pinewood Studios by Powell and his crew, notably photographer Jack Cardiff and production designer Alfred Junge (both of whom won Oscars for their work) and costume designer Hein Hockreth (who had recently worked with Esmond and Wilson Barrett's company at the King's Theatre, Hammersmith).
p As The Old General - a publicity still from Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus (1947).
To Esmond's left is May Hallat as Angu Ayah and to the right David Farrar as Mr Dean.
|
So it was in Buckinghamshire rather than India that Esmond filmed his scenes, joined for some of the time by Rosalind when she was at home during the school holidays. They travelled up to Pinewood together, then Rosalind would take his arm and guide him on and off the set as and when he was needed. Some observers find the stop-start process of filming very tedious and dull, but Rosalind enjoyed it immensely and loved every minute. Nor was she intimidated by Michael Powell's often overpowering personality! |
|
|
The same year Esmond featured in two other films with Black Narcissus co-stars - Sabu in The End Of The River (also produced by The Archers) directed by Derek Twist and Jean Simmons in Uncle Silas. His fourth film of 1947 was the eminently forgettable The Likes of 'Er. |
Of
his three films released in 1948, Holiday Camp was the least
significant for Esmond, who played the camp announcer; however, it did
introduce to the world the Huggett family who featured in several other
films and a successful and long running radio series in the 1950s.
A poster for The End of the River (1947).u
The film was directed by Ken Annakin who the following year would direct Nora Swinburne in one of her most memorable screen roles, that of Mrs Peregrine, in The Colonel's Lady, one of the four Somerset Maugham short stories that comprise the film Quartet.
Then
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger invited Esmond to play the part of
Livingstone ("Livy") Montague in probably their best known film, The
Red Shoes (1948). The story combines the Hans Christian Andersen
fairy tale of that name with a love triangle based around a contemporary
ballet company led by the highly charismatic character Boris Lermontov
(played by Anton Walbrook). Livy is the company's orchestral conductor
and although incidental to the central storyline, Esmond's role is at
certain moments very centre stage and includes conducting a full
orchestra on several occasions. Rosalind was again at hand to guide him
around the sets at Pinewood, and this time Esmond was also required to
go on location, to the South of France. His co-stars included Robert
Helpmann, with whom Esmond had worked before on stage in The Insect
Play (Playhouse Theatre, 1938), and of course Moira Shearer whose
husband-to-be, Ludovic Kennedy, had been in the Royal Navy and, on board
HMS Tartar, involved in the eventual sinking of the
Bismarck. In the 1970s Kennedy would interview Esmond about his
experiences on HMS Prince of Wales for his book Pursuit - The
Sinking of the Bismarck and for a television documentary film,
Battleship Bismarck.
Whilst
The Red Shoes was in production at Pinewood Studios, Laurence
Olivier was putting together the cast for his film version of Hamlet
to be shot at Denham Studios, and in so doing recalled several actors
who had appeared with him in Henry V four years earlier - Russell
Thorndike, John Laurie, Niall MacGinnis, Felix Aylmer and Esmond Knight.
He also called upon new talent such as Jean Simmons to play Ophelia;
Olivier had been impressed with her in David Lean's film of Great
Expectations and recognised the extraordinary screen presence which
had also won her the part of Kanchi in Black Narcissus.
Picture courtesy of the British Film Institute
A production still taken on the set of the Powell / Pressburger masterpiece The Red Shoes (1948),
including Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Anton Walbrook, Esmond and Leonide Massine. p
As
Bernardo, one of the captains of the guard who report sightings of the
ghost of Hamlet's father, Esmond's appearance and dialogue open the
film, and when the body count reaches its climax several hours later, he
is there at the end shouldering Hamlet's lifeless body. Despite numerous
criticisms, such as liberties taken with Shakespeare's text (200 lines
were cut from the play), the use of deep-focus photography and that at
forty Olivier was a little old for the leading role, Hamlet was a
huge success, winning prizes at all major film festivals. It was the
first foreign film to win Hollywood's Oscar for Best Picture and the
first British film to win four Oscars, the others being Best Actor for
Olivier, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. In London it ran
for six months in the West End, and with his hair still bleached blonde
for the part, Olivier went to Buckingham Palace to receive a knighthood
from King George VI.
Photograph courtesy of Rosalind Knight
A publicity still for Uncle Silas (1948) - in character as Dr Bryerly