Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.
This is a cracking outing for Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey. The former is a young Englishwoman who gets engaged to an older, much wealthier businessman who invites her to join him on a remote Hebridean island. She arrives at an adjacent island, but is hemmed in by bad gales and so has to remain. During her enforced stay, she begins to socialise with the locals - including Livesey (the wonderfully Scottish "Torquil MacNeill") and despite herself she begins to fall for him and panic ensues. Powell & Pressburger have created a gentle, engaging romantic adventure film; well written with some great characters (John Laurie & Finlay Currie amongst them) that - along with the terrible weather - elicit a genuine feeling of the remoteness of these Scottish Islands and of the hospitality and canniness of their people. Peppered with humour and with a nail-biting ending, this is a super watch; one of their better films in my book.
