The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room Resource Guide for
I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!
(dirs. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1945)
Presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room in May 2022 in partnership with: BFI National Archive, Janus Films, The Criterion Collection, ITV, and Park Circus
Table of Contents
2) Special Features
- Martin Scorsese Video Introduction
- Thelma Schoonmaker Powell Video Interview
- Kevin Macdonald Video Interview
-Tilda Swinton Video Interview
- Joanna Hogg and Martin Scorsese in Conversation
- Before/After Restoration Demo
3) EXPLORE Page Materials
- The FIlm Foundation on Letterboxd
4) Live Screening Commentary Script
I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! is the story of a young woman, Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller), who sets out on a journey to a remote Scottish island where she plans to marry a wealthy industrialist. When an incoming storm makes passage impossible for her and a local laird, Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey), she begins to wonder if she really knows where she's going and if her best-laid plans will be derailed.
The Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive completed the 4K restoration of I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! utilizing the original nitrate camera negative. A nitrate print and two nitrate fine grain negatives were also referenced: individual shots that had been cut from the original negative were present in the other prints, and reel 10 has now been returned to its original length by the inclusion of a second dissolve. Soundtrack reconstruction was completed in parallel. This was especially needed because much of the original sound negative had been replaced by poor quality duplicate material in the past. The result is a restoration of Powell and Pressburger's beloved film that returns it to its full glory.
Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Matt Spick.
Introduction by Martin Scorsese
Thelma Schoonmaker Powell Interview
Joanna Hogg and Martin Scorsese in Conversation
Pete Seeger singing the title song from the film, I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!, on his television program “Rainbow Quest” in 1966. Watch on YouTube.
The young character of Cheril is played by singer and actress Petula Clark. She discussed her wide-ranging career in a recent CBS interview that you can watch on YouTube.
Thelma Schoonmaker Powell discussed Powell and Pressburger for TCM's Classic Film Fest in 2021 and the video is available on YouTube.
In 1981, Michael Powell visited Francis Ford Coppola at Zoetrope Studios and it was captured for "The South Bank Show's" episode on Powell. You can watch a clip on YouTube.
Director Michael Powell and actress Pamela Brown on the set of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!
For more information on Michael Powell:
A Life in Movies, Michael Powell, 1987
Michael Powell Interviews, ed. David Lazar, 2003
The Cinema of Michael Powell: International Perspectives on an English Film-Maker, ed. Ian Christie and Andrew Moor, 2005
For more information on Emeric Pressburger:
Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter, Kevin Macdonald, 1996
Killing a Mouse on Sunday, Emeric Pressburger, 1961
Other references to I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! can be found in the following books:
Local Hero: The Making of the Film, Alan Hunter and Mark Astaire (1983) features Bill Forsyth talking about the influence of I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! on his own work.
Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler, ed. Frank MacShane, 1987 features Raymond Chandler’s letter to James Sandoe about his viewing of I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!.
Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: A Critical Anthology, Ed. Scott MacKenzie, 2014 features “The Archers’ Manifesto” (1942), a five-point statement of purpose from a letter that they wrote to Wendy Hiller in an effort to convince her to be in their film THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP. The five-points are below:
“One: we owe allegiance to nobody except the financial interests which provide our money; and, to them, the sole responsibility of ensuring them a profit, not a loss.
Two: every single foot in our films is our own responsibility and nobody else’s. We refuse to be guided or coerced by any influence but our own judgement.
Three: when we start work on a new idea we must be a year ahead, not only of our competitors, but also of the times. A real film, from idea to universal release, takes a year. Or more.
Four: no artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for other reasons than her nakedness.
Five: at any time, and particularly at the present, the self respect of all collaborators, from star to prop-man, is sustained, or diminished, by the theme and purpose of the film they are working on.”
Wendy Hiller as Joan Webster and the three would-be-wedding pipers on the set of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!
Reading List (Online)
For more information on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger:
An extensive Powell and Pressburger overview is available on Senses of Cinema.
Criterion Collection Top 10 Lists Featuring I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!
Other notable online references:
You can read Powell and Pressburger scholar Ian Christie on IKWIG! at The Criterion Collection.
The phone booth featured in IKWIG!—the Carsaig Phone Box—is a real phone booth. It is listed by Historic Scotland as a Category B building (or structure) of local importance. A film critic wrote about it when he visited the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Read about his trip at The Guardian.
The character of Mrs. Crozier is played by British actress Nancy Price. Born in 1880, and primarily a theatre actress, Price started performing in 1900 and eventually co-founded the People's National Theatre in 1930 before making her mark in the movies. Learn more at her Wikipedia page.
The actress who plays the character of Bridie is Margot Fitzsimons, an Irish actress who was also the sister of Maureen O’Hara. Learn more about her unique life via her obituary.
Wendy Hiller as Joan Webster, Roger Livesey as Torquil MacNeil, Margot Fitzsimons as Bridie, and Murdo Morrison as Kenny discuss the gale
on the set of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!
The Film Foundation on Letterboxd
Learn more about the filmographies of some of the cast and crew of I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING!
Art and Production Design by Alfred Junge
Wendy Hiller as Joan Webster and Roger Livesey as Torquil MacNeil on the set of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!
I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! - Live Screening Commentary Script
5/9/22
00:00:00 - 00:15:00
"What of the bow?
The bow was made in England:
Of true wood, of yew-wood,
The wood of English bows.”
This famous Arthur Conan Doyle verse was one of the inspirations for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film logo, which introduced them as “The Archers” and changed ever so slightly based on which of their films it appeared before. Powell wrote about this flight of fancy in his memoir, “A Life in Movies.”
“Sometimes the target was empty, awaiting the verdict of our public; sometimes the arrow would land arrogantly and squarely in the gold. In the early days the target was black and white. In later days it was in color, but always with the words 'A Production of The Archers' superimposed. The public we had created for our films waited for it. They knew that The Archers' target promised something different."
Powell and Pressburger originally wanted actress Deborah Kerr for the role of Joan. She was unavailable but actress Wendy Hiller was free, which was a wonderfully strange twist because Hiller had been the original choice for the lead role in Powell and Pressburger’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) and when Hiller was unavailable, they cast Kerr!
When Powell wrote Hiller a letter trying to convince her to be in the film it included a spirited guide to filmmaking that he called “The Archers’ Manifesto” (1942). It begins:
“One: we owe allegiance to nobody except the financial interests which provide our money; and, to them, the sole responsibility of ensuring them a profit, not a loss.”
Joan’s dad is played by George Carney, who worked with Hiller on her first ever film role in Henry Cass’s LANCASHIRE LUCK (1937) where Carney also played her father.
The title song, “I Know Where I’m Going,” is a traditional Scottish (though some say Irish!) ballad that dates back to the 19th century and has been sung by the likes of Burl Ives, Harry Belafonte, Judy Collins, and notably Pete Seeger on his program Rainbow Quest in 1966. Below is a link to Seeger singing the song:
https://youtu.be/NRuuZY8otz0?feature=shared
The dream sequence in the film, while Joan sleeps on the train, also inspired filmmaker Joanna Hogg for her film THE SOUVENIR (2019), She discusses this and more with Martin Scorsese in our video extra, available on this page.
00:15:00 – 00:30:00
I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was shot by the great British Cinematographer Erwin Hiller. In our video extra, editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, the wife of Michael Powell, talks about Powell and Pressburger’s relationship with Hiller. You can also learn more about Hiller’s life via our Letterboxd list:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/shot-by-erwin-hiller/
The curious character of Catriona is played by Pamela Brown, who had a special relationship with Michael Powell, which he wrote about in his memoir:
“We could sit for hours in silence, but yet remain close in touch. It must have been rather unnerving for the others, especially for Wendy, who had every reason to expect that kind of rapport with the director for herself.”
Be sure to watch our conversation with editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, the wife of Michael Powell, to hear her talk about Michael Powell and Pamela Brown’s relationship. The video is available on this page.
Actress Tilda Swinton has a special and personal connection to I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!. As a child she visited the real location that doubled as the fictional island of Kiloran. The name of the real island is Colonsay. She discusses this and more in our video interview, available on this page.
Another point from the “Archers’ Manifesto”
“Two: every single foot in our films is our own responsibility and nobody else’s. We refuse to be guided or coerced by any influence but our own judgment.”
Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald is the grandson of Emeric Pressburger and he has a very romantic connection to I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! that he told the Criterion Collection about:
“My wife fell for me when she realized that my grandfather wrote this one. Some of that romantic spirit must have been genetic, she hoped.”
You can read the Criterion Collection piece at the link below:
https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/44-kevin-macdonald-s-top-10
Powell and Pressburger originally cast actor James Mason in the role of Torquil. When Mason wasn’t up for the physical nature of the storm scenes, Powell and Pressburger went back to the drawing board and looked towards THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP star Roger Livesey, who agreed to lose 20 pounds for the role! You can find out more about Roger Livesey’s career via our Letterboxd list:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/starring-roger-livesey/
The phone booth in this scene is a real place and is listed by Historic Scotland as a Category B building (or structure) of local importance. Visit our EXPLORE page to read more.
Another film with a special phone booth is Bill Forsyth’s LOCAL HERO (1983) and it turns out Forsyth was a big I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! and Powell and Pressburger fan!
“I feel close in spirit to the Powell and Pressburger feelings, the idea of trying to present a cosmic viewpoint to people, but through the most ordinary things. And because both this film and I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945) are set in Scotland, I’ve felt from the beginning that we’re walking the same… treading the same water.”
00:30:00 – 00:45:00
There were two Gaelic advisors on I KNOW WHERE I”M GOING!, Malcolm MacKellaig and John Laurie, who both appear in the film. MacKellaig plays David MacBrayn’s Agent at Oban and a dancer at the Ceilidh, while Laurie plays John Campbell. Laurie also appeared in two of Michael Powell’s earliest films, 1934’s STRIKE! and 1935’s HER LAST AFFAIRE.
More from the “Archers’ Manifesto”
“Three: when we start work on a new idea we must be a year ahead, not only of our competitors, but also of the times. A real film, from idea to universal release, takes a year. Or more.”
The great documentarian D.A. Pennebaker is a big fan of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!, especially the locations, which he told the Criterion Collection about.
“This was the first Powell film I ever saw. I saw it when it first came to New York, where it played for only a few days in its initial run, or so I figured when I tried to go back and see it again. I fell in love with that film, partly because of where it took place, partly because of who was in it, partly because of the way the music slipped in and out of it, and mostly because I could see that Michael Powell, whoever he was, was my leader.”
The production designer on I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was the great Alfred Junge. He made eight films with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and also worked with the likes of King Vidor, George Cukor, John Ford, and Delmer Daves, among many others. Learn more about Junge via our Letterboxd list:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/the-art-of-alfred-junge/
Wendy Hiller had a long and varied career in the cinema. She worked with Carol Reed, Anthony Asquith, Fred Zinnemann, Jack Cardiff, Sidney Lumet, and even David Lynch! You can learn more about Hiller’s work via our Letterboxd list:
https://letterboxd.com/tff/list/starring-wendy-hiller/
When Joan visits the Robinson household, she finds two adorable dogs lounging around. It turns out that they were Michael Powell’s own beloved pups! They also appear in Powell and Pressburger’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946), both films that also starred Roger Livesey.
00:45:00 – 01:00:00
The plucky character of young Cheril is played by singer and actress Petula Clark, who is still with us at age 89! Below is a link to a video of a recent interview with Clark.
https://youtu.be/eA6tZeX5PKo?feature=shared
The multi-hyphenate Nancy Price plays the role of Mrs. Crozier. She started performing in 1900 and left her mark in films like I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! and the Gainsborough Picture MADONNA OF THE SEVEN MOONS (1945). She was also the author of many novels, essays, plays, and poetry.
When Michael Powell learned about the Castle of Sorn it ended up impacting the end of the film. You can listen to Thelma Schoonmaker Powell talk about this and more in our video interview with her, available on this page.
You can learn more about the sequence in which Joan and Torquil attend the Céilidh, a traditional Scottish and Irish gathering, in our video conversation with director Kevin Macdonald, the grandson of Emeric Pressburger, available on this page.
More from the “Archers’ Manifesto”
“Four: no artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the truth, for other reasons than her nakedness.”
The actress playing Bridie is Margot Fitzsimons, an Irish actress who also happened to be the sister of Maureen O’Hara! She stopped acting when she got married soon after making I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!. This also led to her living in Japan for two years, where she became a student of ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement.
00:1:00:00 – 01:20:00
When Powell and Pressburger were unable to make their film A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH due to the unavailability of Technicolor cameras, Emeric Pressburger quickly wrote the I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! script in only 5 days. The script was later taught as an example of a perfect script and they were able to make A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH right after I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!.
Michael Powell wrote about filming the long storm sequence in I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! in his memoir:
“I would tie myself to the mast, like Prince Breacan, to leave my hands free. This is how I got the shots of the eddies and whirlpool which we used with great effect in the back projection scenes in the studio. But my particular triumph was to snatch with the camera one of those mysterious boils which comes roaring up from unknown depths.”
In 1950, author Raymond Chandler wrote a letter to fellow author James Sandoe about a few of the movies he had seen recently including I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING!
“You should by all means catch THE BICYCLE THIEVES, and if possible, an English picture called I KNOW WHERE I”M GOING!, shot largely on the west coast of Scotland - the coast that faces the Hebrides. I've never seen a picture which smelled of the wind and rain in quite this way nor one which so beautifully exploited the kind of scenery people actually live with, rather than the kind which is commercialized as a show place. The shots of Corryvreckan alone are enough to make your hair stand on end (Corryvreckan, in case you don't know, is a whirlpool which, in certain conditions of the tide, is formed between two of the islands of the Hebrides.)”
The final point in the “Archers’ Manifesto”
“Five: at any time, and particularly at the present, the self respect of all collaborators, from star to prop-man, is sustained, or diminished, by the theme and purpose of the film they are working on.”
00:80:00 – The End
In our video interview with Tilda Swinton she discusses the importance of the restoration process in restoring the black tones to the film. She said:
“It’s not only important, it’s another world. There’s a depth. We saw I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! [the restoration] in Cannes last year, 2021, and I know that film so well, and it was another film. There’s something about the blacks, which are absolutely part of the design. Not just of the aesthetics of the frame but also of the narrative. I mean, the black must be there. And we’re very grateful to technology for making work available around the globe in perpetuity but at the same time to go back to the source and see what was really intended, I think, is a revelation.”
The entire video interview with her is available on this page.
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Thank you so much for joining us for the first presentation in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room! 24 hours Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Additional support provided by Matt Spick.
Special thanks to the BFI, Janus Films, The Criterion Collection, ITV, and Park Circus.
