1:01:02
of the doctor operating
on the sick baby
1:01:05
in the cabin of the film's
supply ship, the Vedra,
1:01:08
as part of his philosophy
of making the whole film on location.
1:01:12
But with all the pressure
to complete the exteriors
1:01:15
and bad weather closing in,
there was no time.
1:01:17
Indeed, we might wonder how authentic
the real thing would have looked
1:01:22
if he'd carried through
the original plan.
1:01:25
In the end,
1:01:26
a cabin set was built
in the London studio.
1:01:30
(Dialogue) This way, Doctor.
1:01:32
(Christie) The larger point
being made in this scene is that
1:01:37
in a medical emergency,
1:01:39
as in this case of diphtheria,
1:01:41
the big trawlers could
make a vital difference.
1:01:43
So it's really part of showing us
1:01:47
that the issue isn't simply
a choice between traditional ways
1:01:51
and new-fangled ways
which are all bad.
1:01:54
In fact, the story really turns on
the trawler coming to the rescue.
1:02:00
(Dialogue) I've got you both safe
now, and you're not going back.
1:02:14
(Christie) The baby's life is saved
1:02:16
but the island's life is not.
1:02:19
And at this point
the film rejoins the real-life story
1:02:23
which first inspired Michael Powell:
1:02:26
The evacuation of St Kilda.
1:02:28
This is the end
of the island community.
1:02:30
From this point onwards,
they're going to become mainlanders.
1:02:35
It's a very poignant moment,
1:02:37
the moment which originally inspired
Powell to think of making this film.
1:02:43
And he shoots it with
a kind of statuesque nobility
1:02:46
which is as powerful as anything
1:02:48
in the great European cinemas
of the previous decade.
1:02:53
We think of Russian cinema,
French cinema in the late '20s,
1:02:57
which had dealt with
some of these themes.
1:02:59
Here, at last, British cinema
has its own epic of the land.