A Scent of Lushness in ‘Black Narcissus’

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 “Black Narcissus,” which screens tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of its monthly series of vintage pictures, is one of those films that simply could not be imagined without its lush color.

Based on a Rumer Godden novel, it verges on the outrageous in its evocation of incipient corruption and sexual hysteria. Headed by Deborah Kerr, a group of nuns attempts to turn an ancient Indian harem pitched on an incredibly high cliff into a convent. The atmosphere, heady as the “black narcissus” perfume on a scarf belonging to the bejeweled scion (Sabu) of the region’s ruling family, threatens to undermine the good sisters’ resolve. Not helping their situation in the least is the irreverent, virile presence on an Englishman (David Farrar) in the employ of Sabu’s father.

For their impressive efforts in creating so seductive a Shangri-La, production designer Alfred Junge and cinematographer Jack Cardiff both won Oscars. A major cult film, but a bit much, to put it mildly. Also screening: the original Oscar-laden 1946 version of Somerset Maugham’s “The Razor’s Edge,” with an all-star cast headed by Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney. Information: (213) 278-5673.

Capra Retrospective: The Vagabond’s Frank Capra retrospective continues Wednesday and Thursday with two early Barbara Stanwyck starrers, “Miracle Woman” (1930), inspired by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, and “Ladies of Leisure” (1930), and Friday and Saturday with two major Capra collaborations with writer Robert Riskin, “American Madness” (1932) and “You Can’t Take It With You” (1938).

In “American Madness” Capra and Riskin show how a rumor started by a mindless telephone operator could bring to a bank to the brink of ruin during the Great Depression. A fast-moving--this is the film in which Capra discovered for himself the virtues of a speeded-up pace--and entertaining melodrama, “American Madness” finds banker Walter Huston trying to stave off a run on his bank while dealing with personal upheavals. Complications pile up but are so cleverly dovetailed and made so convincing by a first-rate cast (which includes Constance Cummings and Pat O’Brien) that the movie is a delight. At the same time, Huston, the prototype of the idealistic Capra hero, manages to make an effective plea for mutual confidence between business and the public in times of crisis.

Similarly, “You Can’t Take It with You,” which Riskin deftly adapted from the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play (which itself doesn’t hold up nearly as well as the film), was designed to cheer up audiences and to encourage them not to be afraid to live life as they saw fit at a time when war clouds were gathering over Europe. Not surprisingly, despite its essential quality of make-believe--and perhaps because of it--much of what it has to say rings true today: its plea for freedom of expression, a blast at high taxes on the middle classes, especially when used for armaments. With warmth and humor it makes an all-out attack on greed and materialism and exposes the dehumanizing effect of big business.

Its key setting is the spacious Manhattan brownstone of the family of Grandpa Vanderhof (Lionel Barrymore), where in his words “Everybody does what he wants to do.” The one normal member of the family of eccentrics is Grandpa’s older granddaughter (Jean Arthur), who is secretary to the son (James Stewart) of a ruthless Wall Street tycoon (Edward Arnold, inevitably), who by the long arm of coincidence, has nefarious reasons for wanting to grab the Vanderhof brownstone. Information: (213) 387-2171.

Fall Filmforum: Filmforum, the alternative cinema showcase, commences its fall season Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Chaplin Theater, Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose, with “The Golden Boat,” the first English-language feature of the relentless Chilean avant-gardist Raul Ruiz, who calls his film “a game between soap opera and reality.” The only trouble is that it’s a tedious, talky, would-be absurdist comedy which commences when a Manhattan rock critic (Federico Muchnik), following a trail of scattered shoes, comes upon a derelict (Michael Kirby), who stabs himself in the stomach yet doesn’t die. In wanting to help the derelict, who has a passion for a Mexican soap opera star, the rock critic enters a surreal nightmare. There may be some meaning in all that follows, but it’s a real struggle to stay awake. Filmforum’s regular Monday evening screenings at LACE begin next Monday. “The Golden Boat” screens again at 10 p.m. Information: (213) 663-9568.