''Bridal Path'' is a
novel by Scottish author
Nigel Tranter
Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...
, first published in 1952. In 1959 a film version ''
The Bridal Path'' was released.
The story begins on
Eorsa
Eorsa is an uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
Geography
Eorsa lies in Loch na Keal on the west coast of the Isle of Mull, to the east of Ulva. It is part of the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.
Hi ...
, an island in the
Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Ewan MacEwan, a widower and father of two, is in need of a wife. Related to everyone on the island, he travels to the mainland in search of a suitable woman. His adventures are bizarre and comedic, involving poachers, police, imprisonments and escapes. After many adventures he eventually finds true love in the most unexpected manner.
Adaptation
The novel was adapted for film by the
British Lion Film Corporation
British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was kn ...
in 1959. It starred
Bill Travers
William Inglis Lindon Travers (3 January 1922 – 29 March 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist. Prior to his show business career, he served in the British army with Gurkha and special forces units.
E ...
,
George Cole and
Gordon Jackson, it was produced and directed by
Frank Launder
Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat.
Early life and career
He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire ...
and
Sidney Gilliat.
Geoffrey Willans
Herbert Geoffrey Willans, RNVR, (4 February 1911 – 6 August 1958), an English writer and journalist, is best known as the creator of Nigel Molesworth, the "goriller of 3B" and "curse of St. Custard's", as in the four books with illustrations ...
co-wrote the screenplay, but died before the film was released.
The film was shot on location around
Oban,
Easdale
Easdale ( gd, Eilean Èisdeal) is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Once the centre of the Scottish slate industry, there has been some recent island regeneration by the owners. This is the smallest of the Inner Hebrides' i ...
and
Appin
Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies north ...
. It premiered in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
Release details
First published in 1952 by
Hodder & Stoughton. Republished in 1992 by
B & W Publishing
Black & White Publishing is an independent publishing house based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Since 1999, the company has produced a range of titles, with more than 350 in print, including over 50 in the award-winning ''Itchy Coo'' ...
.
References
1952 British novels
Novels by Nigel Tranter
Scottish novels
Novels set in Argyll and Bute
Inner Hebrides
Ward, Lock & Co. books
British novels adapted into films
{{1950s-novel-stub