''The Edge of the World'' is a 1937 British film directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

, loosely based on the evacuation of the Scottish

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

of St Kilda. It was Powell's first major project. The title is a reference to the expression '' ultima Thule'', coined by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

(''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

'' 1:30). The film is the story of the depopulation of one of the isolated outer islands of Scotland as, one by one, the younger generation leaves for the greater opportunities offered by the mainland, making it harder to follow the old ways of life there.

Plot

The film begins with a

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

passing by the remote island of

Hirta Hirta ( gd, Hiort) is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The names (in Scottish Gaelic) and ''Hirta'' (historically in English) have also been applied to the entire archipelago. Now without a perman ...

(see note in "Production" below). The yachtsman (played by the director, Michael Powell) finds it strange that the island looks deserted, when a book he carries mentions that it should be inhabited. His crewman Andrew Gray (

Niall MacGinnis Patrick Niall MacGinnis (29 March 1913 – 6 January 1977) was an Irish actor who made around 80 screen appearances. Early life MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913.

) tells him that his book is outdated and the island is indeed uninhabited now. Andrew tries to dissuade the yachtsman from landing, but he decides to do so anyway. After landing, they find a gravestone on the edge of a cliff, and Andrew, who turns out to be a former islander on Hirta, starts to reminisce. The remainder of the film is his flashback. Andrew's friend Robbie Manson (Eric Berry) wants to leave the island and explore the wider world. Robbie's sister, Ruth Manson ( Belle Chrystall), is Andrew's sweetheart, and the young couple are quite willing to stay. Robbie tells Ruth and Andrew that he is engaged to a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

girl called Polly, whom he had met in a brief period working outside Hirta, and intends to announce that to the other islanders on the next day at the men's assembly, the "parliament". Robbie's father, Peter Manson (

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom '' Dad's Army'' (19 ...

), is determined to stay, while Andrew's father, James Gray (

Finlay Currie William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; He re ...

), suspects that their way of life cannot last much longer. But if Robbie leaves, that will make it harder for the others because there will be one less young man to help with the fishing and the

crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bett ...

. Moreover, Robbie not only intends to leave but also to propose that the other islanders do the same and evacuate Hirta. Andrew opposes that and, given the divided opinions and lack of consensus in the "parliament", they decide to settle the issue with a race up a dangerous cliff without safety ropes. Andrew wins the race and Robbie falls off the cliff to his death. Ridden with guilt and shunned by Ruth's father, who will now not give permission for their marriage, Andrew decides to leave the island for

Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...

on the

Shetland Mainland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island ...

. Unbeknownst to Andrew, Ruth is pregnant with his child. She gives birth to a girl months after he leaves and, since the

mail boat Mail boats or postal boats are a boat or ship used for the delivery of mail and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles in communities where bodies of water commonly separate or separated settlements, towns or cities often where b ...

only comes once a year, Andrew cannot be told of the news. The islanders send off drift wood caskets with letters to Andrew. Luckily, one of them is caught by the captain of a

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

on which Andrew is about to be employed as a crewman. Andrew arrives on Hirta on the trawler amid a fierce

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

and needs a life-saving

tracheotomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision (cut) on the anterior aspect (front) of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (windpipe). The r ...

. They succeed in saving the girl's life and Andrew decides that since Ruth and the baby are now safe, they are not going back to Hirta. The near death of Ruth's baby, plus the fact that the island's crops are failing, and

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

is almost depleted and will only last to provide fuel for one more winter, are the final straws, and the islanders decide to evacuate to the mainland. Peter Manson reluctantly signs the petition for the government to assist in their evacuation and resettlement. As the island is being evacuated, Peter decides to go after a

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are ...

's egg, for which a collector had promised to pay five pounds. The egg can be found in a nest on a steep cliff, which Peter climbs down tied to a rope. As he is climbing back up, the rope frays and Peter falls to his death. His gravestone is placed on the edge of the cliff and it was the one found by the yachtsman in the initial scenes.

Production

Powell had been making studio based '

quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

' for some years but wanted to make a film about the depopulation of the Scottish islands ever since seeing a newspaper article about the evacuation of St Kilda some years before. He was not allowed to film on St Kilda, but found another suitable island in

Foula Foula (; sco, also Foola; nrn, Fuglø), located in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland, is one of the United Kingdom’s most remote permanently inhabited islands. Owned since the turn of the 20th century by the Holbourn family, the island wa ...

in the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

to the north of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The island depicted in the film is referred to as "

", which is the actual name of the formerly inhabited main island of the St Kilda archipelago, but a map that appears two minutes into the film actually shows Foula (even the name of the real-life settlement of Ham on Foula can be read), the introduction text mentions that the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

"saw from the

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

s a distant island", which is more consistent with the location of Foula, and in the "parliament" scene Robbie mentions the previous evacuation of St Kilda. Moreover, St Kildans spoke

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

, whereas the film's characters speak modified

Scottish English Scottish English ( gd, Beurla Albannach) is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standa ...

. Powell gathered together a cast and crew who were willing to take part in an expedition to what, before the air service that now exists, was a very isolated part of the UK. They had to stay there for quite a few months and finished up with a film which not only told the story he wanted but also captured the raw natural beauty of the location.

Literature

Powell wrote a book about his experience making the film: raising the initial funding, trying and failing to make the film on St Kilda, then realising that Foula could be used instead. He detailed how the cast and crew were selected and how they lived and worked on the island at a time when there were no flights there, only occasional radio communication. They even had to build their own accommodations. The book was initially titled ''200,000 Feet on Foula''. This is a reference to the amount of film used, not the height of the cliffs. It was published in America as ''200,000 Feet – The Edge of the World'' and was reprinted as ''Edge of the World: The making of a film'' in a paperback edition in 1990.

''Return to the Edge of the World''

In 1978, director

and some of the surviving cast and crew went back to

to re-visit the island where they had made the film that changed their lives. This was made for BBC TV to act as "colour bookends" to the 1937 film and is called ''Return to the Edge of the World''. In the first part, Powell drives in to

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

and tells how the film came to be made. Then he,

, Sydney Streeter, Grant Sutherland and others return to Foula. In the second part, they talk to some of the islanders who were there in 1937 and remember those who couldn't make the reunion. ''Return to the Edge of the World'' was available as an extra on both the VHS and DVD releases of the original film by the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. Following the death of Belle Chrystall in 2003, there are no surviving members of the credited cast or crew. However, Andy Gear, who at aged six lived on Foula and was featured as a "Villager in Evacuation," still lives today in Gutcher, North

Yell island Yell ( sco, Yell) is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the Mainland with an area of ,Penrith, James & Deborah (200 ...

, Shetland.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Powell, Michael. ''200,000 Feet on Foula''. London: Faber & Faber, 1938. * Powell, Michael. ''200,000 Feet – The Edge of the World'' (US title). New York: E.P. Dutton & co., 1938 * Powell, Michael. '' "Edge of the World": The Making of a Film''. London: Faber & Faber, 1990. Paperback * Powell, Michael. ''A Life in Movies: An Autobiography''. London: Heinemann, 1986. . * Powell, Michael. ''Million Dollar Movie''. London: Heinemann, 1992. . * Earl, David W.. "Michael Powell's The Edge of the World - Then & Now". Hanover Publications, February 2014. .

External links

* * . Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries). * * *
Reviews and articles
at th
Powell & Pressburger Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edge of the World, The 1937 films British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films English-language Scottish films Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger Films set in Scotland Films set in the Atlantic Ocean Films set on islands Foula Films shot at Pinewood Studios St Kilda, Scotland Scottish films Mass media in Shetland Films shot at Rock Studios