5. I Know Where I’m Going! (1945)
Joan Webster could teach Carrie Bradshaw a thing or two about style. She may be headed to the moody, rainy Hebrides, but she’s a girl who wears her leopard pillbox hat–with matching clutch, natch–for an arduous day of trains, boats, and ferries. She’s the “I” in I Know Where I’m Going–and even with the best of her city-girl plans, her life is about to be uprooted by a charming Scottish laird.
In her tidy train cabin, she pulls out her typewritten itinerary. But as any traveler knows, things don’t always follow The Plan. Bad weather keeps her boat in the harbor, and to top things off, she’s stuck on a bus full of chatty locals dissing her rich fiance. This movie reminds me of trips I’ve had: a journey that just. will not. bend. to your will.
The laird talks her into accompanying him to a céilidh, where villagers are working off their haggis in a hopping dance that shakes the wooden floorboards. I won’t spoil the rest.
The Hebrides have an ancient majesty–a perfect setting for a stormy romance. This movie is a 1940s rom-com, but with a sincerity that pays homage to this tucked-away corner of the world.
When I did make it to Iona (a small island in the Hebrides) a few months after I first saw this film, I was prepared to be unimpressed. How many places live up to our vision of them–a vision from a 50-year-old film?
This one did.
Mull (another Hebrides island, shown below) and Iona (above) are just the same as the movie: romantic, stormy, and beautiful.
Go on, add a comment↓
We want to hear from you, you smartie you.