Black Narcissus

Continuity mistake: In the scene towards the very end of the film when Sister Ruth goes to see Mr. Dean, she is wearing a great deal of lipstick - in fact, her make-up is indicative of her having left the religious order run by Sister Clodagh. She becomes hysterical and faints. When she wakes up she's no longer wearing any lipstick (no indeed any make-up at all).

russbowes

Sister Ruth: Sister, the schoolroom is overflowing with children. We've nothing unpacked yet. No one understands the language. There are too many of them anyway, and they all smell.

More quotes from Black Narcissus

Question: This follows on from the continuity mistake about Sister Ruth wearing makeup. Sister Ruth has been a nun, living under religious vows for many years. After the nuns start their mission in the Himalayas she becomes infatuated with English expatriate, Mr. Dean. Eventually she puts on a fashionable dress, assumes an attractive hairstyle, and even applies lipstick (at the time it was somewhat controversial for any woman to wear lipstick). She then tries to seduce Mr. Dean. Could a woman who has lived a life of religious self denial change into a convincingly steaming seductress?

Rob Halliday

Answer: There's no way of knowing. For the purpose of the movie's plot and to heighten the drama and underlying sensual passion, the Sister Ruth character was probably portrayed as being more sexually savvy than a lapsed nun normally would be. She may also have dated a lot as a teenager, watched many romantic movies, or read romance novels before becoming a nun. Also, not all nuns are sexually inexperienced before joining the church. Some enter when they're older, have previously been engaged, married, and so on.

raywest

More questions & answers from Black Narcissus

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.