Young General—in Western culture prior to a trip to Britain. Ayah whips Kanchi for stealing, but the Young General stops her. He soon falls in love with Kanchi, creating a situation that Mr Dean compares to the tale of The King and the Beggar-maid. Each convent member begins experiencing ill-health and emotional problems caused by their surroundings. Philippa loses herself in the environment and plants the vegetable garden with flowers. Ruth, already highly strung, becomes increasingly jealous of Clodagh and obsessed with Mr Dean, leading her to renounce the order. Clodagh recalls a failed romance which prompted her to join the order. Honey's growing attachment to the local children ends disastrously after she gives medication to a fatally-ill baby. The child's death angers the locals, who blame and abandon the mission, putting further strain on the sisters. Mr Dean fails to persuade Clodagh to leave before anything else untoward happens. One night Clodagh confronts the now-unstable Ruth, finding her wearing a modern dress she ordered to entice . Ruth escapes Clodagh's watch and finds . When he rebuffs her advances, she suffers a mental breakdown and returns to the mission, intent on killing Clodagh. When Clodagh rings the morning service bell, Ruth attempts to push her over the cliff edge. In the ensuing struggle, Ruth falls to her death. The mission leaves just as the monsoon season begins, with Clodagh's final request to that he tend Ruth's grave. Cast Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh Sabu as The Young General (Dilip Rai) David Farrar as Mr. Dean Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth Flora Robson as Sister Philippa Jean Simmons as Kanchi Jenny Laird as Sister Honey Judith Furse as Sister Briony Esmond Knight as The Old General May Hallatt as Angu Ayah Eddie Whaley Jr. as Joseph Anthony, the young interpreter Shaun Noble as Con, Clodagh's sweetheart Nancy Roberts as Mother Dorothea Production Development Black Narcissus was adapted from Rumer Godden's 1939 novel of the same name. Michael Powell was introduced to the novel by actress Mary Morris, who had appeared in The Thief of Bagdad (1940) and an early film Powell did with Emeric Pressburger, The Spy in Black (1939). Godden had adapted her novel for a stage production for Lee Strasberg in the United States, but allowed Pressburger to write his own screenplay adaptation with Powell. Casting Kathleen Byron was among the first to be cast in the film,