The Edge of the World facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Edge of the World
DVD cover
Directed by	Michael Powell
Produced by	Joe Rock
Written by	Michael Powell
Starring	John Laurie Belle Chrystall Eric Berry Finlay Currie Niall MacGinnis
Music by	Lambert Williamson (uncredited)
Cinematography	Monty Berman Skeets Kelly Ernest Palmer
Editing by	Derek N. Twist
Distributed by	British Independent Exhibitors
Release date(s)	6 July 1937 (UK)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	over £30,000 (est.)

The Edge of the World is an old British film from 1937. It was directed by Michael Powell. The movie is about a real event: people leaving the remote Scottish islands of St Kilda. This was Michael Powell's first big movie project. The film's title means "the very edge of the land."

The film tells the story of an isolated island in Scotland. Young people start leaving the island to find better chances on the mainland. This makes it very hard for those who want to stay and keep their old way of life.

The Story of the Film

The movie starts with a boat called a yacht sailing past a faraway island named Hirta. The person on the yacht (who is the director, Michael Powell) is surprised. His book says people live there, but the island looks empty. His crew member, Andrew Gray (Niall MacGinnis), explains that the book is old. The island is now empty.

Andrew tries to stop the yachtsman from landing, but he goes ashore anyway. They find a gravestone on a cliff. Andrew, who used to live on Hirta, starts to remember. The rest of the movie is his memory.

Life on the Island

Andrew's friend, Robbie Manson (Eric Berry), wants to leave the island. He wants to see the wider world. Robbie's sister, Ruth Manson (Belle Chrystall), is Andrew's girlfriend. Andrew and Ruth are happy to stay on the island.

Robbie tells Ruth and Andrew that he is engaged to a girl from Norway. He met her when he worked away from Hirta for a short time. He plans to tell everyone else at the men's meeting, called the "parliament," the next day.

Robbie's father, Peter Manson (John Laurie), is determined to stay. Andrew's father, James Gray (Finlay Currie), thinks their way of life cannot last much longer.

A Difficult Decision

If Robbie leaves, it will be harder for everyone else. There will be one less young man to help with fishing and farming. Robbie also wants to suggest that everyone else leave Hirta too. Andrew does not agree.

Since the islanders cannot decide in their "parliament," they choose to settle it with a dangerous race. They will climb a tall cliff without safety ropes. Andrew wins the race. Sadly, Robbie falls off the cliff and dies.

Andrew feels very guilty. Ruth's father blames him and will not let Andrew marry Ruth. Because of this, Andrew decides to leave the island. He goes to Lerwick on the Shetland Mainland.

New Life and New Challenges

Andrew does not know that Ruth is pregnant with his child. Months after he leaves, she gives birth to a baby girl. The mail boat only comes once a year, so Andrew cannot be told the news right away.

The islanders send messages to Andrew in driftwood caskets. Luckily, a fishing boat captain finds one of them. Andrew is about to start working on that same fishing boat.

Andrew arrives back on Hirta during a terrible storm. He is just in time to take Ruth and their baby to the mainland. The baby is very sick with diphtheria. She needs a special operation called a tracheotomy to save her life. They manage to save the baby's life. Andrew decides that since Ruth and the baby are safe, they will not go back to Hirta.

Leaving the Island

The baby's near-death experience is a big shock. Also, the island's crops are failing. The peat, which they use for fuel, is almost gone. It will only last for one more winter. These problems are the final reasons for the islanders to leave.

The islanders decide to move to the mainland. Peter Manson, though he does not want to, signs the paper asking the government for help to move. As the island is being emptied, Peter decides to go after a guillemot's egg. A collector promised to pay five pounds for it.

The egg is in a nest on a steep cliff. Peter climbs down, tied to a rope. As he climbs back up, the rope breaks. Peter falls to his death. His gravestone is placed on the edge of the cliff. This is the gravestone the yachtsman finds at the beginning of the movie.

Making the Film

Michael Powell had been making quick, low-budget films for a while. But he really wanted to make a movie about people leaving the Scottish islands. He got the idea after reading a newspaper article about the people leaving St Kilda.

He was not allowed to film on St Kilda itself. But he found another good island called Foula in the Shetland Islands. Foula is north of Scotland.

About the Island in the Film

The island in the movie is called "Hirta." This is the real name of the main island of the St Kilda group, which used to have people living on it. However, a map in the movie actually shows Foula. The movie's opening text also says the Romans "saw from the Orkneys a distant island." This description fits Foula better. Also, in the "parliament" scene, Robbie mentions the earlier evacuation of St Kilda. The real St Kildans spoke Scottish Gaelic, but the movie characters speak a changed version of Scottish English.

Powell brought together actors and crew who were ready for an adventure. Foula was very isolated back then, with no flights, only occasional radio contact. They had to stay there for several months. They even built their own places to live. The film they made not only told the story Powell wanted but also showed the amazing natural beauty of the island.

About the Book

Michael Powell wrote a book about making the film. He wrote about how he got the money to start. He also wrote about trying to film on St Kilda but not being able to. Then he realized Foula could be used instead.

The book explains how the actors and crew were chosen. It also describes how they lived and worked on the island. At that time, there were no flights to Foula. They only had radio contact sometimes.

The book was first called 200,000 Feet on Foula. This name refers 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. A paperback version was printed in 1990 with the title Edge of the World: The making of a film.

Return to the Edge of the World

In 1978, director Michael Powell and some of the actors and crew went back to Foula. They wanted to see the island where they made the film that changed their lives. This trip was made into a TV show for the BBC. It was called Return to the Edge of the World.

In the first part of the TV show, Powell drives to Pinewood Studios. He talks about how the film was made. Then, he, John Laurie, 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. They also remember those who could not come to the reunion. Return to the Edge of the World was included as an extra feature on the VHS and DVD versions of the original film. These were released by the BFI.

After Belle Chrystall passed away in 2003, there are no longer any living credited actors or crew members from the film. However, Andy Gear, who was six years old and lived on Foula, was in the film as a "Villager in Evacuation." He still lives today in Gutcher, North Yell island, Shetland.

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