Favorite Deborah Kerr performances

She's a favorite actress of mine too, Spiderwort. Offhand, without thinking too much about it, I'd add Colonel Blimp (utterly brilliant), The Innocents, and King Solomon's Mines to your list. 

Deborah Kerr (15 films seen)
She's a great actress ... but not one of my favorites.

From Here to Eternity (1953)
Julius Caesar (1953)
The Naked Edge (1961)
Thunder in the East (1951)
Prudence and the Pill (1968)
Separate Tables (1958)
If Winter Comes (1947)
Eye of the Devil (1967)
The Proud and Profane (1956)
Beloved Infidel (1959)
The King and I (1956)
The Grass Is Greener (1960)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
Casino Royale (1967)
Major Barbara (1941)

She's been a great favorite of mine since childhood.

King and I - she does the uptight English lady better than Maureen OHara and adds so much distinction.

Affair to Remember - the ultimate chick flick

Separate Tables- a role with real meat on its bones

Vacation from marriage- lovely wartime comedy she is charming with Robert Donat

The Sundowners- pairing her with Robert Mitchum always worked well

Young Bess- foil and mother figure to Jean Simmons. This is glossy Hollywood history but fun.

The Chalk Garden - wonderful small cast and great script

The Grass is Greener- great off beat comedy

I see a Dark Stranger- Kerr has a chance to play an edgy character here and she's terrific

Prisoner of Zelda- interesting chance to see a remake shot frame for frame from the original. Kerr played princess Flavia with more emotion that Madelyn Carroll but both excellent

The End Of The Affair- an off beat tragic love story with a powerful spiritual subtext. Beautifully done.

I don't know why, but I love Deborah Kerr, so here are a few notes and thoughts of the movies I've seen:

Major Barbara 1941, One of her first where she get's slapped by Robert Newton.

Black Narcissus 1947, Fascinating tale that takes at least twice to really get the sweep of, and Wales played China.

King Solomon's Mines 1950, Matinée memories, and she cut her hair and looked even sexier on the african savannas. (This is the movie I feel in love with her)

Quo Vadis 1951, Big and biblical, with an out of place Robert Taylor, That Deborah was in such a big and expensive production shows how great she was and bankable too. By the way it has an interesting commentator track on the DVD version. Perfect Sunday movie wether one is religious or not.

The Prisoner of Zenda 1952, Good old-fashioned matinée movie, with great sets, Stewart Granger was a good movie partner for her. Just as in King Solomon.

Julius Caesar 1953, I must admit that somehow she got lost among John Guilgud, Marlon Brando, James Mason and Louis Calhearn, but can someone actually blame Shakespeare or Zinnermann?

Young Bess 1953, MGM Costum extravaganza, old Charles Laughton steals a few scenes, It's a rather thankless role for Deb.

Dream Wife 1953, I only mention this movie because it nearly killed her co-stars career, though she survived, but he had doubt, and he was Cary Grant, a notourious flop back then apparently.

From Here to Eternity 1953, Director Zinneman wanted an actress that could play against type-casting (Columbia originally suggested Joan Crawford), so it could get more impact, and did she deliver!!! Once again she could be sexy. Famous scene is offcourse rolling around with hunk Burt on a beach. There is another scene though I also love with Burt and Deb, sitting in a park, listening to music, and just enjoying each others company.

The King and I 1956, well everyone by now know she was dubbed, and how she could dance with Yul, Offcourse one have to love musicals to really love this movie, and I did.

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison 1957, I just love this move, maybe it's because opposites attracts. Deb and Mitch became very good friends, though she was very scared of working with manly men like John Huston and Mitchum, but she originally wanted out of the production once she learned her co'star was Robert Mitchum, but somehow the found each other. and a to their ends a mutual appreciation grew, though they were so unlike each others.

The Journey 1959, a not uninteresting movie about refugees from Hungary, and the second meeting with Yul. Not a great movie but a bit underappreciated.

The Sundowners 1960, Robert Mitchum didn't feel like going to Australia, once learning he was going to star with Deb, he said "I'll go, and I don't mind second billing, as long as I can work with her again", that's how big their friendship was (Quating from a book called "Some Americans"). One of those movies I just love, without beeing able to explain why.

The Grass Is Greener 1960, Too much talk was my notes when I once seen it in early 1980's, never seen it since. So offcource I was too young....

The Innocents 1961, One of the greatest chillers ever done, the King and I role but the total opposite that the kids are not adorable, but horrible.
The first scene when it suddenly goes quiet, nor bird sounds, nor insects zzzzuming around, that was spine chilling. One of her great roles as she looks genuinly frightened in some scenes. A personal favorite.

The Night of the Iguana 1964, apparently the last movie based on a play by Tennesse Williams play that made a profit. Deb has a great role, but is avershined by Ava Gardner in her flashy role (that happends to be her very best, when beauty was fading).

Marriage on the Rocks 1966, Deb meets the Rat Pack in a rather lame comedy, well at least she tries!! The odours of alcohol that must have been around. Frank and Dean and Deb looks nice together, it's a typical romp of the mid-1960s, with hit or miss jokes, most misses though.

Casino Royale 1967, a cameo, but she knows it's overdone, and is quiet funny as she says to Bond "pay the piper". I always thought this movie was a huge commercail flop, but apparently it made a healthy profit, though not like the real Bond serial.

Prudence and the Pill 1968, Typical 1960's fluff, with the exception of the p-pill, not bad of it's kind, but a bit late by 1968.

The Arrangement 1969, Elia Kazan's last big budeget movie, and Deb together with Kirk and Faye are totally lost. In my oppinion a big boring pretentios move. The movie was a flop, and was sadly a main reason Deb gave up her movie career.

She did a few TV-movies inbetween including a final meeting in Reunion at Fairborough TV 1985, with Robert Mitchum

The Assam Garden 1985, It's nothing remarkable but a nice ending to a long career, about an old british woman and an old Indian woman who finds mutual understanding when growing plants together.

Yes she was!!!

From Here to Eternity

The Sundowners.

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

This is Favorite film, right- not the films of?

easy answer for me,

Black Narcissus 1947, not only is this perhaps Deborah Kerr's most heartfelt performance on film that feels real and authentic but it is also one of the most hauntingly beautiful films that I have seen.