Green for Danger (film)

Green for Danger is a 1946 British thriller film, based on the 1944 detective novel of the same name by Christianna Brand. It was directed by Sidney Gilliat and stars Alastair Sim, Trevor Howard, Sally Gray and Rosamund John. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. The title is a reference to the colour-coding used on the gas canisters used by anaesthetists.

Green for Danger
Theatrical film poster
Directed bySidney Gilliat
Produced byFrank Launder
Sidney Gilliat
Written byChristianna Brand (novel)
Sidney Gilliat
Claud Gurney
StarringAlastair Sim
Leo Genn
Sally Gray
Trevor Howard
Music byWilliam Alwyn
CinematographyWilkie Cooper
Edited byThelma Myers
Production
company
Individual Pictures
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
  • 7 December 1946 (1946-12-07) (UK)
  • August 1947 (1947-08) (U.S.)
Running time
91 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budgetover $1 million[1]

Plot

In August 1944, during the V-1 doodlebug offensive on London, patient Joseph Higgins (Marriott) dies on the operating table in a rural British hospital in the southeast of England. The anaesthetist, Barney Barnes (Howard), has had a patient die in similar circumstances previously, and when Sister Bates (Campbell) is killed after revealing that the death of Higgins was not an accident, Inspector Cockrill (Sim) is asked to investigate. Cockrill's investigation is hampered by the conflict between Barnes and Mr Eden (Genn) because of their competition for the affections of Nurse Linley (Gray). After a murder attempt is directed at Linley, the inspector restages the operation in order to unmask the murderer.

Cast

Production

It was based on a novel by Christina Brand. She was married to a surgeon who was assigned to a military hospital. She went along to watch an operation and the anaesthetist told her how to commit a murder. She thought of turning this into a thriller but could not think of a motive until a drunk man told her of an experience in a bomb shelter. She wrote the book which was published in 1941.[2] The New York Times called it "extremely involved."[3]

Sidney Gilliat said he bought a copy of the novel at Victoria Station to read on a train. He said he was not attracted by the detective or the hospital setting but "what appealed to me was the anesthetics - the rhythmic ritual, from wheeling the patient out to putting him out and keeping him out (in this case, permanently), with all those crosscutting opportunities offered by flowmeters, hissing gas, cylinders, palpitating rubber bags, and all the other trappings, in the middle of the Blitz, too."[4]

In December 1945 the film was announced as a project for Individual Pictures, the company of Gilliat and Frank Launder.[5] In January 1946 it was announced Robert Morley would star.[6] Morley was eventually replaced by Alistair Sim.

It was the first movie to be made at Pinewood Studios.[7] Pinewood was to be the basis for three companies: Individual, Cineguild and the Archers.[8]

Reception

The film was originally banned out of fear it would undermine confidence in hospitals. This was overruled and the film was passed with one minor cut.[4]

Box Office

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas in 1947.[9]

Critical

The film has also been highly praised by critics. The Monthly Film Bulletin said: though the story has plenty of improbabilities when considered in cold blood, this thriller holds one well when on the screen. Alastair Sim is most amusing as the self-important detective who enjoys tormenting his suspects, but who comes a partial cropper despite his assurance."[10] Leslie Halliwell noted that it was a "classic comedy-thriller, with serious detection balanced by excellent jokes and performances, also by moments of fright". [11] François Truffaut later argued the film "didn't quite come off".[12] The New York Times stated: "Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder have laid deftly humorous hands on the subject of murder. And, while they manage to keep the spectator chuckling most of the time, they never for a moment lose sight of a mystery film's prime purpose—that is, to intrigue and startle the onlooker.What more could one ask? In the case of "Green For Danger" one could reasonably request just a bit more justification for the solution, which, truth to tell, is bewildering."[13]

The Brooklyn Eagle was enthusiastic: "an expert concoction of thrills, homicide, and laughs. It's also a fine showcase for the talents of Alastair Sim, a new type of detective with a sense of humor. He easily dominates this melodrama about an old English estate which has been converted into a hospital. It's during World War II and there's dirty work afoot. Plenty of it, with two murders, one near-murder, and one dramatic death. Who says the English have no sense of humor? 'Green for Danger' will convince them otherwise. And give them some chills at the same time."[14]

For the Buffalo Courier-Express, the film was "an ambitious, highly acceptable murder melodrama...expertly acted and smartly directed....the musical score is a big asset."[15]

Home video releases

The Criterion Collection released Green for Danger on laserdisc in 1993 with optional audio commentary by Bruce Eder. Home Vision Cinema released it on VHS at the same time. Criterion released the film on DVD in 2007 with Eder's commentary and a 2007 interview documentary produced by Heather Shaw, "Geoff Brown on Green for Danger" (Brown being the author of a book on the work of Gilliat and Launder). The DVD also includes a booklet with an essay on the film by Geoffrey O'Brien and a programme note by Gilliat from a 1960s revival screening.

References
  1. "Thrill-type tales choice of British" (1946, Jul 07). Los Angeles Times
  2. Drunk in Bomb Shelter Inspires Murder Story, Basis of Film The Washington Post (1923-1954); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]24 Aug 1947: L2.
  3. GREEN FOR DANGER. By Christianna Brand. 199 pp. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. $2. New York Times 3 Sep 1944: BR10.
  4. Green for Danger article at TCMDB
  5. NOTES FROM LONDON'S FILM STUDIOS: Thriller What, No Love Affair? By C.A. LEJEUNE. New York Times 23 Dec 1945: X5.
  6. "See Dick Greene for Hungry Hill". Variety. 2 January 1946. p. 2.
  7. LONDON FILM STRUGGLE LOOMS: Look, Mom, We're Dancin'! By C.A. LEJEUNE. New York Times 24 Feb 1946: 49.
  8. THE FILM SCENE ALONG THE THAMES: Plans Altered The Korda Group Personal History By C.A. LEJEUNE. New York Times 21 Apr 1946: 51.
  9. Robert Murphy, Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48 2003 p209
  10. Volume 14, No.157, January 1947, page 3 at Monthly Film Bulletin
  11. Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 1999 (1999), ed. J.Walker, p. 338
  12. Truffaut, François (1984). Hitchcock. Simon and Schuster. p. 121.
  13. {{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/08/08/archives/green-for-danger-new-british-mystery-with-alastair-sim-as-detective.html |title=' Green for Danger,' New British Mystery, With Alastair Sim as Detective, Bill at Winter Garden -- Musical at the Globe |date=August 8, 1947
  14. Sheaffer, Lew. "Screen." Brooklyn Eagle, 21 January 1948
  15. "Review of the Theater." Buffalo Courier-Express, 8 May 1948.
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