criterionforum.org

Green for Danger



In the midst of Nazi air raids, a postman dies on the operating table at a rural English hospital. But was the death accidental? A delightful and wholly unexpected murder mystery, British writer/director Sidney Gilliat's Green for Danger features Trevor Howard and Sally Gray as suspected doctors, and Alastair Sim in a marvelous turn as Scotland Yard's insouciant Inspector Cockrill. A screenwriter who had worked with Hitchcock on such films as The Lady Vanishes and Jamaica Inn, Gilliat slyly upends whodunit conventions with wit and style.

Special Features

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer
• Audio commentary by film and music historian Bruce Eder
• New interview with British film historian Geoff Brown
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: A new essay by writer Geoffrey O'Brien and a director's statement

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

I'm glad to see more new releases with audio commentaries

domino harvey wrote:I'm glad to see more new releases with audio commentaries

Actually, I believe that they are recycling the same commentary they released on the laserdisc (though I'm glad they are).

I don't know anything at all about this movie, can anyone who has seen it offer their impressions?

mmacklem wrote:I don't know anything at all about this movie, can anyone who has seen it offer their impressions?

I watched the R2 release a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn't describe it as a classic.

Alistair Sim is great - he always is - and Trevor Howard is his usual dashing self. But the plot clunks along unconvincingly, and the title reveals too much of 'how done it'. As for 'who done it,' if you're paying attention you can see it a mile off. As for the mise en scène - which for a large part is nocturnal and claustrophobic - I think it owes more to budget constraints than directorial vision.

I'm loathe to say that this movie's not worthy of Criterion, but measure it against, say, Kinds Hearts and Coronets, and there's no comparison.

I think a little more highly of the film than Nyasa apparently does. The key to enjoying this film -- as with any of the films Sidney Gilliat and/or Frank Launder made independently -- is to focus on two things: (1) The way they play around with genre conventions (the mixture of mystery, comedy, and wartime "black-out" movie); and (2) the quirky sense of humor. In the case of Green for Danger, I agree with Nyasa that the plot (as such) is not particularly gripping or well-constructed; however, the film's touch of genius is the contrast between Sim's comic detective and everyone else who plays it straight. The movie seems to anticipate later send-ups of noir conventions in His Kind of Woman and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

Probably the easiest way to figure out whether or not you'll like Green for Danger is to think back on your reaction to any other Gilliat/Launder movies you've seen. Of course, they wrote the screenplays for The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich. But the most similar film that comes to mind is the Frank Launder-directed I See a Dark Stranger, which HVe released on DVD a few years ago. It plays up the comedy a bit more than Green for Danger, but I think the two films are very similar in content and style.

PS: I'd also say that this is the kind of movie that grows on your with time and repeated viewings. Like Nyasa, I wasn't too impressed with it on my first viewing -- perhaps because I was too caught up in the plot. It's really the characterizations that make this movie.

I'm not completely sure, but wasn't this the film the BBC were coincidentally showing on the night Alastair Sim died in 1976?

EDIT: Sorry for the misinformation. I've done a bit of research and found the film showing was actually An Inspector Calls.

Just watched this thanks to netflix. I thought it was a lot of fun, and Inspector Cockrill was hilarious! I would have liked a series with this character.

I agree that the plot's a little clunky, but Inspector Cockrill's bemusement throughout, esp. playing with the genre conventions, seems to make this film almost 'postmodern' in a way. Anyway, while it's not a classic, it's definitely a fun film to watch, and the dialogue is certainly snappy.

Here's my Sight & Sound eulogy to Alastair Sim, which discusses Green for Danger in some detail (or at least as much detail as a 2,500 word complete career overview can reasonably squeeze in).

This was a real treat, and surprisingly laugh out loud funny in parts thanks to the oft mentioned Inspector. Great stuff, surprised there's not more discussion afoot.

domino harvey wrote:This was a real treat, and surprisingly laugh out loud funny in parts thanks to the oft mentioned Inspector. Great stuff, surprised there's not more discussion afoot.

Agreed. I especially liked when the two doctors were brawling, and Inspector Cockrill pulled up a chair and started laughing at them! I also liked his voiceover at the end. As I said before, I really wished that had become a recurring character.

I am just enough of a snob to want to own, rather than rent, the many Criterion discs that I enjoy. But, I rented this one and I'm glad I resisted an impulse purchase, because a list price of $39.95 is too damn high for a minor classic with a recycled commentary and a short bonus feature. My general position is that "you'll never hear anything bad about Criterion from me", and I certainly recommend the movie, but these prices soon add up to real money. I want to give Criterion my money, but not quite so much money. I know I can get it for less than full list price, but it's still too much. Somebody do something!

Belmondo wrote:I am just enough of a snob to want to own, rather than rent, the many Criterion discs that I enjoy. But, I rented this one and I'm glad I resisted an impulse purchase, because a list price of $39.95 is too damn high for a minor classic with a recycled commentary and a short bonus feature. My general position is that "you'll never hear anything bad about Criterion from me", and I certainly recommend the movie, but these prices soon add up to real money. I want to give Criterion my money, but not quite so much money. I know I can get it for less than full list price, but it's still too much. Somebody do something!

Eh. I sympathize, because I have completist tendencies and want to own everything associated with criterion (especially when it has cool cover art), but I knew from the get-go that I wasn't dishing out $ for this one.

Still, Green for Danger is fun and witty, and when you consider that Kevin Smith's movies are loaded with hours of extras, all of which suck even worse than his movie, it's suddenly a lot easier to justify paying criterion's inflated SRP given the presentation they do. There are plenty of movies full of stoopid extras, but I'll gladly take a dvd whose extras actually tell me something about the film and its historical and aesthetic context.

Is this one worth blind buying during the B1G1 sale? Anyone, anyone? It's the higher price point which is a little upsetting, but it's one I've had my eye on and haven't gotten to see yet.

Absolutely, this was one of the best Criterions released last year. A great British noir story for the first half and then an amazing comic performance by Alastair Sim for the second half equals excellent blind buy.

I almost want to buy it purely to celebrate what is, in my opinion, the best cover art in Criterion history.

mfunk9786 wrote:I almost want to buy it purely to celebrate what is, in my opinion, the best cover art in Criterion history.

Don't want to talk about cover art in this thread, but yes, it is a work of art. Purely original. I'm glad Criterion released this gem.

I need to pick this one up as well; I Netflixed it when it was first released and loved it. I think I'll pair this one with Pandora's Box on the DDD sale.

One of my favorite gags in this film is when Sim's inspector character is in bed reading a mystery novel, and when he skips to the end to see who the guilty person was (I guess I'll spoilerize this)...

Spoiler

...the smile on his face turns to a dejected frown, and as he puts the book down to go to sleep, he says, "I must be getting old"!

mfunk9786 wrote:Is this one worth blind buying during the B1G1 sale?

I blind-bought it some months ago with one of those Borders 30% or 40% off coupons. I didn't regret it at all; liked it quite a bit.

mfunk9786 wrote:Is this one worth blind buying during the B1G1 sale? Anyone, anyone? It's the higher price point which is a little upsetting, but it's one I've had my eye on and haven't gotten to see yet.

It was a blind buy for me, but I took the advice from the board and forked over the cash at a local (Pittsburgh) independent seller that maintains a hefty selection of Criterion titles. The guy behind the counter gave the film high praises. I'm glad I took the chance on this one. A sense of tension and paranoia builds as the story develops, but in the end the whodunit aspect becomes of little importance. The film wins entirely on mood and character. This discussion has enticed me watch it again, hopefully this afternoon...

Thank you for the recommendation - I had a giftcard at Borders that I used for this - and it was beyond worth it. What an exciting, funny, purely entertaining little film.