GREEN FOR DANGER [1946 / 2019] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Presenting ALISTAIR SIM as the legendary Inspector Cockrill!
Alastair Sim gives one of his most memorable performances as a whimsically complacent police inspector investigating a series of murders at a wartime emergency hospital in this masterful comedy thriller from Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. Deftly subverting the conventions of the standard “whodunit.” ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ features atmospheric cinematography from Wilkie Cooper and strong supporting performances from Trevor Howard, Sally Gray and Rosamund John. This classic post-war feature is now presented as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements and in its original theatrical aspect ratio.
An air raid casualty dies on the operating table and a theatre sister stumbles upon evidence suggesting his death was no accident. When she in turn is killed, Inspector Cockrill realising that each remaining suspect has a strong motive for the murders must reconstruct the crime to reveal the killer's true identity.
FILM FACT: The film ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ was shot at Pinewood Studios in England. The title is a reference to the colour-coding used on the gas canisters used by anaesthetists. In January 1946 it was announced that Robert Morley would star, but was eventually replaced by Alastair Sim. According to trade papers, the film was a “notable box office attraction” at British cinemas in 1947. The film has also been highly praised by critics. Leslie Halliwell noted that it was a “classic comedy-thriller, with serious detection balanced by excellent jokes and performances, also by moments of fright.” 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.
Cast: Leo Genn, Henry Edwards, Trevor Howard, Ronald Adam, Judy Campbell, Wendy Thompson, Rosamund John, Sally Gray, Megs Jenkins, John Rae, Moore Marriott, Frank Ling, Alastair Sim, George Woodbridge, Hattie Jacques (uncredited) (unconfirmed), Elizabeth Sydney (uncredited) and Ronald Ward (uncredited)
Director: Sidney Gilliat
Producers: Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat and Herbert Smith (uncredited)
Screenplay: Claud Gurney (screenplay), Sidney Gilliat (screenplay) and Christianna Brand (from the novel)
Composer: William Alwyn
Cinematography: Wilkie Cooper, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 91 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: RANK Organisation / General Film Distributors / Network
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: The film ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ [1946] was adapted from a novel by Christianna Brand, one of six humorous whodunits featuring Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police, and considerably alters Brand's story and its protagonist. Originally set in a military hospital during the Blitz in 1941, the film relocates the action to a civilian emergency hospital during the doodlebug campaign of 1944.
Possibly it is the best film to come out of the immensely successful partnership of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat in this mischievous tongue-in-cheek thriller whodunit featuring some of the best British actors of its time. It’s a classic of its kind, benefiting from an ingenuous plot, with well-developed characters, and a mood that is keenly evocative of England in the Second World War and is a film that will appeal to any film aficionado of an Agatha Christie genre style of murder mysteries.
It is August 1944; with the puttering of Nazi Doodlebugs an ever-present menacing undertone, the staff and patients of a small rural hospital go about their daily business. But, as Alastair Sim’s narration dolefully informs us, that a killer is about to strike!
The film reveals more background to the main characters, with particular emphasis on a love triangle/quadrangle between Dr. Barnes [Trevor Howard], surgeon Mr. Eden [Leo Genn], Nurse 'Freddi' Linley [Sally Gray], and Mr.Eden's rejected earlier fling, Sister Bates [Judy Campbell]. At a staff party that evening Sister Bates reveals Higgins' death was murder: she knows how it was done, and the culprit. Going to the operating theatre to retrieve the evidence, Sister Bates is attacked by a figure dressed in an operating outfit and is violently stabbed to death. So Inspector Cockrill arrives the next day to investigate.
Sidney Gilliat’s 1946 comedy thriller wastes little time in deftly sketching out the suspects and establishing the passions, rivalries and buried secrets that could lead one of them to murder. And sure enough, without explanation, a patient dies on the operating table during a routine surgery Hospital management are determined to downplay the accident, but then a nurse announces that the death was deliberate – and that she knows who is to blame! The green of the title refers to the colour coding of anaesthetic gas canisters – a fact probably lost on cinema audiences given that the film was made in black-and-white.
Despite providing the voiceover that bookends the film, Alistair Sim’s Inspector Cockrill doesn’t appear until over a third of the way into the action. Unfortunately, we see Inspector Cockrill pratfalling [a fall in which a person lands on their bottom, especially for a humorous effect in a play or a film] his way over a swinging gate in his first shot; where he has been called on to investigate the suspicious death. But it’s not long before he’s engaged in larceny of his own, craftily stealing every scene from under the noses of a distinguished cast that includes Trevor Howard, Sally Gray and Rosamund John. With the murderer prepared to strike again to conceal their secret, the shrewd Cockrill takes a risky gamble to unmask the culprit. But his over-confidence could yet prove to be his undoing…
The atmosphere of the hospital (filmed entirely at Pinewood studio) is very well presented, with its dark, shadowy corridors and an air of makeshift wartime improvisation, very expressively photographed by Wilkie Cooper. The music of William Alwyn also emphasises mood, switching from the high-spirited title theme to swooning, sinister 'murder music' in the operating scenes.
Alastair Sim cuts an unmistakable figure, tie askew and cadaverous face alight with mischief. And whether he’s skulking around in the background, needling the suspects like a prototype-Columbo, or gleefully pulling up a chair to watch when two of the doctors come to fisticuffs, he brings a sly, almost anarchic presence to what could easily have been a staid potboiler in less capable hands than those of Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ was a key entry in their 40-year run of films and they would go on to make their indelible mark on British movies with such classics as ‘London Belongs to Me,’ ‘The Happiest Days of Your Life ‘and the ‘St. Trinians’ series. Its lightness of touch and strong performances won plaudits in the contemporary trade press, and it performed well, both in British cinemas and overseas.
Ultimately, however, ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ belongs ultimately to brilliant Alistair Sim, and it is a great pity there was not a series of Inspector Cockrill films to follow this amazing brilliant British film.
GREEN FOR DANGER MUSIC TRACK LIST
PAUL JONES (uncredited) (Arranged by Harry Gold and Norrie Paramor)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – General Film Distributors and Network organisations presents ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ in a stunning black-and-white 1080p image that is a pristine, and reference level treatment, and is also presented in the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio and it has been given a brand new high-definition transfer from a 35mm nitrate fine-grain master positive. Although some basic image restoration work was carried out, the picture still displays many faults including dirt, scratches, density fluctuations, film movement, light drops, and missing frames, amongst other issues. The new image transfer includes around 20 seconds of additional footage omitted from the previous Standard transfer. The black-and-white image really looks good and is a marked improvement over the other previous versions released I have viewed, and I am again very impressed what the Network have done to preserve this classic British drama. So well done Network for your sterling work and definitely gets a five star rating from me. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – General Film Distributors and Network organisations brings you ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ with just one standard 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience. Of course this film is a dialogue driven for this 1946 film and that means the mono audio is more than adequate for a film of this calibre, and has no real problems to report. On top of all that, the audio has been mastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack, so all the sound is focused via the speakers, and since this film lives and breathes on the amazing screenplay, especially with the clever use of narration and the brisk pace of the story, it serves the film well and I found myself totally immersed in this film, which may very well have more to do with the great characters and again the razor sharp screenplay. So once again, well done Network for your sterling work and definitely gets a five star rating from me.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Image Gallery [1946] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:33] With this featurette, we get to view 32 promotional material for the film ‘GREEN FOR DANGER,’ including posters, film star promotions, German info on ‘GREEN FOR DANGER,’ and promotional photographs of Alistair Sim.
Finally, Sidney Gilliat’s film ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ is an overlooked classic gem of a film that transplants the trappings of a droll British murder mystery into an unexpected WWII context, with Nazi air raids and an emergency wartime hospital set up in a rural manor home outside London. ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ is simply wonderful. A clever murder-mystery that has more than its fair share of humour; and the characters that have a real sense about them and a performance by Alistair Sim as the Inspector, that is charming, witty, sly and incredibly memorable. It isn’t free from the occasional melodramatic moment, by the dry sense of humour and sense of fun more than overshadow them. A classic moment in the film comes as Dr. Barnes [Trevor Howard] and Mr. Eden [Leo Genn] enter into a bout of stiff and silly fisticuffs as Inspector Cockrill [Alastair Sim] gleefully watches on with a delight in his eye that represents everything about his character. ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ showcases great British actors, with their natural subtleness and earthy humour, typified by a short exchange when Inspector Cockrill is investigating a doctor present at the scene of the crime. And this is what ‘GREEN FOR DANGER’ is, a satirical combination of dry humour and clever sleuthing, and British specialities which blend together into a delicious piece of cinema history. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
