THE GREEN MAN [1956 / 2020] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Splendid Black Comedy with the legendary Alastair Sim!
An irreverent black comedy adapted by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat from their play “Meet A Body.” THE GREEN MAN’ marked the directorial debut of camera operator Robert Day.
A scintillating Alastair Sim plays Harry Hawkins, a timid watchmaker with a part time job – Harry Hawkins is also a professional assassin who bumps off the people we love to hate. But when the philandering MP Sir Gregory Upshott [Raymond Huntley] is the intended target, vacuum cleaner salesman William Blake [George Cole] and Harry Hawkins's new neighbour Ann Vincent [Jill Adams] repeatedly get in the way. As the time of the assassination draws ever closer and Harry Hawkins tracks his victim to a dilapidated seaside hotel called The Green Man, the laughs and the tension steadily rise to a brilliant climax.
An enormously entertaining farce that ticks all the genre's boxes (mistaken identities, compromising positions, much panicking and slamming of doors), the film makes an interesting companion piece to Ealing's ‘The Ladykillers’ [1955].
FILM FACT: ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a 1956 black-and-white British black comedy film based on the play “Meet a Body” by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, who produced and adapted the big-screen version, said the film was “okay.” George Cole's then-wife, Eileen Moore, appeared in the film as the typist with whom Sir Gregory Upshott [Raymond Huntley] has a liaison. The New York Times TV section noted “Weekend at a horrible little country hotel, same name, and one of the funniest British films ever” the Radio Times wrote “If you ever doubted that Alastair Sim was the finest British screen comedian of the sound era, then here's the proof of his immense talent. As the assassin with the mournful smile, he gives a performance of rare genius that more than makes amends for the loungers in Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's script.” Allmovie opined “If ‘THE GREEN MAN’ finally falls a little short of being classic, it's only because the mechanics of the plot get a bit wearying at times; otherwise, it's a charmingly subversive little treat” while Time Out called it “A splendid black comedy.”
Cast: Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, Raymond Huntley, Colin Gordon, Avril Angers, Eileen Moore, Dora Bryan, John Chandos, Cyril Chamberlain, Richard Wattis, Vivien Wood, Marie Burke, Lucy Griffiths, Arthur Brough, Arthur Lowe, Alexander Gauge, Peter Bull, Willoughby Goddard, Michael Ripper, Leslie Weston, Doris Yorke, Terence Alexander (uncredited), Daniel Brown (uncredited), Dan Cressey (uncredited), Fred Davis (uncredited), Reggie de Beer (uncredited), Jay Denyer (uncredited), Raymond Dudle (uncredited), Mabel Etherington (uncredited), Charles Gilliar (uncredited), Pat Hagan (uncredited), Victor Harrington (uncredited), Eric Henderson (uncredited), Kevin Kelly (uncredited), Patrick Magee (uncredited), Paul Phillips (uncredited), Bob Raymond (uncredited), Tony Spears (uncredited), Philip Stewart (uncredited) and Murray Yeo (uncredited)
Directors: Basil Dearden (uncredited) and Robert Day
Producers: Frank Launder, Leslie Gilliat and Sidney Gilliat
Screenplay: Frank Launder (screenplay / from their play “Meet a Body”) and Sidney Gilliat (screenplay / from their play “Meet a Body”)
Composer: Cedric Thorpe Davie
Costume: Anna Duse (dress designer)
Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 80 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: British Lion Films / Grenadier Film Production / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: With film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ [1956] It’s all going down at “The Green Man,” a seaside guest house in Newcliffe whose proprietor would boast of its two stars and twelve beds but whose clientele may be more interested in the anonymity of its overlooked charms, in particular Sir Gregory Upshott [Raymond Huntley] who would prefer his weekend away with one of the girls from the typing pool to not be common knowledge, not realising his secretary Marigold [Avril Angers] misses nothing.
Fortunately, Marigold is a loyal employee and has mentioned the indiscretion to only one person, the charming Harry Hawkins who has been courting her since the day they met in the St James’ Park and she had run out of breadcrumbs with which to feed the birds; regrettably, the mercenary Hawkins is in fact an assassin whose next target is Sir Gregory Upshott.
“I only accepted assignments against the so-called “great,” those overblown balloons who just cry out to be popped, and I was glad to offer myself as a humble pin – at a reasonable price… In fact, the more self-important my victims were, the greater my joy, so to speak, in making the punishment fit the crime.”
A perfectionist accustomed to shifting the pieces like a game of chess, Harry Hawkins’ plans for Sir Gregory Upshott and a booby-trapped radio are sent tumbling in disarray first by a stray sheet of carbon paper which leads Marigold to his home with questions he would rather not answer, then by the arrival of vacuum cleaner William Blake [George Cole] whose eagerness leads him to check under carpets and in corners best left alone.
Hailing from the pens of writers, producers and sometime directors Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, ‘THE GREEN MAN’ was based on their previously produced play “Meet A Body,” substantially rewritten to bolster the role of anti-hero bomber Harry Hawkins as a vehicle for the versatile comedy player Alastair Sim, clearly delighting in his subversive role.
Directed by Robert Day and originally released in 1956 and now restored for StudioCanal’s Vintage Classics range, primarily from the original camera negative but resorting to alternative sources where severe damage had occurred. ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a delightfully madcap romp, gleefully anarchic and surprisingly anti-establishment, starting and ending with a bang and with a body in the piano for good measure.
As always Alistair Sim brings his genius for comedy to a great British farce from the fifties. He seems to give an effortless performance as ever, making today's so called “comic” actors a lesson on how to do it. Alistair Sim has been unjustly underrated by the British. Alistair Sim can elicit mirth from the slightest gesture or subtle change of expression. And that voice, is so incredibly mellifluous and characterful, he delivers lines like no-one else can and try to see all of Alistair Sim’s films and you will not regret it. Also, just because the younger generation thinks these films are old, does not render them uninteresting or unwatchable and pity younger film enthusiasts do not study actors like Alistair Sim any more.
The film was directed by former camera operator Robert Day, making his debut in that capacity with some uncredited supervision from the more experienced Basil Dearden. Robert Day's subsequent contributions to British comedy include the classics ‘The Rebel’ and ‘Two-Way Stretch’ both 1960, but since the 1960’s Robert Day has worked almost exclusively in the USA.
‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a fantastically enjoyable romp that crams as many genre staples in as it can, mistaken identities, farcical situations, and outright panic all come together to play out 80 minutes of pure joy. Alastair Sim plays his character as a total delight, his scenes in the hotel, particularly when engaging the resident dowagers, are wonderful, a lesson in facial comedy. We have the wonderful ever youthful George Cole, a pretty Jill Adams and that always excellent rapscallion, Terry-Thomas. Produced by the dynamite team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat and ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a true 100% British treasure.
THE GREEN MAN MUSIC TRACK LIST
Gaudeamus igitur (uncredited) (Traditional) [Heard when the school photo is seen at the start of the film]
A Wandering Minstrel I (uncredited) (From the 'The Mikado', by Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert) [The second tune played by the trio]
Hungarian Dance for Orchestra no. 5 in G minor (uncredited) (Composed by Johannes Brahms)
Divertimento No. 17 in D major – K334/320b (uncredited) (Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – British Lion Films, Grenadier Film Production and StudioCanal presents you the 1956 film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ 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. The print looks very clean, with minimal debris and other problems, so the image is allowed to really stand out. The black-and-white image really looks great and shows more sharpness than expected, which is always good news and it 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 StudioCanal 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 – British Lion Films, Grenadier Film Production and StudioCanal brings you the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ with just one standard 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo experience. Of course this film is a dialogue driven for this 1956 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 StudioCanal 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: Alastair Sim and ‘THE GREEN MAN’ by Stephen Fry [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [25:36] With this featurette, we have the gregarious polymath Stephen Fry talks about one of his favourite actors, Alastair Sim, at length and reveals some interesting facts about the man and about the film and its other participants. But Stephen Fry talks in glowing honour to the brilliant actor Alastair Sim, and his appearance in the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ and talks about the character played by Alastair Sim who actually plays an assassin and a murderer, and uses his qualities of the macabre and sinister outlook, but also a comic character, who talks about pompous politicians who have to be killed and plants a bomb in a portable radio to go off precisely at 10:30pm to explode and kill the politician, but as with all these comedies things go horribly wrong in the hotel “The Green Man.” Stephen Fry calls the film a “Black Comedy” and also in the film we have the actor Terry-Thomas playing his usual feckless character. But of course the main plot of the film is where two of the actors thwart the politician being blown up, and the comedy slowly builds up the suspense, while Alistair Sim’s character tries desperately to make sure the politician gets blown up, and of course we are all the way Alistair Sim to blow up the politician, which of course that is what “Black Comedy” is all about. Stephen Fry feels that Alistair Sim plays his character so well in the film, and Stephen Fry wishes we could see more of that character that Alistair Sim plays in other “Black Comedy” films, as he feels he plays that sinister character so well, and of course Alistair Sim has a wonderful sinister voice in this film. To emphasise what Stephan Fry is talking about, we get specific scenes from the film ‘THE GREEN MAN.’ Stephan Fry is glad and pleased of this Blu-ray release of ‘THE GREEN MAN,’ because it shows a form of acting we do not see being performed for modern audiences, not because it is “ham,” but because Stephan Fry feels no one cannot perform it anymore and does not know why they cannot do that type of acting anymore, and Stephan Fry challenges actors today to act like Alistair Sim, and also the other actors in the film, because he feels the film is a total masterpiece. Stephan Fry now talks about the certain rules when it comes to comedy, the decision by the director to do a close-up or to stand back is immensely important, especially when it comes to great comics. Stephen Fry now talks about the actor George Cole, who he was a great friend to Alastair Sim and talks about them working together and what Alastair Sim was like to work with, and Stephan Fry also talks British films, especially when it comes to Ealing Studio films and comedies adapted by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat during the post war period, and especially the new Elizabethan era period of Great Britain and Stephen Fry feels that the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a perfect example of a great British comedy film, but some of the Ealing Studio comedy films have become quite famous, but Stephen Fry feels ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a perfect example, and especially with the two iconic actors in the film, were of course Alastair Sim and Terry-Thomas that he feels were truly wonderful British actors, and at that point the Stephen Fry featurette ends and they say “With thanks to Stephen Fry.”
Special Feature: Interview with Cultural Historian Matthew Sweet [2020] [1080p] [1.78:1 / 1.37:1] [24:24] With this featurette, we get to meet Matthew Sweet, where he talks about “The Case of ‘THE GREEN MAN’ – An Investigation by Matthew Sweet,” and Matthew Sweet talks about the partnership between Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and feels they are one of the great double act of British Cinema and they were together for so long and feels marriages never lasted so long feels marriages never lasted so long as these icon double act in British Cinema History. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat met at the end of the 1920’s at Elstree Studio and that studio started to grow and bring out British icon comedy films, and their first collaboration was on the British film entitled ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ [1929] which is an early talky British historical drama film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Marguerite Allan, Nigel Barrie and Wilfred Shine. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat worked together at a number of British film studios, and especially during the Second World War and they formed their own independent production company and came under the umbrella of the RANK Organisation, which at the time was the biggest outfit in British history of the cinema. But due to a conflict of interest with the RANK Organisation, Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat left that organisation and went to work for London Films Productions that was founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda at Shepperton Studios. As to Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat’s careers, they had a tremendous track record and they made the amazing war themed film ‘Million’s Like Us’ 1943 British documentary propaganda film, and the work in a wartime aircraft munitions factory, where her co-workers represent a variety of social classes and it starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-directed by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat made another good 1946 film entitled ‘I See a Dark Stranger’ and is about a determined independent Bridie Quilty [Deborah Kerr] who comes of age in 1944 Ireland thinking all Englishmen are devils. Bridie Quilty herself, who is Irish and openly anti-British, is willing to help the Germans at the outset and through most of the film. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat were also involved with the film ‘Green For Danger’ and is a 1946 film and is set during a German bombing raid on rural southeast England during World War II, a hospital undergoes heavy shelling. Postman Joseph Higgins [Moore Marriott] dies on the operating table when a bomb explodes in the operating room. But when Sister Marion Bates [Judy Campbell] dies after revealing that this is not the first patient of anaesthetist Barney Barnes [Trevor Howard] to die under suspicious circumstances, Police Inspector Cockrill [Alastair Sim] is brought in to investigate. The in the 1950’s Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat made another classic iconic 1954 comedy film entitled ‘The Belles of St. Trinian's’ and starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley. Inspired by British cartoonist Ronald Searle's St Trinian's School comic strips, the film focuses on the lives of the students and teachers of the fictional school, dealing with attempts to shut them down while their headmistress faces issues with financial troubles, which culminates in the students thwarting a scheme involving a racehorse. Matthew Sweet feels the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ has a lot going on inside “The Green Man” hotel and you also get a lot of things happening inside the establishment, which builds up to a big bang. Matthew Sweet also mentions that ‘THE GREEN MAN’ was partially directed by Alistair Sim because Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat insisted Alastair Sim had to be in the film as well, and luckily Alastair Sim had some previous experience in directing films, but was a very cranky and difficult person to work with, but Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat put up with Alastair Sim’s ways, as they felt Alastair Sim brought something unique to ‘THE GREEN Man’ and especially for the fact he appeared in that film. Matthew Sweet talks about the actress Avril Angers and feels this was a great British actress, but is rather a neglected actress in British comedy films, and was very big in her day in the 1950’s doing pantomimes and also appeared in a BBC “Radio Fun” comedy series and also appeared in a printed comedy strip entitled “Adventures of Avril Angers.” Matthew Sweet feels the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ has an interest in the media beyond cinema, because this is a world of radio and an early entry of television and this feeds into the film’s story really well, and especially with the BBC. Matthew Sweet also feels the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is a really funny film and had lots of silly moments, and an undercurrent of violence, which he also feels is very attractive for the theme of the film was well. At that point this Matthew Sweet featurette ends and feels the film makes an interesting viewing experience and again why Matthew Sweet really love the ‘THE GREEN MAN’ film. This is easily one of the best featurette on this Blu-ray disc.
Special Feature: Those British Faces: Alastair Sim [1992] [480i] [1.37:1] [27:32] With this featurette, that tends to concentrate on the amazing British actor Alastair Sim and some iconic scenes that the actor appeared in some of his British films and we also find out that Alastair Sim who was a very private man and also one who was rather cranky and who didn’t suffer fools gladly. We first view Alastair Sim in a clip from the film ‘The Belles of St. Trinian's’ where he play the character of a headmistress and also as himself together in one scene in the film and of course Alastair Sim also appeared in the film ‘THE GREEN MAN’ with the actor George Cole, who Alastair Sim was a great friend to him and also coached this young actor at the time to get rid of his Cockney accent. We also take a look at other well-known films that Alastair Sim appeared in and other wonderful different iconic characters. Even though Alastair Sim had some great success in films, his real love was performing in stage plays. Then we move onto when Alastair Sim was in collaboration with Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. We also get to view lots of clips in black-and-white and colour. Alastair Sim was really honoured when he was elected elected rector at the University of Edinburgh in 1948, given an honorary degree in 1951 and Alastair Sim was also appointed CBE two years later. This series tended to feature a look at the background of famous British actors of a bygone era. This one, not surprisingly, focuses on Alistair Sim. This perhaps has too many clips from the film, but still has some interesting information. Narrated by Gyles Brandreth. This was a Large Door Limited Production in Association with Channel 4 TV.
Special Feature: Behind the Scene and Portraits Stills Gallery [1956] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:08] With this featurette, we get to view wonderful 17 black-and-white 1080p images related to the film ‘THE GREEN MAN,’ it features images of Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, George Cole, Beryl Reed and Avril Angers. It also features lots of behind-the-scene images related to the film ‘THE GREEN MAN.’ Plus lots of publicity photos of the actors.
Finally, ‘THE GREEN MAN’ [1956] moves along at a cracking pace and feels like two stage plays stitched together, with act I being the original murder of Marigold and act II being the events in “The Green Man” hotel. ‘THE GREEN MAN’ is one of the funniest black comedies ever made, but it has been hidden from most movie fans because it came in a period of many films from Britain of equal value and with higher star quality top cast starting with Alastair Sim, George Cole and Terry Thomas. The plot twists and turns to such an extent that it's quite hard to follow, but totally brilliant all the same. Terry Thomas appears for only about 20 minutes, but adds a hint of magic to the whole film. As always Alastair Sim and George Cole work together brilliantly on screen and it's just a funny, quite creepy, but most of all, it is a really good film. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
