There’s an excellent mystery film on Turner Classsic Movies tonight at 7:00 EST: Green for Danger, directed by ace British filmmaker Sidney Gilliat from a novel by Christianna Brand, one of the great Golden Age mystery writers.
Set in an English hospital during World War II, the film features Brand’s great detective, Inspector Cockrill, and is an excellent adaptation to celluloid.
Cockrill is an interesting, eccentric detective, and Alistair Sim brings his great humor and class to the role. This is an essential detective film.
Here’s the TCM program info:
| 7:00 PM | Green For Danger (1946) |
| A police inspector investigates an operating room death that may be murder. Cast: Sally Gray, Trevor Howard, Alastair Sim. Dir: Sidney Gilliat. BW-91 mins, |
Thanks, Mike. Superb analysis. Sim was an immensely talented actor, and as you suggest, the directing job by Sidney Gilliat is first-rate.
Dear S. T.:
Sim is a hoot in GREEN FOR DANGER. Here are my other comments posted on the GADetection forum:
This was the first time I saw GREEN FOR DANGER without (a) commercial
interruptions and (b) cuts to ALLOW FOR commercial interruptions.
The scenes involving the death of the nurse show directorial
flourishes, as do a few others. The large hospital sets were
most impressive.
Was it just a coincidence when the print lightened up considerably
just as the culprit is in the process of being revealed?
The film is not entirely fair play, however, since the killer’s
connection with the first victim (the postman) isn’t stated until
very near the finale–unless I missed a mention of it earlier (this
movie has a LOT of dialogue).
Alastair Sim steals the film, hands down. He was one of those actors
who invariably do so effortlessly. His interstitial monologues serve
as a narrative glue tying the whole thing together. His ironic
understatement and humorous touches are most welcome in a film that
would have otherwise been oppressively serious. But is he the
Inspector Cockrill of Christianna Brand’s novel?
Here’s the Wikipedia entry about the film:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_for_Danger_%28film%29
–Best regards
–Mike Tooney