IMDb > Green Light (1937)

Green Light (1937) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   127 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 20% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Frank Borzage
Writers:
Milton Krims (screenplay)
Lloyd C. Douglas (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Green Light on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 February 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Plot:
Dr. Newell Paige is a dedicated surgeon and physician who is devoted to his patients and to the ethics of his profession... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
User Comments:
"Green Light" is full of rewards more (4 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Errol Flynn ... Dr. Newell Paige
Anita Louise ... Phyllis Dexter
Margaret Lindsay ... Frances Ogilvie
Cedric Hardwicke ... Dean Harcourt (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Walter Abel ... Doctor John Stafford
Henry O'Neill ... Dr. Endicott
Spring Byington ... Mrs. Dexter
Erin O'Brien-Moore ... Pat Arlen
Henry Kolker ... Dr. Lane
Pierre Watkin ... Dr. Booth
Granville Bates ... Sheriff
Russell Simpson ... Sheep Man
Myrtle Stedman ... A Nurse
St. Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers ... Choir (as St. Luke's Choristers)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eddy Chandler ... Policeman (scenes deleted)
Harvey Clark ... (scenes deleted)
Jim Farley ... (scenes deleted)
Noel Kennedy ... English Messenger Boy (scenes deleted)
Milton Kibbee ... Other Man (scenes deleted)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
85 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono | Vitaphone
Certification:
Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #2450)
Company:
Cosmopolitan Productions more

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Version of "Luz da Esperança" (1956) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
"Green Light" is full of rewards, 6 August 2007
7/10
Author: chrisart7 from New York City

Though not a 'period piece' "Green Light" dates much more than its Errol Flynn-starring predecessors "Captain Blood" and "Charge of the Light Brigade". And that's not necessarily a bad thing. The film was made when the Art Deco-1930s were in full flower. Frank Borzage's direction and the cinematography are beautifully impressionistic and occasionally artsy in a then-modern way as well. Flynn's smiles a bit too broadly and too often in early scenes, in a seeming bid to bring across a likable character. When he shifts attention to others he is much more natural and believable in the film.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke is well cast as the venerable Anglican reverend Dean Harcourt. His booming baritone voice put across his character's appeals for faith and other Christian virtues which are immediately believable (though his pipe-smoking is a bit incongruous with such a character).

One drawback of the film is that its script literally contorts to AVOID the direct mention of Jesus Christ, or the quotation of any recognizable Scriptures (until the finale), substituting semi-mystical pieties and somewhat vague aphorisms of encouragement. It is strongly implied that Flynn's character has undergone a conversion by the time the picture concludes, but it is never expressly stated.

Anita Louise, a lovely blonde, plays one of the women vying for Flynn's affections. Playing the role of her mother is Spring Byington, a delightful busybody in "Charge of the Light Brigade", but here a radiant Christian woman, full of faith, hope, and love which Flynn's initially-sceptical character comments upon long after her scenes are over.

The screenplay and film editing are not as sharp as those of Flynn's most beloved films, and Max Steiner's music is beautifully romantic but oddly unmemorable---which is hard to believe considering his catalog of work (the rousing "Charge of the Light Brigade", for instance, or the classics "The Wizard of Oz" or "Casablanca"). The choristers (boys) of St. Luke's Episcopal Church effectively lend their voices to a few scenes, and would do so in Flynn's follow-up film, "The Prince and the Pauper".

"Green Light" is a diamond in the rough, a neglected gem, and somewhat of a spiritual cousin to Hollywood's "One Foot in Heaven" which starred Fredric March as a minister some four or five years later. It is aired on occasion on TCM (Turner Classic Movies), but has yet to be officially released on videocassette or DVD.

In retrospect it is a bit of surprise choice for an Errol Flynn role, as the film is not nearly so high-budgeted as his preceding pictures. But he desired to prove himself as an actor, not just an action hero in the Douglas Fairbanks Sr. mode, and this was his first non-swashbuckler in which to essay the sort of role Ronald Colman took on in "Arrowsmith" six years earlier.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (4 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Green Light (1937)

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Gone with the Wind Johnny Got His Gun Dangerous Intrigue The Notebook The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
IMDb Drama section IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.