Green Hell (1940)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

Frances Marion (original story and screenplay)
Harry Hervey (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

26 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance

Plot:

A group of adventurers head deep into a South American jungle in search of ancient Incan treasure. A beautiful woman...

Plot Keywords:

Expedition | Treasure | Jungle | Jealousy | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.	...	Keith Brandon
Joan Bennett	...	Stephanie Richardson
John Howard	...	Hal Scott
George Sanders	...	Forrester
Alan Hale	...	Dr. Emil 'Nils' Loren
George Bancroft	...	Jim 'Tex' Morgan
Vincent Price	...	David Richardson
Eugene Gericke	...	Graham (as Gene Garrick)
Francis McDonald	...	Gracco
Mala	...	Mala (as Ray Mala)
Peter Bronte	...	Santos
Lupita Tovar	...	Native Girl

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

James Whale Productions

Trivia:

In later years co-star Vincent Price ridiculed the inanities in this film. After the Medved Brothers' book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time" came out in the late 1970s, Price declared in an interview that he could not understand how they could not include "Green Hell."

Goofs:

Continuity: Richardson is hit by two arrows which are at least two feet long. Back at camp, two comrades examine these arrows which are now about a foot long.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed (1999) (V)

Great cast - so so movie

Started off promising but got bogged down in the middle with the introduction of Mrs. Richardson (Joan Bennett). Warning, spoilers will most likely be in the rest of the review. It seemed kind of pointless to kill off Vincent Price so early in the movie, a lot was made of how mysterious he was. Also, convenient of George Sanders to kill himself just before they get rescued, this prevents any kind of entanglements there might have been if they all had been rescued. The fun thing to do with this film, is that knowing that director James Whale was gay, is to look at the characters in another light. Isn't it strange that everything was going great with the exploring party made up of just men but once Bennett comes along everything goes to hell? Also what was the deal with John Howard and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.? It sure seemed to me that Howard was carrying a torch for Doug. Oh, the mind reels.