Green for Danger (1946)

Director:

Sidney Gilliat

Writers:

Christianna Brand (novel)
Sidney Gilliat (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 November 1947 (Denmark)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

After the nurse who declares that a recent surgical death was a murder dies also, an enigmatic Scotland Yard inspector arrives to investigate.

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Hospital | Murder | Scotland Yard Inspector | Suspect

Cast

Leo Genn	...	Mr. Eden
Henry Edwards	...	Mr. Purdy
Trevor Howard	...	Dr. Barnes
Ronald Adam	...	Dr. White
Judy Campbell	...	Sister Bates
Wendy Thompson	...	Sister Carter
Rosamund John	...	Nurse Sanson
Sally Gray	...	Nurse Linley
Megs Jenkins	...	Nurse Woods
John Rae	...	The Porter
Moore Marriott	...	Joseph Higgins
Frank Ling	...	Rescue Worker
Alastair Sim	...	Inspector Cockrill
George Woodbridge	...	Det.-Sgt. Hendricks
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hattie Jacques	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Elizabeth Sydney	...	(uncredited)
Ronald Ward	...	Bit Part (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Gilliat

Writing credits
Christianna Brand		(novel)
Sidney Gilliat		(screenplay) and
Claude Guerney		(screenplay) (as Claud Gurney)

Produced by
Sidney Gilliat	....	producer (uncredited)
Frank Launder	....	producer (uncredited)
Herbert Smith	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Alwyn

Cinematography by
Wilkie Cooper		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Thelma Connell		(as Thelma Myers)

Casting by
Pat MacDonnell		(uncredited)
Adele Raymond		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Peter Proud

Art Direction by
William Hutchinson		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Rahvis		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Betty Baugh	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Eric Carter	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
Biddy Chrystal	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Sylvia Croft	....	second assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Bert Bates	....	production manager (as A.S. Bates)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Percy Hermes	....	assistant director
Eric Braun	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Laurie Knight	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Chris Noble	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Harold Batchelor	....	construction (uncredited)
William Creighton	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Vernon Dixon	....	set dresser (uncredited)
John Hoesli	....	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Eric Clennell	....	sound recordist
Bill Daniels	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)
John Dennis	....	chief production mixer (uncredited)
Alan Hogben	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Charles Knott	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)
Jack Locke	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
John Seabourne Jr.	....	dubbing editor (uncredited)
J.B. Smith	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Oswald Morris	....	cameraman
Frank Ellis	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Arthur Evans	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Alan Perry	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kathleen Moore	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Bill Lenny	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Norah Walsh	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
David C. Withers	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	musical director
Ted Drake	....	music recordist (uncredited)
Norrie Paramor	....	music arranger: dance music (uncredited)

Other crew
J. Arthur Rank	....	presenter (as J.Arthur Rank)
Paddy Arnold	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Individual Pictures (as An Individual Picture) (as Individual Pictures Ltd. also)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1946) (UK) (theatrical) (released by) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• Eagle-Lion Films (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• J.Arthur Rank-Film (1948) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• DD Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (194?) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by (as the London Symphony Orchestra)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating: 86m) (2005) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12129)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Individual Pictures

Quotes:

Dr. White:I do hope everything can be arranged discreetly.
Inspector Cockrill:Umm, shouldn't think so for a moment.
Dr. White:Why not? Press? Do they have to be seen?
Inspector Cockrill:Can't keep 'em out.
Dr. White:Oh, dear.
Inspector Cockrill:I don't mind; they always give me a good write-up.

Soundtrack:

Paul Jones

Lots of fun

Directed and produced by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, the British mystery-comedy Green for Danger is a rare treat. Featuring the incomparable Alastair Sim as Cockrill, a bumbling Scotland Yard detective and the redoubtable Trevor Howard as a suspicious doctor, the plot is a convoluted murder mystery in which five people have motive and means to commit murder -- but whodunit?

Set in a rural British hospital (that looks like an Elizabethan mansion) during the latter stages of World War II, two people are murdered before you can say "buzz bomb". The first suspicious death occurs when a postman suddenly dies on the operating table after receiving an anaesthetic. This is soon followed by the death of Nurse Marion Bates (Judy Campbell) after she announces at a party that she has found evidence to expose the killer. The possible killer includes the uptight Dr. Barnes (Trevor Howard), the emotionally unstable Nurse Sanson (Rosamund John), Nurse Woods (Megs Jenkins), Nurse Linley (Sally Gray), the object of affection from both doctors, and the philandering surgeon, Mr. Eden (Leo Genn). Each one of the suspects looks and acts guilty.

There are many twists and turns and, without giving anything away, a staged mock operation after an attempted third murder ultimately will tell the tale. But the film belongs to Alastair Sim. The word whimsical must have been invented with him in mind. You just cannot take things too seriously when he is around. His capricious charm and impudent smile lights up every dark shadow in the old hospital. Green for Danger is a bit stodgy but lots of fun.