Green Mansions (1959)

A young man in the jungles of Venezuela meets a strange girl of the forest and falls in love with her.

Director:

Mel Ferrer

Writers:

Dorothy Kingsley (screenplay), William Henry Hudson (novel)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Rima
Anthony Perkins	...	Abel
Lee J. Cobb	...	Nuflo
Sessue Hayakawa	...	Runi
Henry Silva	...	Kua-Ko
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Don Panta
Michael Pate	...	Priest
Estelle Hemsley	...	Cla-Cla

Storyline

A young Venezuelan idealist flees his native land to escape a revolution. Hoping to find peace, he goes to the mountains and the forests of the Amazon. There he encounters Rima, the Bird Girl, an orphan living a life of nature. It is all an admirable romance telling a tale of "quest, love, and violence."

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Plot Keywords:

amazon | waterfall | fight | color in title | witch | 

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Taglines:

...the forbidden forests beyond the Amazon

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1959 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Flor Que Não Morreu

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first major Hollywood film to be shot in Panavision. The Panavision process faced its first major test when Audrey Hepburn expressed worries that the widescreen process would distort her already square face. Test footage made in Panavision revealed this not to be the case, and reportedly received applause when it was shown for Hepburn and others in a test screening.

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Goofs

While walking through the forest looking for her grandfather, Rima's hair changes from being in front of to behind her shoulders between shots.

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Connections

Referenced in Forecast (1945)

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Soundtracks

"Song of Green Mansions"
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster

User Reviews

audrey too sophisticated, tony terrible

As a child I always heard that Green Mansions was filmed in my native land, British Guiana, now Guyana.It was one of our early claims to fame.So last night with some excitement I struggled to stay up and watch it for the first time.The opening credits are set against the background of the mighty Kaieteur falls and the Kanuku mountains, and then I was a trifle chastened to see the acknowledgements which thanked the governments of British Guiana,Venezuela AND Colombia.

Tony Perkins was terrible,all stagey and stilted and inept-perhaps it wasn't his fault, the dialogue was awful, the story rambling. Audrey Hepburn,who prior to this could do no wrong in my book, was totally out of place as an ethereal, sprite-like, half-Amerindian "child"; she appeared much too old and sophisticated, AND European. The " natives" were also fake,but what could one expect in 1959 when Hollywood was still using white men to portray Native Americans?