The Green Helmet (1961)

Director:

Michael Forlong

Writer:

Jon Cleary (novel)

Stars:

Bill Travers, Ed Begley, Sid James

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Travers	...	Rafferty
Ed Begley	...	Bartell
Sid James	...	Richie Launder (as Sidney James)
Nancy Walters	...	Diane
Ursula Jeans	...	Mrs. Rafferty
Megs Jenkins	...	Kitty Launder
Jack Brabham	...	Himself
Sean Kelly	...	Taz Rafferty
Tutte Lemkow	...	Carlo Zaraga
Gordon Tanner	...	Hastrow
Ferdy Mayne	...	Rossano
Peter Collingwood	...	Charlie
Roland Curram	...	George
Diane Clare	...	Pamela
Harold Kasket	...	Lupi

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

color in title | automobile | based on novel

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Taglines:

Share the Excitement of the Greatest Sports Car Racing Ever filmed!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Couraça Verde

Filming Locations:

Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the real Mille Miglia, the cars were numbered with three-digit numbers across their hoods, representing the times they started the race. In some of the film's Mille Miglia sequences the cars are numbered correctly, but in others they have different two-digit black numbers in white circles on the sides and back, the way cars would be numbered in a closed-track race instead of an open-road race like the Mille Miglia.

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Soundtracks

"How Am I To Know?"
(uncredited)
Music by Jack King
Lyrics by Dorothy Parker

User Reviews

Old school pro sports car racing

As a child, I read Jon Cleary's novel THE GREEN HELMET in 1955, and was glad to see it as a film in 1961. My sports car racing interest in its postwar golden age was strong, and this novel and film reflects that era well.

I have had many years of racing experience now, amateur and professional, to include employment with national championship teams and wins at the Daytona 24-Hour, Sebring, Road Atlanta, etc. The team/sponsor politics, dread and anticipation of crashes, test and practice sequences, are all good, for a movie.

THE GREEN HELMET will take you back to a day when driver's suits were cotton, roll bars were optional, and a guy with a garage special could win against the big factory teams.