Green for Danger (1946)

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

Director:

Sidney Gilliat

Writers:

Christianna Brand (from the novel by), Sidney Gilliat (screenplay)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Sally Gray, Trevor Howard

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leo Genn	...	The Hospital Staff - The Doctors: Mr. Eden
Henry Edwards	...	The Hospital Staff - The Doctors: Mr. Purdy
Trevor Howard	...	The Hospital Staff - The Doctors: Dr. Barnes
Ronald Adam	...	The Hospital Staff - The Doctors: Dr. White
Judy Campbell	...	The Nurses: Sister Bates
Wendy Thompson	...	The Nurses: Sister Carter
Rosamund John	...	The Nurses: Nurse Sanson
Sally Gray	...	The Nurses: Nurse Linley
Megs Jenkins	...	The Nurses: Nurse Woods
John Rae	...	The Porter
Moore Marriott	...	The Patients: Joseph Higgins
Frank Ling	...	The Patients: Rescue Worker
Alastair Sim	...	The Police: Inspector Cockrill
George Woodbridge	...	The Police: Det.-Sgt. Hendricks
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hattie Jacques	...	(unconfirmed)

Storyline

In a rural English hospital during WWII, a postman dies on the operating table. One of the nurses states that she has proof of who the murderer is. The facetious Inspector Cockrill suspects one of the five doctors and nurses who were in the operating theater to be the assassin. But four poisonous pills have disappeared....

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Plot Keywords:

nurse | postman | hospital | murder | suspect | 

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Taglines:

...follow this man in the FOOTSTEPS of MURDER!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1946 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Mad Killer

Filming Locations:

D&P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Individual Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hattie Jacques has been rumored to have had a role in this film, but she does not appear to be in it. This could be due to a misunderstanding based on other lookalike/sound alike participants, or Jacques having been cast at some point and later dropped or her scene(s) cut, but nothing has ever been confirmed.

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Goofs

The premise of this mystery is the swapping of a CO2 cylinder, repainted to look like an oxygen one, on the anaesthetic trolley. This is not possible as oxygen cylinders have reverse threads on the connectors to prevent such a mistake or deliberate substitution.

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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.

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Soundtracks

Paul Jones
(uncredited)
Arranged by Harry Gold and Norrie Paramor

User Reviews

"Joseph Higgins. I begin with him because he was the first to die..."

This film opens with this line and is one of the greatest opening hooks I've heard in film. These words are spoken as anonymous hands are clanging away on a typewriter. And so begins "Green for Danger".

This is a great, quirky British mystery drama that I found quite entertaining. At times it's tense and scary, then its humorous - and then its almost noir. I found this kept the film interesting and the pace was quite energetic. I will say the beginning is a little slow to start after the great opening hook. It starts out looking like it will be just another doctor/nurse soap opera. But hang with it and it gets rolling.

I found the black and white cinematography to be quite accomplished and loved its great use of architectural shapes, shadows, and the mix of light and dark.

Alastair Sim as The Inspector was great. He has an unusual mug of a face and bulging eyes. He's tall and somewhat clumsy. And more than a little goofy. He makes quite effective use of sarcasm. I loved his line when he said "My presence lay over the hospital like a pall."

It was interesting to see some of the old hospital equipment. I noticed there was a coin meter for gas utilities in the kitchen - never saw one before. My only complaint during the film was having difficulty following some of the clipped British accents.

There is a nice twist at the end. The hapless inspector solves the crime, but causes harm in so doing. There is a clever closing line back on the typewriter - " I offer my resignation, in the confident hope that you wont accept it.''

Quirky piece - loved it!