The Green Glove (1952)

An ex-soldier and his new girlfriend comb France for a valuable relic...which others are willing to kill for.

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Charles Bennett (story), Charles Bennett (screenplay)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, Cedric Hardwicke

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Michael 'Mike' Blake
Geraldine Brooks	...	Christine 'Chris' Kenneth
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Father Goron
George Macready	...	Count Paul Rona
Gaby André	...	Gaby Saunders
Jany Holt	...	The Countess
Roger Tréville	...	Police Insp. Faubert
Juliette Gréco	...	Singer (scenes deleted)
Georges Tabet	...	Jacques Piotet
Meg Lemonnier	...	Madame Piotet
Paul Bonifas	...	Inspector
Jean Bretonnière	...	Singer

Storyline

In World War II France, American soldier Michael Blake captures, then loses Nazi-collaborator art thief Paul Rona, who leaves behind a gem studded gauntlet (a stolen religious relic). Years later, financial reverses lead Mike to return in search of the object. In Paris, he must dodge mysterious followers and a corpse that's hard to explain; so he and attractive tour guide Christine decamp on a cross-country pursuit that becomes love on the run...then takes yet another turn.

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Plot Keywords:

euro noir | frame up | subway chase | subway | bourbon whiskey | 

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Taglines:

In This Deadly Game... He Could Lose Only Once!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Macready, who plays Count Rona, is also an art collector in real life, just like his onscreen character in this film.

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Goofs

Jany Holt (The Countess") refers to her manservant as Pierre; however, there is no such name entered in the list of characters.

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Quotes

Michael Blake: You know, this is the first time in my life that a woman has locked me *inside* her apartment.
Chris Kenneth: Life is full of surprises.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown over what appears to be a gauntlet, "the famous green glove" described by the narrator immediately following the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Colony: Tamam Shud (2017)

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Soundtracks

Romance
Music by Joseph Kosma
Lyrics by Henri Bassis
Sung by Juliette Gréco

User Reviews

Amazingly bland and unexceptional.

I noticed that another reviewer compared this film to "The Maltese Falcon". Well, I would also add to that "The 39 Steps". Yet, although these both are classic films, "The Gauntlet" (also known as "The Green Glove") is far from classic status. While it is reasonably entertaining, it fails to ever rise above mediocrity.

The film begins during WWII. A downed pilot (Glenn Ford) captures a very strange Nazi collaborator (George Macready)--strange because Macready is a multinational and is out for himself and couldn't care less which side wins the war. During this brief meeting with Macready, he learns about some valuable holy relic--some green gauntlet encrusted with jewels. Well, as soon as you can say 'hey,...this reminds me of "Gilda"', Ford loses Macready and the war goes on its merry way.

Several years pass. Ford has been bumming about Europe with no real direction in life. However, he gets the idea someone is following him and he's right--Macready's men are looking for him because they think he has the gauntlet. He doesn't and the gang soon turns out to be very tough--and Ford ends up becoming a wanted man for a murder the gang committed. Along the way, he picks up a lady friend (much like Madeleine Carrol in "The 39 Steps") and they go on a cross country romp leading to where the gauntlet MIGHT be. There, they have some confrontation scene and the film ends.

About the only thing that stood out in this film for me was the structure of the film. It begins at the end and then begins again--showing all the action leading up to the eventual return of the holy relic to the church. Apart from that, it just seemed like a lot of other films all tossed together rather haphazardly. On top of that, Glenn Ford's grouchy guy persona got a bit old. I've seen it many times before and here he just seems like a guy with a toothache. Not a terrible film but one that never quite seemed to work.

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

French English

Release Date:

28 February 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gauntlet

Filming Locations:

Gourdon, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benagoss Productions, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1