The Green Man (1956)

An assassin is annoyed by a vacuum cleaner salesman determined to stop him.

Directors:

Robert Day, Basil Dearden (uncredited)

Writers:

Sidney Gilliat (screenplay), Frank Launder (screenplay)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alastair Sim	...	Hawkins
George Cole	...	William Blake
Terry-Thomas	...	Charles Boughtflower
Jill Adams	...	Ann Vincent
Raymond Huntley	...	Sir Gregory Upshott
Colin Gordon	...	Reginald Willoughby-Cruft
Avril Angers	...	Marigold
Eileen Moore	...	Joan Wood
Dora Bryan	...	Lily
John Chandos	...	Mc Kechnie
Cyril Chamberlain	...	Sergeant Bassett
Richard Wattis	...	Doctor
Vivien Wood	...	Leader of Trio
Marie Burke	...	Felicity
Lucy Griffiths	...	Annabel

Storyline

Work has been going with a bang for freelance assassin Hawkins but a job in England is a different matter. His apparently easy target, a pompous government minister, is off for some hanky-panky at the Green Man on the south coast, where Hawkins is planning to retire him for good. But before he can get on with this the hit-man has a procession of unwanted visitors at home to dispose of - one way or another.

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Plot Keywords:

dead body in a car trunk | serial murder | pipe smoking | woman slaps a man | european literature on screen | 

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Taglines:

The Kind of Picture the British Have a Way With...Things Like Very Merry Murders...Very Unusual Characters...Very Sly Sex...And All Combined in an Uproar of Laughs and Suspense

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene in which George Cole tries to phone the police and Alastair Sim tries to stop him was improvised.

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Goofs

When the radio is "spinning" through the air, the wires holding it at each corner are visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hawkins: Ah! School days. The happiest days of one's life. I was a carefree innocent lad in those far off times. Only one thing clouded my youthful spirits: my abominable headmaster. Really, all I did was to put an electric charge in his fountain pen and an explosive in the inkpot. I honestly only intended to humiliate him. However, that got rid of him, and it also disposed of any doubts I may have had about my true vocation.

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Connections

Remade as Vor Nachbarn wird gewarnt (1965)

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Soundtracks

A Wandering Minstrel I
(uncredited)
From the 'The Mikado', by Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert
The second tune played by the trio

User Reviews

that's you, from laughter!

Utterly hilarious from the first montage of droll assassinations (not really funny in news-horror 2006) but hilarious in it's clunky 50s tone set by Alistair Sim, THE GREEN MAN is a situation comedy of mistaken identity (including the title) that is as sharp now as 50 years ago. From clumsy George Cole and his vacuum cleaner salesman antics at the wrong house (Windybanks? anyone?) to Terry Thomas' leering spluttering "Basil Brush" type pub skirt-chasing THE GREEN MAN lurches hilariously from one weird character and place to screamingly funny suspense with the radio on the wrong station at the pub of the title. This is one of the most unappreciated and funniest Brit pix of the 50s and I implore you to get a copy any way you can. It should be up there with THE LADYKILLERS or SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH in beloved UK comedies...it even has Richard Wattis! Delight! And Alistair Sim...a sublime dry performance of apt face contortions ...his look of disgust alone had me laughing for days.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 1956 (France)

Also Known As:

The Green Man

Filming Locations:

7 Oatlands Avenue, Weybridge, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Grenadier Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1