Green for Danger: See the Humor Audiences in 1946 Did Not

 

 

 

Green for Danger (1946)

Directed by Sidney Gilliat

General Film Distributors, 91 minutes, not rated

★★★★

 

It’s a comedy. It’s a thriller. It’s a mystery, a tale of power, jealousy, and indeterminate romance. It’s twisty, silly, and horrifying. Green for Danger was banned because British officials feared it would cause the general public to avoid hospitals. That’s how a film that is now well-regarded lost money in its day.

 

The film was released in 1946 but was based upon a 1941 novel by Christianna Brand that has an intriguing backstory. Brand was married to a military surgeon whose anesthesiologist jocularly told her of a clever way to commit murder. She based one of her Inspector Cockrill tales on it, director Sidney Gilliat read it while on a train journey, and adapted it for the cinema.

 

The date of Brand’s novel is significant. Great Britain went to war against Germany in September 1939 and the following May, Adolf Hitler’s Luftwaffe began its infamous Blitz bombings of London, which it extended across the British Isles. By the time the RAF (Royal Air Force) gained control of the skies in May 1941, 60% of London was destroyed, as many as 43,000 citizens were killed, over 100,000 were injured, two million homes were destroyed, and over 3,300 airmen lost their lives. One of the most dreaded Nazi weapons was the V-1, an early cruise missile, which also terrorized. One could hear bombers flying overhead but when things grew silent, seek cover as it was impossible to know where the missiles would strike.

 

It was gutsy of Brand to write a cheeky comedy during the Blitz and of Gilliat to make a film involving events fresh in people’s memory. Having said all of this, Green for Danger is not a war film in any sense other than taking place during one. It is set in a hospital somewhere in the English countryside that treats civilians as well as military personnel. Its nurses are called “sister” and its male medical staff flirted shamelessly and clashed egotistically. Dr. Eden (Leo Genn) is a combination of charm and smarm. He has his eye on Nurse Linley (Sally Gray), who seems to be wavering in her affection for Dr. Barnes (Trevor Howard). Poor Dr. White (Ronald Adam), the titular head of the unit, has his hands full trying to keep his staff in line.

 

Trouble begins with the local postman Joseph Higgins (Moore Marriott) is injured in a V-1 attack. His wounds are not serious but he needs an operation. He hears something that spooks him badly as he’s wheeled in for surgery and dies on the operating table. Barnes’ competence comes into question, as it was he who administered the anesthesia, though he insists he followed correct procedure. Enter Scotland Yard Inspector Cockrill (Alastair Sim). To call him unorthodox is an injustice for the umbrella carrying Cockrill, a seeming goofball eccentric with a sharp mind and sharper tongue.

 

You no doubt suspect he will solve how poor Joe Higgins died, but part of Cockrill’s charm is that his instincts are not always correct. Heaven knows his directness doesn’t do much to calm the spurned Sister Bates (Judy Campbell), nervous Nurse Woods (Megs Jenkins), the normally unflappable Nurse Sanson (Rosamund John), or any of the other women at the hospital. Things get really tense after another murder and the shocking news that a gas attack will probably kill the popular Linley.

 

The comic relief in Green for Danger comes from the pretentious battles between the doctors and from Cockrill. Well-known actor Robert Morley was originally offered the role, but it was a pure stroke of genius to replace him with Alastair Sim. Not only was he letter perfect in the role, but he was also the sort of actor who makes you laugh just by looking at him. His mannerisms, not his appearance, put me in min d of Jacques Tati’s bumbling Monsieur Hulot. Sim gets the last word in the film and it’s delicious.

 

Things were hazy when the film was released, but only partly because World War II was barely over. Green for Danger was perhaps too clever for its day, with audiences and several important reviewers missing the fact that it’s actually a sendup of detective stories, especially those of the omniscient variety. It’s a rare movie that is easier to understand 79 years later!

 

Rob Weir