Green For Danger

Green For Danger

****

Reviewed by: Skyline

Amid the chaos of the Second World War an unassuming postman is taken to hospital with bomb injuries, but when he unexpectedly dies on the operating table it seems there is more to this death than meets the eye. Now a nurse is killed, having identified the postman's murderer, who stabs her to keep her quiet. Thus enters Inspector Cockrill of the Yard (Alastair Sim) to clear the whole mess up.

Unfortunately, it seems to be that every possible suspect has a perfectly valid motive for being the murderer and so Cockrill gathers everybody to re-enact the surgery scene, which leads to the revelation of the killer in a baffling twist.

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Engaging performances all around, especially Sim's witty and charming detective inspector, Green For Danger showcases great British actors, with their natural subtleness and earthy humour, typified by a short exchange when Cockrill is investigating a doctor present at the scene of the crime.

Dr. Barney Barnes: "I gave him nitrous oxide at first, to get him under."

Inspector Cockrill: "Oh, yes. Stuff the dentist gives you, hmm... Commonly know as laughing gas."

And this is what Green For Danger is, a satirical combination of dry humour and clever sleuthing, British specialities which blend together into a delicious piece of cinema history.

Reviewed on: 15 May 2006
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A darkly humorous British murder mystery, in which going to hospital could mean a worse fate than not.
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Director: Sidney Gilliat

Writer: Sidney Gilliat, Claude Guerney, based on the novel by Christianna Brand

Starring: Alastair Sim, Leo Genn, Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Rosamund John, Megs Jenkins, Judy Campbell, Moore Marriott

Year: 1946

Runtime: 91 minutes

BBFC: PG - Parental Guidance

Country: UK

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