(1937)3Bruce EderThis thriller, which was originally not much more than a quota film in its budget or overall ambitions, has haunted the "must see" lists of film and literary afficianados for decades, mostly thanks to its extraordinary credits. In addition to a story by Graham Greene (his first contribution to the big-screen), The Green Cockatoo (also known as Four Dark Hours and Race Gang) stars John Mills and features a young Robert Newton in a key supporting role, in addition to actress-turned-author Rene Ray in one of her more prominent acting roles of the 1930's, as the young ingenue at the center of a murder plot by a London gangster, and a score by Miklos Rozsa, then just at the start of his career in movies. And Mutz Greenbaum (aka Max Greene) was the cinematographer, and William Cameron Menzies (who had just come off of Alexander Korda's gargantuan production of Things To Come) was the director of this neat, unassuming little thriller. It's impossible to give an assessment of the film as originaly released, as it has only survived into modern times in a 65-minute edition, shorn of several minutes of material (and it is almost never shown, even in that form). Mills is very good in a role that requires him to do some singing and dancing (both avenues that his early career followed) as well as some tough-guy heroics -- there are moments when he makes one think of a British answer to James Cagney, and he does surprisingly well in the action sequences. Rene Ray is appealing in her role, and the trio of heavies are nicely convincing, as are the assorted supporting players that people this film, but the best on-screen work is provided by Robert Newton, as the hero's larcenous brother, whose self-destructive streak seems also to inhabit his sibling, albeit in a somewhat different form. The real joy here, though, is Graham Greene's story, which is neatly constructed and offers some fascinating inter-relationships for so compact a narrative -- even some of the minor characters resonate well here, and Mills, even though he's a little uncertain in his characterization, seems to recognize how solid a part he has and runs with it. The Miklos Rozsa score does anticipate elements of the music that he would bring to Hollywood film noir in the middle/late 1940's, though it does take several minutes to get to his music -- before that, the film makes excellent use of Eric Coates' "Knightsbridge March" as the basis for an fast-moving and charming opening montage depicting a journey to London. Mutz Greenbaum's cinematography makes excellent use of shadows and odd angles to heighten the suspense levels and verisimilitude of what is, otherwise, a fairly threadbare production, whilst William Cameron Menzies, despite some problems moving his actors around for optimum effect in certain scenes, anticipates aspects of the look of such postwar Graham Greene-based works as The Fallen Idol and The Third Man. The Green Cockatoo was unseen for over six decades, and unavailable even to its US rights holder in the 1970's, and only re-entered circulation on a limited basis in 2005 at the New York Film Festival, where it was screened. In August of 2009, it enjoyed two solid days of capacity-audience viewing at New York's Film Forum.
Dave Connor (Robert Newton) is a fixer for the London mob, who goes against his boss Terrell (Charles Oliver) for a big payoff at the dog track. Now he's a hunted man with a huge bankroll, and tries to share it with his song-and-dance-man brother Jim (John Mills), who works out of a seedy dive called The Green Cockatoo. Jim wants no part of Dave's money, but he does want to protect his brother, which gets him targeted by Terrell and his mob. They go after Dave, who manages to live just long enough to cross paths with Eileen (Rene Ray), a girl from a small village who has come to London looking for work. Eileen now finds herself accused of killing Dave, and goes to find his brother, to pass on a message the dying man gave her. She and Jim manage to cross paths without either ever realizing who the other is -- all Eileen knows is that Jim and Terrell want to kill each other, and all Jim knows is that he's got this wide-eyed innocent girl to look after (and hide from the police) while seeking vengeance and keeping himself alive.
