Technically, The Green Man is just another '50s farce, with an elaborate plot line encompassing any number of silly complications, an overlay of sex (in the form of "naughty" jokes and shots of the heroine in a nightgown), and characters whose very names (Sir Gregory Upshoot and Charles Boughtflower) tell the audience all they need to know about them. If all it had was technique, The Green Man would be indistinguishable from any number of other similar films. Fortunately, it's informed with an irreverent black sense of humor which makes it stand somewhat apart from these other films. More importantly, Green has the droll, irreplaceable Alastair Sim on hand. If one is going to make a comedy about an assassin, it's an excellent idea to hire Sim to portray that assassin. Whether putting up with the mind-numbing conversations of hotel guests or dealing with a frustrating vacuum cleaner salesman, Sim is a joy and a delight. One is quite happy to overlook the fact that he is a cold-blooded killer. Next to Sim, the rest of the cast pales, Terry-Thomas excepted, but they're all quite capable and do more than hold up their end of the movie. If The Green Man finally falls a little short of being classic, it's only because the mechanics of the plot get a bit wearying at times; otherwise, it's a charmingly subversive little treat.