Das Vermächtnis

TCM screened this film recently and it was worth staying up past my bedtime to watch it. The film can be summed up in two words: Charles Coburn. He is magnificent as the perpetually inebriated yet good natured great grandfather. His dialogue is top notch and he delivers it to the hilt, at times funny, and others poignant. Dean Stockwell as the young boy is always interesting to watch, as are Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. Fans of old films will recognize many stock players as well: the mother here is also the mother in The Fighting Sullivans and the school master turns up years later as the impresario for the Von Trapp children in the Sound of Music. It's fun to see him so young. The movie has a lot of the Goodbye Mr. Chips qualities I love in film. And keep your ears open and you'll hear strains of similar music from The Wizard of Oz - letting you know it's an MGM production. Throw in a bit of Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist and you've got a fine movie. I won't give any more away.

A.J. Cronin's "The Green Years" has been splendidly brought to the screen thanks mainly by the performances of that grand old stager Charles Coburn, and that wonderful child star Dean Stockwell (what a pity he ever had to grow up!) Their scenes together are something very special even today. Coburn was nominated for best supporting actor, which was unfair, as he is clearly the star and should have had the nomination of Best Actor. As a young Cathoic lad thrown into a family of Scottish Protestants, Stockwell is quite amazing. The supporting cast of Gladys Cooper, Hume Cronyn ( a little over the top), Jessica Tandy and Richard Haydn are very very good, while Tom Drake is the best he ever was in a movie. The atmosphere of the era and the village is brilliantly captured by Director Victor Saville.

I've only seen this movie on the TV and even then, it was years ago and its never been on TV again. I saw it before the days of VCR's. Its such a good movie, and unfortunate that it never came out on video or better still, on DVD. The movie was taken from the A.J. Cronin book of the same name. Dean Stockwell's performance was well done in the part of Robert Shannon a young Scottish boy. His father Hume Cronyn is the penny pinching father. Another favourite of mine is Jessica Tandy (Hume Cronyn's wife in real life, is also in the movie. As always and one of my favorite actors is Charles Coburn. Tom Drake plays the part of the older Robert Shannon. He wasn't in a lot of movies, but I always liked him. So far, it has never been on video or TV but if you ever see it listed in the TV Guide, watch it. Its very good.

The film is based on A.J. Cronin's bestselling novel. It boasts an exemplary cast and a very evenly-written script. Venerable character actor Charles Coburn, a favorite of many, receives top billing. And true, his performance could easily dominate the movie. But the screenwriter is careful to intersperse moments of Coburn's wily great-grandfather character throughout the narrative while keeping the rest of the ensemble in focus.

The cast includes real-life husband and wife Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy (though they do not play a married couple here). It also features child actor Dean Stockwell in the first half and matinée idol Tom Drake in the second half as the young protagonist.

The Green Years pulls at our heartstrings one moment, then makes us laugh uproariously the next (usually because of Coburn's antics). But throughout the story there is a valuable lesson about the importance of making sacrifices and celebrating life's triumphs.

The title is meant to suggest several possible meanings. I urge you to view the film and discover what it means for you.

At first when I read the blurb of this film on the viewers guide I expected another "How Green Was My Valley," which had ruined coming-of-age films for me until I saw "Breaking Away" in '79. I started watching it anyway and soon found I was hooked for the next 127 minutes.

"The Green Years" demonstrate what a better film "Kings Row" could have been if someone other than Robert Cummings had played the lead. It's basically the same story set in Scotland: both take place in isolated rural towns, both deal with mental cruelty, and both deal with overcoming your circumstances to better your life. And ironically, both feature the splendid and versatile actor Charles Coburn in pivotal roles.

The people of this village seem real here, with Hume Cronin playing the tight-lipped tightwad of an extended family who "live like they're poor out of choice." Tom Drake is fine as the older Robbie Shannon, earnest and sincere, but with an increasing sense of cynicism appropriate for the role. Richard Hayden as the headmaster that befriends Robbie adds just the right amount of sanity, humor and hope you need in a story that runs over 2 hours.

But young Dean Stockwell and Coburn are magic, especially in the scene when he and 2 drunken friends try to teach young Robbie how to box. I can't recall a relationship between 2 actors on film, one very old and the other very young, that rings as fresh and honest as their's does. I think W.C. Fields and Freddie Bartholomew in "Great Expectations" come closest.

Yes, it's episodic, and perhaps a tad too long, and Norman Lloyd is wasted as one of Cronyn's sons. But if you have an affection for this sort of film made soon after the end of WWII, you won't be disappointed.