The Green Buddha

"The Green Buddha" was a film made for the British division of Republic Pictures. Because the British had a law at that time mandating a certain percentage of films shown in theaters MUST have been made in the UK, American film studios stated British branches...and so Republic sent Morris (who was under contract with them) to Britain to make the movie.

The story begins with a pair of crooks robbing an art exhibit of a valuable statue called 'The Green Buddha'. Soon, however, one crook double-crosses his friend and his plan is to sell it and keep all the profits. But he has to get to Glasgow and he commandeers an airplane and makes poor Gary (Morris) to fly him at gunpoint. Later, during the flight, they struggle and the plane crashes and evil Gary then goes to Glasgow following Frees death. Why? Because the plane was from his small airline and losing it will put him out of business...so, if he can retrieve the Buddha, he'll be able to use the reward to save his company. And, someone in Glasgow knows all about the theft.

This is a decent but not especially great film...pretty much what I'd call a time-passer. Morris is an interesting hero type, as he meets up with a lovely girl and she keeps thinking he'll hit on her...but all he really is interesting in his airline! I do appreciate how he isn't so stereotypical! Overall, a competent and reasonably interesting film...and not much more.

Wolf Frees and Percy Herbert steal The Green Buddha, a great work of oriental art. Frees then double-crosses his partner. He forces pilot Wayne Morris to take off at gunpoint with the police roaring onto the airfield, then gets into a hand-to-hand struggle with Morris. They crash, and when Morris wakes up, the plane is wrecked. Because the insurance company may not pay out because of the lack of a flight plan, and Frees is now dead,he decides to find the doohickey with the aid of nightclub singer Mary Germaine.

And thus we have another hunt for the maguffin, with only Morris, who's immune to dames because of a busted marriage, to guide us. Other people to be suspicious of are sideshow owner Walter Rilla -- a lot of the the movie is shot at Blackpool, Morris' partner Leslie Linder, and an assortment of people with and without continental accents. Me, I kept an eye on Lloyd Lamble, as the police inspector who keeps finding Morris right by the scene of the crime, but never pulls him in. The result is a perfectly satisfactory movie that I hope made back its costs.

A small gang settles for an impossible heist, stealing a priceless Buddha statue at a museum in broad daylight in the middle of a public show and trying to get away with it. They do get away in a car, leaving one man behind who raised the revolver and leaving another man to make a phone call while the rest just run off with the statue, worth £50.000. One of them tries to save the statue for himself by hijacking an airplane and pulls a gun on the pilot, they fight, the plane crashes, the man with the statue runs on, and soon not only Scotland Yard but all other members of the gang are after him, gradually killing each other off including some obligatory fisticuffs, some falling into the water and others getting caught up in a roller-coaster at the fair. Hitchcock could have made something out of it. John Lemont doesn't. It's all quite common routine stuff with a lovely singing girl and all, which doesn't help. None of the actors offers any interest, this was made for nothing more than an entertainment and rather haphazardly, it seems. Not even the music is of any value. Fortunately it is only one hour long.

I mostly remind John Lemont for KONGA, FRIGHTENED CITY and SHAKEDOWN; exciting UK crime flicks, not very long and efficient. This one is typical of the British crime movies of this era, late fifties and early sixties. You have a good guy, villains, night clubs, gorgeous chicks some nasty underworld atmosphere but unfortunately an expected ending. So, don't get too much in expectations, you could be deceived. After all, I prefer KONGA from Lemont, a kitsch horror film, some kind of very very poor man's - nearly wagrant - KING KONG, nothing to do with the other Lemont's movies named before. Nothing at all.

Wayne Morris is the parachuted in American for this Republics swansong for British production.His other appearance in a British film is Crooked Sky,not Cross Channel.The Green Buddha goes missing after a robbery.The denoument at Battersea Fun Fair is more interesting than what precerdes it.