Green Grow the Rushes

1951
1h 17min

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Richard Burton and Honor Blackman in Green Grow the Rushes (1951)

Agrega una trama en tu idiomaAfter their vessel runs aground during a storm and is impounded by the British authorities, local smugglers must find a way of disposing of their contraband brandy cargo before it's discover... Leer todoAfter their vessel runs aground during a storm and is impounded by the British authorities, local smugglers must find a way of disposing of their contraband brandy cargo before it's discovered by the Customs Officers.After their vessel runs aground during a storm and is impounded by the British authorities, local smugglers must find a way of disposing of their contraband brandy cargo before it's discovered by the Customs Officers.

Dirección
- Derek N. Twist
Guionistas
- Howard Clewes
- Derek N. Twist
Elenco

Ver la información de producción en IMDbPro

CALIFICACIÓN DE IMDb

5.9/10

272

TU CALIFICACIÓN

Dirección
- Derek N. Twist
Guionistas
- Howard Clewes
- Derek N. Twist
Elenco

Ver la información de producción en IMDbPro

Fotos1

Opiniones de usuarios10

5.9272

Opiniones destacadas

5planktonrules

A comedy with very few laughs

"Green Grow the Rushes" reminds me of the comedy "Whisky Galore!"...though with far fewer laughs. It has the basics that SHOULD have resulted in a great film but it sure left me cold.

The film is set on the southern English coast. The 'villains' in the film are government officials and they are trying to stop the influx of smuggled contraband--though most of the locals know about the brandy being brought in but don't want this to stop. However, after a big storm, the smugglers' ship is tossed ashore and they are in danger of being caught by a variety of government sources.

The problem is the script. It has some nice ideas but the laughs just weren't there...and should have been. Not a bad film but one which manages to make the least of a potentially funny situation.

8morrisonhimself

These people don't deserve to be governed

Charming and light-hearted spoof of bureaucracy, "Green Grow the Rushes" gently shows how silly is the fascist welfare state, in this case that of Britain.

An extremely talented cast helps tell the story of a jurisdiction given some leeway by Henry III, one that is taken aback, is in fact downright insulted by three bureaucrats from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries who try to throw their weight around.

Historians and history majors might know the definition of Great Britain: A body of land surrounded by smugglers.

It's a proud tradition and one the people want to uphold.

The three bureaucrats find themselves at war with the entire citizenry, which happens to be in the middle of the celebration of King Henry the Third's proclamation for the town.

Richard Burton, in this early appearance, already shows the charisma that will make him a major star, and Honor Blackman gives only a hint of the beauty she will be known for later.

"Green Grow the Rushes" is a lot of fun. I recommend it for that reason and for the reason it shows even the perfidious Brits used to be in favor of self-rule and self-responsibility, before they became so totally dependent and under the thumb of their ubiquitous bureaucrats.

lor_

Big names in a small picture

Boasting excellent location photography by Harry Waxman, "Green Grow the Rushes" is a droll British comedy never released theatrically in America. Unlike so many mid-Atlantic style British exports (many of which over the years were actually funded by Hollywood) its lack of more universal appeal is evident, though not fatal to enjoying the artifact seven decades later.

Story is simple: a small rural community of Portenoy has considered itself independent since the time of King Henry III, who granted them a special charter, and the humor here arises from the conflict that occurs when UK government officials begin snooping around and annoying the provincial population. The fishing trade locally has long since given way to smuggling (we see a trade in contraband liquor from France), with sailors like Richard Burton only pretending to be honest fishermen. Lead role goes to his boss, the ever entertaining Roger Livesey.

Livesey's odd manner of speech is another roadblock to getting into the story, as he speaks of himself always in the third person, and his first scene with Burton has him using the term "lily-white" dozens of times. Its meaning here is apparently an old English colloquialism meaning "pure", so as to describe straight folk who do not resort to crime as a profession, such as smuggling, and is meant to be condescending.

The romantic relationship here between and intrepid reporter Honor Blackman is effective, not only because of the two actors' tremendous magnetism but because of their subsequent fame, she of "Goldfinger" and TV's "The Avengers" stardom, and he of such an iconic stage and movie career a decade later. Without them and Livesey, the movie would seem merely quaint and totally ephemeral.

7bkoganbing

Since The Time of Henry III.....................

I'm guessing, but I'm probably on firm ground that with the success of the Ealing Studios Whiskey Galore two years earlier, it was felt that Green Grow The Rushes with a similar subject would have a built in audience. Though Green Grow The Rushes is not quite as good as Whiskey Galore, it's certainly an amusing enough comedy about a village and the marsh territory surrounding it determined to maintain their independence and way of living even in the modern times of the post World War II United Kingdom.

One thing that Green Grow The Rushes does have is a young Richard Burton in one of his earliest screen appearances. He plays a young fisherman who has a more lucrative sideline in smuggling. In fact it's the cottage industry of this coastal town. Which is a source of some amusement to Burton when reporter Honor Blackman of the town paper acts all innocent like she doesn't know.

In fact this place has prized it's independence for several hundred years since Henry III granted them a charter of home rule way back when that sort of thing wasn't done. However three officious bureaucrats from various ministries show up with a plan for what we in America might term urban renewal and the town springs to action. Every wile and stratagem they can think of and liberal use of the home rule charter granted them thwarts these bureaucrats at every turn. It's all led by Roger Livesey who is the captain of one of the smuggling ships.

Green Grow The Rushes is a bright and amusing comedy, but I honestly don't think anyone would have predicted the enormously successful career of Richard Burton from seeing it though.

8skinner_douglas

A movie about Little England?

I believe it was G. K. Chesterton who described himself as a "Little Englander." To those of us born after WWII, it is hard to fully grasp what he had in mind; which is the reason why I like Green Grow the Rushes, because I think it gives some idea of what Chesterton meant. It is ostensibly about a boat that became stranded with a load of brandy. But the subtext involves the conflict between officials of the British national government and the locals and their local officials who attempt to thwart the government by invoking laws and immunities dating back to feudal times. In this sense it is a libertarian classic which reminds us that so-called feudal Europe was in fact a complex tapestry of autonomous localities, fiefdoms, principalities, etc., under a relatively weak (by today's standards) central state. The movie manages to convey a sense of nostalgia for a type of little England with its absurdly dressed officials and independent-minded locals who stand in contrast to and are suspicious of the suited technocrats who descend upon them to change their customs and plan their lives.

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Trivia
This was the first film of A.C.T, Films Ltd. (Trade union Cooperative ser up by director Derek Twist, producer John Gossage and ex producer Phil Samuel) backed financially by the National Film Finance Corp. The Romney Marsh area was checked for locations and while New Romney was perfect for the town of Portenoy the snag was that the marshes were too well drained to use for the duck hunting scenes so these were shot on and around Hickling Broad in Norfolk. By drastic pruning and reducing the schedule by a week the budget was accepted. Fred Pusey was brought in as art director and the cast was picked on ability to give the right performance not on 'name'. A deal was made to use A.B.P.C. Studios at Elstree. Filming started 6th June 1950 in the High Street , New Romney. During the period at Romney there were only 3 days when exteriors couldn't be shot but these weren't wasted as due to Harry Waxman (cinematographer) and 'Dickie' Bird (sound) they were able to film in the local pub, the historic court and the town hall. The unit then moved to Hickling Broad and St Bennett's Abbey in Norfolk for the 'duck shooting' sequence then to Elstree Studios on July 1st for 4 weeks filming on a full sized set of a trawler and a farmer's cottage. It was just as well that 'time was no object' as the camera couldn't be on the studio floor. Instead each change of set up meant building rostrums for the camera, lining up the crane and moving the backing, etc. Shooting went one day over schedule with an average daily screen time of 2 minutes. Next to shoot was the storm sequences. During the 4th week Pinewood's travelling matte process with a 'split beam' camera was used for 5 major sequences and 2 small sections. The film was completed 2 days over schedule but under budget.