User reviews

Because Green Light was done under the banner of Cosmopolitan Pictures for Warner Brothers, I've got a feeling that William Randolph Hearst might have originally intended Anita Louise's part for his amour Marion Davies. The thought of Marion Davies and Errol Flynn together in a film boggles the mind, but I'll bet Hearst would not have wanted Flynn opposite Davies for personal reasons as Errol was just starting to acquire his reputation as a rake.

W.R. provided Flynn with a change of pace that he requested. After doing adventure films Captain Blood and Charge Of The Light Brigade, Flynn wanted something different. Green Light is based on a Lloyd C. Douglas novel of spiritual values and Universal had just had a smash hit in Magnificent Obsession that made Robert Taylor a major star. No doubt Hearst persuaded Jack Warner to get the film rights for Davies, but then Marion couldn't go through with it. The story does center on the man however and that was never something you would see in a Davies film.

Errol Flynn plays an idealistic young surgeon who takes the rap for a botched operation that his mentor Henry O'Neill performed. Resigning the hospital he goes to work for research scientist Walter Abel who is looking for a cure for spotted fever in the west which is deadly to humans and livestock. Along the way he meets and falls for Anita Louise who is the daughter of the woman who died on the operating table, Spring Byington.

Presiding over all of this is an Episcopal bishop played by Cedric Hardwicke. In her last hours Byington is heard listening to a broadcast by radio of one of Cedric Hardwicke's inspirational sermons. Hardwicke functions as the author's voice, he shares with the other characters and the audience the philosophy of self sacrifice and good works that Lloyd C. Douglas had. With all these people being so noble and self sacrificing, you know it has to turn out all right.

Flynn never quite nails down the character which would have been ideal for Tyrone Power over at 20th Century Fox. Still he gives it a good try and the audience did respond. But it would be a long time before Jack Warner would cast him in a modern drama.

For me the character I remember best is that of Margaret Lindsay who plays a nurse who really has it bad for Errol, but who loyally steps aside and even helps Louise get together with Flynn. Now THAT'S a sacrifice.

Though not a 'period piece' "Green Light" dates much more than its Errol Flynn-starring predecessors "Captain Blood" and "Charge of the Light Brigade". And that's not necessarily a bad thing. The film was made when the Art Deco-1930s were in full flower. Frank Borzage's direction and the cinematography are beautifully impressionistic and occasionally artsy in a then-modern way as well. Flynn's smiles a bit too broadly and too often in early scenes, in a seeming bid to bring across a likable character. When he shifts attention to others he is much more natural and believable in the film.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke is well cast as the venerable Anglican reverend Dean Harcourt. His booming baritone voice put across his character's appeals for faith and other Christian virtues which are immediately believable (though his pipe-smoking is a bit incongruous with such a character).

One drawback of the film is that its script literally contorts to AVOID the direct mention of Jesus Christ, or the quotation of any recognizable Scriptures (until the finale), substituting semi-mystical pieties and somewhat vague aphorisms of encouragement. It is strongly implied that Flynn's character has undergone a conversion by the time the picture concludes, but it is never expressly stated.

Anita Louise, a lovely blonde, plays one of the women vying for Flynn's affections. Playing the role of her mother is Spring Byington, a delightful busybody in "Charge of the Light Brigade", but here a radiant Christian woman, full of faith, hope, and love which Flynn's initially-sceptical character comments upon long after her scenes are over.

The screenplay and film editing are not as sharp as those of Flynn's most beloved films, and Max Steiner's music is beautifully romantic but oddly unmemorable---which is hard to believe considering his catalog of work (the rousing "Charge of the Light Brigade", for instance, or the classics "The Wizard of Oz" or "Casablanca"). The choristers (boys) of St. Luke's Episcopal Church effectively lend their voices to a few scenes, and would do so in Flynn's follow-up film, "The Prince and the Pauper".

"Green Light" is a diamond in the rough, a neglected gem, and somewhat of a spiritual cousin to Hollywood's "One Foot in Heaven" which starred Fredric March as a minister some four or five years later. It is aired on occasion on TCM (Turner Classic Movies), but has yet to be officially released on videocassette or DVD.

In retrospect it is a bit of surprise choice for an Errol Flynn role, as the film is not nearly so high-budgeted as his preceding pictures. But he desired to prove himself as an actor, not just an action hero in the Douglas Fairbanks Sr. mode, and this was his first non-swashbuckler in which to essay the sort of role Ronald Colman took on in "Arrowsmith" six years earlier.

Lloyd Douglas was a popular author whose books, Magnificent Obsession, Demetrius and the Gladiators, the Robe, and this film, Green Light, were all made into films. Since Douglas was a Lutheran minister, his stories often had a spiritual theme.

In "Green Light," a surgeon (Errol Flynn) takes the rap for another surgeon (Henry O'Neill) when a patient dies during surgery. He is asked to resign his hospital position, which he does, and he joins a fellow doctor (Walter Abel) in his work to find a cure for spotted fever.

Cedric Hardwicke plays an Episcopal minister who is the spiritual adviser of the dead woman's daughter (Anita Louise) and Flynn's nurse (Margaret Lindsay). He is the voice of author Douglas.

The theme is self-sacrifice, that no person exists alone, and that we all are part of life's tapestry. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.

As others have pointed out, this is a different type of role for Errol Flynn. He doesn't quite nail it. Handsome and charming, Flynn was a sincere actor whose looks and athleticism made up for the fact that he very often didn't get under the skin of a role.

This role called for a more solid, contemplative approach. Someone on this board mentioned Tyrone Power, and I agree, he would have been a better choice.

Flynn was just too lightweight for this sort of part, though, like everything else he did, he gets away with it. He was a movie star first, and that covered a multitude of sins.

Lindsay and Louise don't have much to do. Hardwicke imbues his role with a great deal of dignity.

A definite for Flynn fans to see him do a role against type.

Errol Flynn stars as idealistic young doctor who takes the blame for a botched operation that costs a woman her life. Why he does this is supposed to be noble but seems stupid to me. After he's dismissed by the hospital, he joins a friend (Walter Abel) researching a cure for spotted fever. Abel has lots to say about ticks and spotted fever, so have a pencil and paper handy.

An odd movie, especially for Flynn. What makes it odd isn't the medical melodrama I summarized above. Those types of movies were a dime a dozen back then. No, what makes it odd and also fascinating is the inclusion of spiritual themes. In particular Cedric Hardwicke's character. Hardwicke plays a perspicacious reverend, equal parts Mr. Miyagi and Gandalf. His scenes are some of the movie's most interesting. Errol's love interest choices are Anita Louise and Margaret Lindsay. I won't spoil which he picks but it wasn't the one I was rooting for. The cinematography and score are excellent, as is Frank Borzage's direction. It's a very good-looking movie. Not always successful but intriguing in many ways. Definitely worth recommending.

If I should choose one American director for the twenties/thirties,I would take Frank Borzage any day.

This is a film of a believer ,but a believer who never falls into the trap of bigotry:the "green light" of the title is the light that comes from the sky,the light of hope which should enlighten everyone.His early silent movies (particularly "Humoresque" ) displays a strong faith in a divine intervention provided that you are worthy of it."Seventh Heaven" ,"Little man what now" ,to name but two,featured characters who had nothing,nothing but their love for each other and their faith in providence.It would culminate in 1940 with Borzage's masterpieces,"the mortal storm" and "Strange cargo",particularly the latter where Cambreau becomes some kind of messiah.

Eroll Flynn,cast against type ,-but portraying a physician who predates his role in Walsh's "Uncertain Glory" where he finally sacrifices everything- ,gave all:first he took the blame for an operation which cost a patient her life;then he acted as his own guinea pig for his vaccine.It often recalls "magnificent obsession" (the first version by J.Stahl was released two years before):both works feature a man of God : the man who tells the hero of "obsession" a man died on the cross for man's salvation,the priest in "green light".The choir in the church which we heard at the beginning returns for a canticle which climaxes the movie .Be prepared to sacrifice anything and do not ask anything in return,there will be a reward anyway.

Everyone's entitled to make a few stinky movies in his or her career, and we always forgive our favorites because everyone does it. Either they're stuck in a contract, or they had momentary bad taste but every actor and actress has stinky movies listed on their resumes. Even Errol Flynn.

The Green Light started out to be an interesting film. Errol, a dedicated doctor, makes a judgment call to operate on a patient, even though the main surgeon wasn't present. Halfway through the operation, a senior doctor shows up and takes over. The patient dies, and Errol willingly take the fall for it.

I assumed the rest of the movie would be about him trying to clear his name and get reinstated in the hospital. Unfortunately, his character had other plans. The title refers to a sermon delivered by Sir Cedric Hardwicke in the film, and as Errol's character was previously shown to not be a very religious person, it's pretty obvious what direction the movie plans to take. This isn't a hospital movie, it's a religious movie, so keep that in mind if you decide to rent it. Even if you usually like those movies, this one doesn't seem like it was thought out very well.

Warner Bros. occasionally gave ERROL FLYNN a break away from his usual swashbuckling roles but should have paid more attention to finding a better source material. The Lloyd C. Douglas novel is an uneven mixture of religion, psychiatry and sudsy melodramatics, never quite sure what the net results ought to be. Flynn is not the problem. He turns in a fine performance as a doctor who nobly sacrifices his own reputation when a medical mistake made by an older doctor could ruin the man's life. He looks as handsome and fit as ever.

If this were made in the '50s or '60s, no doubt Ross Hunter would have persuaded Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson to have a go at it, as they did in Douglas' THE MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, another story about a doctor who pays for his mistake, all done up in glossy technicolor.

But it soon becomes clear that this is a weak tale, full of platitudes and moralizing by a preacher (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) who neatly sums up his philosophy of right and wrong with simplistic slogans. The message is poured on pretty thick before the story reaches the point where Flynn takes a medical risk in order to prove his theory about spotted fever.

It's all very obvious, slick and artificial, but at least the performances are earnest. Anita Louise and Margaret Lindsay can't do too much with the pallid female leads but Walter Abel does nicely as a dedicated physician and Henry O'Neill is believable as the medical man who makes a serious error during a critical operation.

Frank Borzage directs the proceedings with dignity but gets little help from a stagnant script. Max Steiner contributes one of his lesser scores, more subdued than usual in providing any melodic themes.

Interesting only in the fact that it provides Flynn with an offbeat role as a physician.

Green Light is beautifully directed, has a first rate score, and has a melodramatic mood throughout that makes it wonderful to watch. It relates the story of a young doctor who takes the fall for an elder doctor's mistake. Errol Flynn delivers a fine performance as does Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Margaret Lindsay, and Walter Abel.

It is a terrible reality that so many fine classics are not yet available on DVD. In my opinion, better than its rating. Fans of Flynn will not be disappointed.

This is not a bad film. In fact it's quite watchable, and not just for Flynn completists; Flynn's youthful beauty is in full force, and his female co-stars are lovely and completely competent. Sir Cedric satisfies in the wise sagely role, and the plot is engaging, though it is light fare. I do agree, however, that Flynn, while not entirely miscast, because Warners was still experimenting with it's new superstar, was not a natural for this role-he is just a shade unconvincing as the noble saint, whereas he was always convincing as the noble rogue. Some of his natural rouguishness does show through, such as in the "I'm not a saint", "Neither am I" exchange, but Flynn was always at his best when he could display his intelligent and sometimes cruel wit to full effect in a noble cause which it takes him a little time to come around to fully support. He played a similar role in "Dive Bomber", where, though his character was noble, he definitely was no saint, and therefore he was more believable. Warners was smart to utilize him in the swashbuckling type roles that he is best remembered for, because that was what he saw himself as in many ways-"the method" was not his style.

6.8/10.

First of all, what was Spring Byington's condition that they had to operate on her that very minute? She didn't just get carted in on a meat wagon. Did she have flesh-eating disease?

The most realistic scene is the senior surgeon being more worried about his stock portfolio than the welfare of the patient. Except in real life it's more likely to be the anesthetist who kills the patient with this kind of , neglect, not the surgeon. In an interesting twist, it's sorta implied he killed her because she left her fortune to the hospital in her will. Then he admits why he was distracted. Why Flynn's character would take the fall for that b00b is beyond belief.

Anyway, there's a lot of boring philosophizing, lathered over with Max Steiner's typical bloated, cliched score. What a hack. He was basically the John Williams of his day.

By the time they get to shoe-horning in the afterlife mumbo-jumbo, who cares. If I wanted to listen to superstitious nonsense I'd go to church on Sundays.

In closing, I want to point out how gorgeous Byington was, but she was always saddled with that old-lady hair. Check her out just before Flynn gives her the gas. She's covered in surgical garb except for her face. Rowrrrr..

Taken in an historical context, the idea that Dr. Paige would take the blame for Dr. Endicott's failure was not "bizarre" at all, as other critiques assert. Self-sacrifice and the idea that suffering makes for growth of an individual were themes of the depression era. As to the viewpoint that Dean Harcourt is talking in some weird psycho-babble, at the time religious piety was declining and radio evangelism was emerging – talking about a higher power was more appealing than talking about God.

I think Green Light has to be taken as entertainment, with good performances particularly by Errol Flynn, Margaret Lindsay, Walter Abel and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and in the context of the times.

Let's just say that Sirk did this whole medical melodrama with great moral/ethical issues stuff a helluva lot more entertainingly in "Magnificent Obsession" than Borzage did in this snooze fest and leave it at that.

PS...That has to be the QUICKEST botched surgery scene ever put on film, huh? I mean it's "Stand aside, doctor", snip snip, "Damn, I severed an artery" and turn off the machine, the party's over. Did Borzage have somewhere he had to be?