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Although I would not quite go as far as Halliwell in listing "Green For Danger" among my top 100, I have to confess to a certain affection for this rather old-fashioned whodunit of 1946. Made in the days when repertory theatre flourished and railway carriages were full of passengers reading Agatha Christie rather than Harry Potter, it captures the very essence of what my grandchildren now refer to as "the olden days". Although based on a novel by the almost forgotten Christianna Brand, it has many of the hallmarks of a good Christie - murder in a hospital operating theatre, six suspects, second murder of of one of them who claims to know the killer's identity, a near re-enactment of the original crime to trap the murderer. Admittedly the film now shows its age. It is very much a studio bound production with backdrops including a painted village church spire. One actual country lane was used but nothing else as far as I can remember. Launder and Gilliat wrote intelligent scripts and directed and produced competently but their work was no match for what Lean and Reed were producing around the same time. A physical scuffle between the two male suspects has a staginess that would not have got past even an American B-movie director. However there are three features that lift what could have been a third-rate work into the realm of the "special". The first is the plot itself that manages to intrigue to the end - obviously a very good choice from among the innumerable whodunits of the period. The second is how good it is in evoking a very atmospheric period of our history - the near-final stage of the war when we were menaced by those quite terrifying "doodlebugs", the ominous drone of their flight, the sudden silence followed by their dreadful explosion. However for a film like this to work you have to have a really memorable detective of the likes of Poirot or Miss Marple. Alastair Sim's Inspector Cockrill is just such a creation. Sim was one of the great character actors of his time and in "Green For Danger" he never did anything finer. He brought to the role considerable subtlety. When there is no-one around he is a bundle of human weakness and self-doubt, sheltering nervously from a flying bomb, or failing to guess the murderer from a whodunit which provides his bedtime reading. However when on the job he displays a sense of professional competence that at times borders on aggression. Although he makes a serious mistake at one point we are in no doubt that, like Chabrol's Inspector Levardin, he is not a cop to be messed with, but, by letting us into his hidden weaknesses, Launder and Gilliat have given us one of British cinema's most endearing characters.

The British film industry has had a chequered history, but was arguably at its finest in the 40's and 50's when it produced little gems like this.

Straightforwardly plotted convergent mysteries of this genre, with or without a major twist, never fail to give simple satisfaction when acted by such a cast of stalwarts and regular journeypersons as we find here. Some may find the stiff upper lips and well modulated tones of the middle classes a little grating for modern tastes, where nurses all speak naicely and ordinary folk are played by caricature cockneys. Speaking of stiff upper lips, their very personification Trevor Howard is, of course, in it, playing a surgeon with a cloud over his career. Which is why the whole is leavened by the unique figure of Alastair Sim.

No matter how serious the role he must play, his lugubrious features invariably betray an innate whimsicality, that essence of grown-up-naughty-schoolboy that we find so universally engaging, and which is the world's view of Britishness at its best. He makes it possible to insert a pratfall or quip to lighten the atmosphere without losing it.

Films like this were very easy and cheap to make - minimal locations, scenery munching, explosions or car wrecks. Current film makers might take note of their bang-per-buck in an era when nostalgic baby boomers are making their cinema presence felt again. But where will they find another Alastair Sim?

A great British who-done-it mystery that was charming and entertaining. A great murder mystery for the entire family with historic value woven right into the script.

Alastair Sims plays Inspector Cockrill from Scotland Yard called to a hospital after a set of murders are committed. It appears that someone in the surgical ward of the hospital is killing people and the Inspector is called out to find who and why the kills are happening.

Inspector Cockrill finds more than he bargained when he deals with the lives of the hospital personnel. Each person has some emotion they want hidden from the rest of the public thus making the mystery more interesting.

This movie is a great mystery film. It will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. And the entire cast really performs beautifully as each character shows the human side of their emotion.

Even with the ending kind of crowded- the film deliveries with suspense and thrills for all viewers. There is a lot of history in this film. From hospital procedures to war time fears, this movie is a gem to watch. A good who-done-it flick.

Love murder mysteries, have always been fascinated by them since reading my first Agatha Christie novel ('And Then There Were None') aged twelve, and with such a great cast on paper 'Green for Danger' had the potential to be a real treat.

Potential that is more than lived up to, if falling slightly short of being surpassed. Not quite a masterpiece of murder and mystery, but for a comedy-mystery thriller it's very near to it and makes one sad that one doesn't see films like this now on the most part. It is a little on the slow side to begin with, picking up the pace from the revelation at the dance that leads to a second murder and especially when Alastair Sim appears midway. The motive for the first murder (the one for the second is easier to follow) comes from nowhere and is rather confusing for anybody, like me, who didn't remember anything like that being mentioned previously, also found it explained in too hasty a way.

However, 'Green for Danger' has an attention-grabbing opening line and the opening narration is the perfect way to draw the viewer in and set things up. It also ends with a very clever and amusing final line, and apart from the underwhelming motive the final twist is one of the most unexpected and most genius personally experienced in any film, was not expecting the murderer's real identity or the outcome.

There are some great scenes in between. Especially good was the suspenseful build up to the second murder, the suitably eerie photography and lighting helped, and the nail-biting tension created in the second murder itself, Inspector Cockrill's introduction and a tense rescue.

While 'Green for Danger' was very engaging for much of its length, much of the film flew by and made the most of the short running time, it particularly comes to life when Alastair Sim arrives on the scene and things get even better. It has been said that Sim steals the film and couldn't agree more. This is quintessential Sim and he is magnificent with his wry, witty line delivery, expressive eyes that tell so much, great energy and deliberately and deliciously contradictory body language (rarely does tremendous energy equal laziness and be so funny).

Rest of the cast also fare well. Trevor Howard plays it straight effectively and he plays an uneasy character with naturalness. Sally Gray is beguiling and charming and Judy Campbell, Rosamund John and Megs Jenkins also make a strong impression. Particularly impressive is Leo Genn, his ambiguity, bringing out very subtle shades of the heroic and the villainous, was perfect for a character that one is never sure whether to trust or not and it really deepened the mystery.

'Green for Danger's' mystery is a thoroughly engaging one, with a delicious dark wit and nail-biting tension in some scenes. It's complicated, with a lot of information being given mainly through dialogue, but rarely overly-so. The script has some wonderfully funny lines with Sim and is very thought-provoking elsewhere.

It's a great-looking film too, the photography and lighting are very stylish and rich in atmosphere. Standing out in particular is the build up to the second murder and the murder itself, which was terrifying even when one knows that it's going to happen. Sydney Gilliat directs beautifully, while William Alwyn's score is hauntingly ominous and jaunty.

Overall, a great film and a near-classic that is primarily to be seen for Sim. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Directed and produced by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, the British mystery-comedy Green for Danger is a rare treat. Featuring the incomparable Alastair Sim as Cockrill, a bumbling Scotland Yard detective and the redoubtable Trevor Howard as a suspicious doctor, the plot is a convoluted murder mystery in which five people have motive and means to commit murder -- but whodunit?

Set in a rural British hospital (that looks like an Elizabethan mansion) during the latter stages of World War II, two people are murdered before you can say "buzz bomb". The first suspicious death occurs when a postman suddenly dies on the operating table after receiving an anaesthetic. This is soon followed by the death of Nurse Marion Bates (Judy Campbell) after she announces at a party that she has found evidence to expose the killer. The possible killer includes the uptight Dr. Barnes (Trevor Howard), the emotionally unstable Nurse Sanson (Rosamund John), Nurse Woods (Megs Jenkins), Nurse Linley (Sally Gray), the object of affection from both doctors, and the philandering surgeon, Mr. Eden (Leo Genn). Each one of the suspects looks and acts guilty.

There are many twists and turns and, without giving anything away, a staged mock operation after an attempted third murder ultimately will tell the tale. But the film belongs to Alastair Sim. The word whimsical must have been invented with him in mind. You just cannot take things too seriously when he is around. His capricious charm and impudent smile lights up every dark shadow in the old hospital. Green for Danger is a bit stodgy but lots of fun.