Green Fingers

Despite the title (the original novel was called 'The Persistent Warrior') this is a fanciful romantic melodrama about an osteopath rather than a comedy about a gardener.

Rugged hero Robert Beatty is cast somewhat against type achieving a similarly unorthodox career arc to Tyrone Power in the same year's 'Nightmare Alley', his rise in society resulting in his path crossing that of shoulder-padded high maintenance minx Nova Pilbeam, who attempts to come between him and loyal wife Carol Raye.

(Seeing this film over seventy years later, with the benefit of hindsight it is bizarre to realise that Miss Raye is still with us at 97, while Brefni O'Rourke - who plays the coroner who regards osteopaths as little more than witch doctors - died before the film was even released!)

An interesting title in that I have only heard the term Green Fingers applied to successful gardeners, rather than those with a natural inclination toward osteopathy such as Robert Beatty's Tom Stone. This is a story that grips from the start in an adroitly cast film, with Felix Aylmer authoritative as the osteopath who trains Stone, while Beatty was a natural as a man of integrity, no matter what temptations he encounters eventually. His affair with Nova Pilbeam's socialite is treated in an almost perfunctory manner in the print under review, thus with the possibility of missing footage. Carol Raye is sympathetic as the girl he cures who becomes his loving and supportive wife. She also featured in director John Harlow's next feature, While I Live, which, though a success, did not prevent his career from going into steep decline. There's an apposite score from Hans May in a film that is reliably concerned to present both sides of the merits of its subject.

This film is just a copy of "The Citadel" Robert Beatty is no Robert Donat. And Osteopaths are not the miracle workers depicted here. This formula has been used quite a few times and can be quite entertaining.

To be honest, I always found Robert Beatty one of the most unlikely of actors to ever have found success. He was usually as stiff as a plank, delivering his dialogue as if he were shouting at a cattle market. This film belies that image somewhat, though, as he plays "Stone"; a nimble-fingered fisherman who has a knack for helping out folks with aches and pains. Having been shot in the leg during the war, he walks with a pronounced limp that causes his boss to fear for him (or at least his business) at sea, so when he is sacked he hears of an Harley Street osteopath (Felix Aylmer) who through clever manipulation manages to heal him - and set him on a path of training for this vocation himself. It's got a little of the "Citadel" (1938) to it, as he and his wife "Jeannie" (Carol Raye) struggle to balance the needs of educating/training and earning a living before they can establish their practice; whilst he has a bit of a philander with the glamorous Nova Pilbeam (Alexandra) whom he helped with a ligament injury and who is now extolling his virtues to her wealthy Champagne set. It has a certain morality to it - the cutting edge nature of the treatments cause scepticism amongst some of his peers, and when tragedy strikes, illustrate a fine line between quackery and medicine (and self doubt). Largely, though, it's just a feel-good melodrama with an ending that I felt bordered on the downright irresponsible. It's well worth watching - if only to remind ourselves that all medicine needed pioneers, fact or fiction.

As people who have a talent for gardening are said to gave a green thumb so Robert Beatty is said to have green fingers, a natural talent to heal. Beatty has helped friends and co-workers, but has a limp himself courtesy of a war wound.

He goes to study under Felix Aylmer, but does not complete the course. Ge cures landlord's daughter Carol Raye and they marry. She proves to be a most forgiving wife especially after a dalliance with haughty society girl Nova Pilbeam.

There are some fine performances in a film with a confusing story. Confusing to this day because we really don't know where osteopathy is in the rankings of the medical profession.

Still the quartet of players mentioned do well and this is a pretty good film.