''The Green Cockatoo'' (a.k.a. ''Four Dark Hours'') is a 1937 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film production designer (a job title he invented) and art director as well as a film director and producer during a career spanning five decades. He began his career ...

from a story by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

and shot at

Denham Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's ''Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s th ...

. Starring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

René Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen début ...

, and

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for h ...

,BFI Database entry
/ref> it tells the story of an innocent young woman who arrives in London looking for work and, pursued by both criminals and police, is involved in a headlong series of fights and flights.

Plot

An innocent young woman arrives in London looking for work and walks into an ambush, in which gangsters knife an accomplice who has cheated them. The wounded man staggers with her to a cheap hotel, where he dies after begging her to tell his brother at The Green Cockatoo club. Going there, she is followed by police and hides in an upstairs room. It is that of Jim, the brother, but he does not identify himself to the stranger. When the police leave he escorts her out, but is followed by the gangsters. In another knife fight he gets away and takes her to a safe house. The police turn up, this time to take him to the morgue to identify his brother. When they leave, the gangsters abduct the girl. Looking for the gangsters, Jim turns up and in another fight immobilises them. The police arrive to arrest the gangsters, while Jim and the girl head for the country.

Cast

as Jim Connor *

as Eileen *

as Dave Connor * Charles Oliver as Terrell, gang boss *

Bruce Seton Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet (29 May 1909 – 28 September 1969) was a British actor and soldier. He is best remembered for his eponymous lead role in ''Fabian of the Yard''. Early life Bruce Lovat Seton was born in Simla, British Ind ...

as Madison, tall henchman * Julian Vedey as Steve, short henchman *

Allan Jeayes Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor. Jeayes was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum. ...

as the Detective Inspector * Frank Atkinson as Protheroe

References

Bibliography

* Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

* *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1937 films Films directed by William Cameron Menzies Films scored by Miklós Rózsa British black-and-white films Films set in London 1937 crime drama films British crime drama films Films shot at Denham Film Studios 20th Century Fox films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub