The Green Girl

Just saw this film on Amazon. Well worth the watch for anyone old enough to remember the days of "The Big Three" network television, where the guest stars were almost as regular as the series stars.

That said? I got the sense Ms Oliver never quite 'fit in' to whatever task, professional or otherwise, she was pursuing. The possible exception being her early theater days.

She obviously was a very bright woman with plenty of talent, never mind the devastating good looks. And while most of the interviewee's recall a very vivacious and positive spirit, with a good nature? I just got the sense she always wanted to be somewhere else, deep down inside.

I was very saddened by the manner of her passing, in which it seemed she was really tired of fighting, and or living.

And I'm not being critical of her here. This was just how I interpreted this film.

The doc itself really hadn't hooked me at first. It almost seemed like a bland old "A&E" bio from the 80's, without the high production values.

But in the last half hour, a sudden abundance in attention to her deeper personal life grabbed me. Her relationship to her mother, lack of a long term relationship, childless, and eventually the manner of her death was just? Sad. There is no other way to describe it, for me.

I'm glad the doc was made, as Susan's is a story worth telling.

Things may have been much different for her, in terms of her aspirations, had she been born 10-15 years later.

Again, for those from this era, I'd recommend this.

After seeing Susan Oliver in movies and TV shows since I was very young, I wanted to know more about this lovely and talented actress. She has an impressive body of work, much of which has been forgotten. This documentary does an excellent job of covering the breadth of her roles. How sad that we lost her so soon. She will always be an unsung star to me!

The one thing I ask from a good documentary is that it tells me something I don't already know about its subject. "The Green Girl" exceeds that in spades. It's a very well produced documentary on Susan Oliver, a staple of TV shows from the 60s who was an independent woman in every sense of the word. Her post-Hollywood career is full of amazing facts and deserves a movie all on its own. Filmmaker George Pappy does a great job in assembling Susan Oliver's life through the numerous film clips (which for a TV nostalgia nut is a can't miss opportunity all to itself) and interviews with the various actors and crew members she worked with over the years. I won't spoil anything but can only say that for baby boomers and even younger, if you're a Star Trek fan or just a fan of Hollywood in the 60's this film is well worth getting.

I had no idea who or what The Green Girl is or was. Now I find myself having seen it three times, each more interesting and fulfilling than the last. Unexpectedly, one of the most interesting things was learning more fully about an entire industry through one person. About movies, television, about it's people, actors, directors, related persons, history, literal behind the scenes interactions, meaning generally and specifically, than I ever conceive imaginable. At the same time much broader and much narrower than I could have ever thought possible. Then comes the surprising shocker of all as a documentary. It hit me with what I expect from real entertaining invigorating movies. It has drama about drama about drama. It elicits feelings and emotion about the very people and things that are themselves initiated and formulated to elicit feelings and emotions in the first place! first about the subject person, secondly about the people intimately acquainted with the subject person. And also, not the least, about the person, people, background, processes, contacts, research methods of who made this movie / documentary; and how this movie / documentary came to be born in the first place, and how things unfolded as it was made. It has that ineffable something that keeps bringing me back to see it again. I might not be done yet. I might see it A forth time. I already know I'm going to see Few Options a second time. Touching, insightful, educational, and interesting. Yes, both of them, that's interesting, and perhaps even strange. - Thank you again, George

Even when I was young, I was never fixated on 'fame' or popularity based solely on superficial things. As Marilyn Monroe said in her last interview (slightly paraphrased), 'fame is fickle. I've had it, and it's passed me by.

She knew the studios used her - to fill a type, a slot: sexy, dumb blonde. But Marilyn wanted to show she was so much more.

I grew up in the entertainment business, and it never excited me. Some of those I knew or met who were 'famous' were mean, vain, and callow. As a kid, I saw this popularity game starting to happen as I approached teenhood.

I always thought looks were transient. One second, you have them, but who knows-a car crash, or you get old-for a woman, that's 40-and then...

I always thought some of the most beautiful women had it in them-they'd lived, seen it, and grown wiser. The smart ones played the game back. The others, well... Who knows?

But of the 'famous,' there are only a select few. I was always captivated by other qualities, and even when I was little, Ms. Oliver made such an impression on me.

Yes, she was ethereally beautiful, but her eyes were so blue and deep.

There's a haunting quality in those eyes.

This was before the Internet, so I don't know if others felt the same, and honestly, I didn't care, as she was acting for me. I'm sure every other person who saw her felt the same.

Her iconic role in Star Trek is a lot more than surface. She portrayed a woman who, even though she looked beautiful to those who saw her, was illusory, and I felt it-her insecurity, her need for approval because, as Vina, she was validated by her appearance.

There was such a gentleness to her, and her voice, it quivered, but not with the 'sex-kitten' quality. It was fragility; her voice gently prodded and said, 'Please, don't hurt me because if you don't believe this, I can't survive.'

It broke my heart then, and even now, thinking about it, I'm tearing up.

That was an actor-someone who I felt lived and breathed because I know she felt it, without question. Just because the screen would go dark, I felt whoever Ms. Oliver was-she-and Vina, her character-lived on.

I worked in the entertainment business, and fame still never impressed me. As time passed, the media's need for more faces became ever-more rapacious, first with cable, then the Internet, and on and on.

Instead of looking to 'groom' someone, it was as if these (usually young) actors were young chicks, and they looked at them solely to see if they'd develop into good chickens.

Nothing more.

I'd see/hear more and more young people say they wanted to be 'famous,' but if I ever asked, ' Famous? For what? ' The question was irrelevant.

They see fame as the sole goal of approval.

It saddens me.

I was happy to find out - only as 'recently' as the mid-80s more things about Ms Oliver, which made me love her even more; I heard how she was not just a 'plane flyer,' but it was a deep passion. I also found out she'd passed away.

I came across this documentary a few months ago purely by accident, and it couldn't have been more serendipitous.

She was so valued by those she'd worked with and knew in her personal life that they made this stunning, loving documentary about a person, a real flesh and blood one.

My best friend (who passed away a few years ago) told me about working with her, and even though my friend could drip venom as she talked about Susan, it was with admiration.

My friend came up through Hollywood by being discovered at a young age by a famous director, and from then on, her life was unreal. Working with Ms. Oliver showed my friend that you don't need anyone but yourself to love because, as the saying goes, you can't love anyone if you can't love yourself.

I'm so happy this film was made. Anyone who wants to learn about self-confidence, believing in yourself, and not having yourself validated, as so many unfortunately do by not believing in yourself, and looking for others to give us 'value'.

Ms Oliver didn't.

Yes; she's a well-known actress, but she was - and could've been much more.

I wish every young girl, young woman, young boy, and whoever else feels or feels this plastic need to be 'beautiful' or has a 'stage mother,' who's (usually morbidly obese, and/or feels unfulfilled, and), who tries to live through them, and turn them into some 'beauty queen.'

The old adage; 'true beauty can only come from within oneself', will sound clichéd to some, bs, to some, and to others - usually those who've lived a good deal, true.

Ms Oliver was someone who was, somewhat sadly, ahead of her time. That's only due to society not being used to women who wanted to do and be more than a wife, secretary, Playboy bunny, stewardess ora teacher.

Ms Oliver wanted all much more. She never stopped growing. She never gave up trying.

I won't say anything more about this woman's life than how touched I was - still am - and how this woman I never had the privilege of meeting touched me. I know I'm not alone, as the simple fact is that this beautiful story was told by so many people who knew Susan, as well as those who never met her, but knew of her through her work, and the impact she had (and still does!) on them.

All the people who helped - either by participating or helping fund it- this is an infrequent incidence of someone extraordinary.

Wherever you are now, Susan, thank you. You've had such an impact on so many. I know you're gentle twilight dream dust, which passes into many of us who see you in so many wonderful shows and films. I always knew-even when I was a very little boy-you were a very special person, and I'm glad I at least still get to share seeing you on my screen.

I'd like to leave this with first, a quote from actor Roy Thinnes (best-known from the Quinn Martin series, The Invaders, on which she guest-starred;

'Obviously, a beautiful face and an off-putting demeanour. I knew there was a formidable person there.

The secret of working with good actors is that they make one another better and more profound. There's an understanding of the material that you may have missed-a nuance, and she never missed nuance. If it wasn't written, it was in her eyes.

And that's magic. That's why everyone loves her eyes.

A few people's closing thoughts;

'She was a square that didn't fit into a circle, and she was always fighting that'.(Ronald Wright-Scherr)

'At the memorial service, one person after another world share their recollections. One after another would read about a person who was a completely different woman than any of the rest of the others knew, but she had the same character, and the same warmth, dedication and energy.

People didn't want to leave - they just wanted to take in all of this love that was there, and all of this cheer about what a full life she had'.

It best to end this with Ms Oliver's own last recorded message (to her family, on the day of her passing);

'I just want to say how much I love everybody, and happy I've been - In sharing this... Imperfect, but magnificent world of ours.

And uh, I wish that you all find your dreams and your love.

And I love you.

Adiós.