Plot:Arlette and her brother are penniless orphans ;as the man is to leave for Africa to work for a long time,the young girl is forced to live with her cousins,four spinsters ,holier-than-thou persons ,who place virtue over everything.But Arlette discovers that one of these ladies with a green hat (title) wrote a diary in which she revealed she had a love ;it was a doomed relationship ;for her part ,the attractive young girl falls for a handsome man,Jacques De Fleurville ,but he's got a fiancée.
Arlette is a modern girl :she swims at the pool, she smokes ,she listens to the radio and she uses a familiar language her relatives cannot fathom.
In direct contrast with that,the four spinsters attend the service at the church every morning,they pray before going to bed at 10 P.M. ,never later;their only friend is the vicar ."but we go to the pictures,says Rosalie,but only movies recommended by the church ! we saw "Robin Des Neiges " (=Robin and the seven dwarfs) and " Blanche Des Bois" (=SnowWhite Hood )
As expected ,Arlette's coming will change everything : she helps her romantic cousin take up with her former suitor ,a bashful teacher ,always a bachelor and who would be so for life without the pretty girl's intervention.
Arlette is in love with Jacques ,whose fiancée (one scene) is grumpy and not very attractive :after one short scene ,she's out the way ,and the young guy is ready to marry the orphan girl,even without a dowry.But the teacher ,grateful ,has plans for his benefactress,wants to marry her with one of his colleagues (Jean Tissier),who could be her dad ...
This is a fusty old-fashioned comedy which become plodding in its last third ,but the scene when Jacques visits the elder sister to ask for his girl's hand in marriage and she thinks he's come to fix the gutter is a funny misunderstanding.Too bad for Dutoit whose doggerel did not charm his belle.
And let's not forget to thank the good Lord :vespers right away.
