The Green Scarf

There are some great courtroom dramas,but this is not one of them.I consider that this makes the Scales of Justice a classic in comparison.The plot is so convoluted that I just lost interest in it.Like many great actors Michael Redgrave is under the delusion that wearing a long beard equates to great acting.Well it doesn't.Sad to say this film is a thoroughgoing bore.

I saw this movie in 1954 at a theatre in West Phila where it played continuously for almost six months, an indicator of its popularity. Recalling the movie these many years later, I can nevertheless state that it was a mystery, wonderfully acted, especially by Kiernan Moore. he plot had so many twists that you were cosntantly guessing and yet still astonished at the amazing ending. Why this movie disappeared so soon and why it isn't on video nonpluses me.

The reviewers from the U.S.A. invariably use the expression "talky" for a film with a surfeit of words in the screen play, so I was surprised to read the two other reviewers who seem to hail from the U.S.A. praising this film as I considered it too "talky".I found Michael Redgrave hiding behind that beard and moustache playing the French defence counsel rather distracting as well as Kieron Moore who could only communicate with sign language as he played the deaf & dumb mute arrested for the murder.It may have been a long day for me but I found myself drifting off during Michael's long legal discourse and losing interest in the characters and the plot.Ann Todd always seems to play rather frigid roles in the parts in which I have seen her act.

At least the denouement of who was the real murderer kept one guessing which in accordance with IMDb policy I will not reveal.In answer as to the question why this movie is not on DVD in the USA, I readily obtained my copy from "www.myrarefilms.co.uk" and which I awarded 6/10.

Why in the world IMDB has some amateur critic's review of this film as the top review of this movie is well beyond my comprehension. The nine negative comments should be a clue to solve this crime. In my humble opinion, this film is a top-notch mystery. Right from the start, the game is afoot. The accomplishments of the accused young man are no less impressive than those of Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot. It is a truly inspiring film that highlights the struggles of the handicapped and how they overcome them. But even that noteworthy goal is secondary to the plot. The play's the thing. And one jumps to an immediate conclusion that will most likely be wrong as the film progresses. A movie not to be missed.

PS if 9 out of 10 people think you are drunk, you are probably drunk.

With a murder mystery of this caliber, it is easy to spoil the suspense. I will just speak of the magnificent courtroom magic worthy of a combination of Poe and Earle Stanley Gardiner, with the elegance of Agatha Christie. Sir Michael Redgrave, Leo Genn, Ann Todd and Kieron Moore are spellbinding — in no way hammy or over the top as some self-important professional critics try to say today. In the 1950's and early 60's this film was CONTINUALLY SHOWN on New York's Million Dollar Movie, 4 times a day for a week at a time, every six months.

I do not know what to say or do to reach and convince the holder of copyright to release this great film on DVD. The time and mix of contemporary film elements are perfect for the restoration of this classic. If no one has copyright, but does have a broadcast copy, may I ask on behalf of a great many film enthusiasts that you make it available. I cannot help noticing that "The Paradine Case" is being heavily marketed even though Hitchcock himself panned it. "The Green Scarf" belongs on the same shelf with "Witness For The Prosecution," the Poirot and Marple series, the Rathbone "Sherlock Holmes" (all right, Jeremy Brett as well . . . but if so, "Without a Clue" with Sir Ben Kingsley and Sir Michael Caine, "Perry Mason," and the wonderful modern "Sherlock" BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Surely someone who reads this knows how to get a film as widely shown as this, albeit 50 years ago. Please make an effort to help bring this film back before the public.