The Green Man - Film - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)

The Green Man. Image shows from L to R: William Blake (George Cole), Harry Hawkins (Alastair Sim)

Genre

Film

Released

1956

Stars

Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, Raymond Huntley, Colin Gordon, Avril Angers, John Chandos and more

Writers

Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder

Director

Robert Day

Producers

Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat and Leslie Gilliat

Company

Harry Hawkins is a mild-mannered watchmaker by day - but in reality the majority of his income comes from his longer-term work as a professional hitman for hire.

Specialising in bumping off those bloated and important figures - ambassadors, dictators, industrialists and the like - his latest client is a Middle Eastern group who wish Sir Gregory Upshott to be dispatched with before he can visit the region.

After inveigling his way into the affections of Upshott's middle-aged spinster secretary, the plan is arranged: but he had not bargained on a stray sheet of carbon paper arousing her suspicions and causing a visit to Hawkins's home address.

A further mix-up between his cleaner, a vacuum cleaner salesman named William Blake, and the newly-sold property next-door, leads to Blake and the house's new owner, Ann, seeing something they really shouldn't. Piecing two and two together, the pair eventually - and only just - make four, and head hot on the trail of Hawkins and Sir Gregory.

Events build up to a head at a small coastal hotel called The Green Man. With a grumpy hotelier, various couples conducting elicit rendezvous, and a trio of incompetent elderly musicians thrown into the mix, Ann and Blake's frantic search for Sir Gregory gets under way.

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Additional details

UK certificate

A

Duration

80 minutes

Distributors

British Lion

Production

Studio

Camera set-up

Single camera

Picture

Black and white

Broadcast details

Next repeats

  1. Friday at 2:20pm on Film4
  2. Friday 29th November at 11am on Film4

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Recording details