At first, Nurse Linley is kind of torn between suave Dr. Eden and steady Dr. Barnes. Who would you choose? I know I would have gone for Dr. Eden in a heartbeat. "It's those eyes, of course. The wounded stag look that no woman can resist."
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
Of course, being a sensible woman, one has to go for Dr. Barnes... but actually, just like you I would`ve gone for Mr Eden in a shot! Actually, I don`t see how any woman could make another decision when choosing between Leo Genn and Trevor Howard.
Besides... I always wondered if this time Mr Eden might have been serious about a woman- he seemed to truly care about Nurse Linley.
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
I agree with you about Mr. Eden going for Nurse Linley. He certainly seemed irritated by the Inspector's ironic interruption of his Shakespeare 'come on line' from Merchant of Venice.
It is funny that in the book Nurse Woods makes a serious play for Dr. Eden. I won't tell you if she's successful in case you read the book.
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
I´ve read the book last week- until then, I hadn`t realized it was still obtainable! But I think the Eden-character from the book is quite different from the Eden played by Leo Genn- The one in the book seems unable to stop women from falling for him. It`s the case with Nurse Woods- she tries to flirt with him to "save" Freddi and in the end, falls for him, too. Obviously, it only takes a smile from him and they all go whoopee! Still, I thought that Nurse Woods and he would have made a nice couple.
I don`t think this character, that is in my opinion somehow quite passive, would`ve suited Leo Genn at all so I`m quite happy that they changed the character. Genn always seemed to know exactly what he was doing, in all his movies- besides, the book Eden is described as "ugly", which obviously is not the case with Genn at all. There was sometimes that wistful smile in his face, for example in the scene when Nurse Woods berates him for his behaviour with regards to Freddi, when he says that she doesn`t know whether he is serious this time... he seemed quite genuine to me then! But whatever may be the case, I just love this movie!
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
I totally agree with you on all of it. I think that they rewrote the line at the beginning when Nurse Woods is taking off Eden's head light when she says "It's the eyes of course". That had to be written with Leo in mind. He has the most beautiful eyes!! I love this movie too. I watch it about once a week.
Have you ever seen Mourning Becomes Electra? It's a bit of trial to watch except for Leo Genn (I think, anyway). The reason I ask is that he plays a sea captain, illicit lover type again. I don't know if it is the uniform he wears, but WOW! I have a movie still of him in this role and talk about those bedroom eyes! If you do watch it, Leo dies fairly early on so you can turn it off after that. I know I did the first few times until I thought I should at least see how it ends.
However, Green for Danger is a lot more fun.
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
Gosh- I`d dearly love to see "Mourning becomes Electra", but it`s nearly impossible to get hold of most of Leo Genn`s movies over here in Europe! I`m from Germany where you can only get "Quo Vadis" and "Moby Dick"- thanks to Amazon and Ebay, I managed to get hold of "The Snake Pit" and "The Wooden Horse", but that`s as lucky as one can get. Oh, I forgot about Olivier`s "Henry V", got that one, too. All the other movies are only Region 1 and they don`t play on our European DVD players... sod it! Guess I`ll have to keep glued to YouTube!
I`m not really sure what exactly it is that keeps me so hooked on Leo Genn- I only know that I was about five or six years old when I first saw "Quo Vadis" ( it´s one of the Easter staples on German tv ) and I totally fell in love with Petronius- I kept watching that movie every year just for his sake. Ustinov`s great, too, but Petronius... wow! I suppose for me it´s the energy and the strength of mind that he just seems to radiate around him- I like decisiveness in men! Besides, having now seen some of his movies in the original version, I`m of course really turned on by the voice... Melt!!! But the eyes really aren`t too bad, either...!
Having gushed about his looks, I also appreciate his acting skills- way too underrated in my opinion, but then again, a lot of great actors are. There`s no accounting for taste, I suppose.
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
After rewatching GfD, I thought it would be nice if Mr. Eden ended up with Nurse Woods in the end, simply because she *didn't* fall at his feet the way the rest of them did. However, now you tell me that in the novel, *she* fell for him too. *sigh* Still, I'd like to get my hands on the original book, should be interesting to compare!
sharehe seemed to truly care about Nurse Linley.
Of course, what you`re saying might be true a lot of the times, but still I never had the feeling that Eden was the cold and heartless scoundrel and rake that Sister Bates made him out to be. He had a flirt with her- most people did in those times, it was a way of celebrating life when you were confronted with death all the time, he was not as serous about it as she was, that happens all the time, it doesn´t have to mean that one of the parties is completely without feelings.
His compassion for Nurse Sanson, in my opinion, showed that Mr Eden was more than the rake- there was no amorous interest for him, he simply cared for her, and that, in my experience, is not something that your usual Lothario does- people who are only looking for the next notch in the bedpost are most of the times complete egotists- he simply wouldn`t have noticed that Nurse Sanson was in a really bad mental frame. And if he had, he wouldn`t have been bothered by it.
But seeing how Eden cares about that, I just think he might also be able to fall truly in love with someone, for example Nurse Linley!
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
I think I have to agree that Eden probably does deserve his 'menace' reputation but he did seem to show genuine concern for Sanson right up to the end. Even a cad can fall in love. But it is also true that he must have quite the bad rep. when even Dr. Purdy teases him when he is talking to Nurse Sanson on the dance floor.
As for Nurse Bates. What can be said? I think the best description is Eden's "jealously, hysterically possessive". She fell hard and couldn't let go and it drove her crazy. She certainly was not behaving in any kind of rational way at the dance and she seemed to be implying that she was going to use the information about the paint on the gown against both Eden and Barnes. I admire the actress for creating such a powerful characterization. She is one I like to dislike!
One thing on another tack completely. When Linley is going to the operating room and the nurse puts up the info on the chalk board that Eden will assist Purdy etc. does the anesthetic column read CO2? Is that on purpose or a goof? Or do I have it wrong? What do you think?
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
??? Good question- and good excuse for having another look at the movie again tonight, teehee!
Yes, I think the actress playing Sister Bates did a really fine job- I like the play on her face when she watches Eden leave- at first she is completely in charge and then suddenly her face transforms into one of complete yearning and wanting, going all soft... marvellously done!
As for Eden being a cad or not- I never really thought that Purdy`s teasing implied any serious reproach for Eden`s behaviour. Of course, Purdy is the happy-go-lucky type who doesn`t seem to take anything really seriously, but I always thought that he just sang this "Don´t you believe a word he says" because the mood between Nurse Sanson and Eden was obviously a very tense one, they were behaving completely serious, whilst Purdy wanted them to enjoy the carefree moment of the dance. I never supposed he wanted to warn Nurse Sanson off or anything like it.
But my main evidence for Eden not being the complete cad and bounder is Dr. Barnes´s behaviour- when he is argueing with Freddi about the dance, it is more that he objects to her going with another man at all, not to her going with THIS particular man, which is certainly what he would have done if he thought him to be a menace to defenseless women. Same with his reaction to Sister Bates´s telling him of the kiss- he tells HER off, he doesn`t go rearranging Mr Eden`s front teeth. The fact that they´re fighting later on in the movie is, in my opinion, also more due to the general pressure and his fear that Eden might be serious than to his believing that Eden is wicked and will compromise Freddi.
Then again, this might only be conjecture and it might also be the case that having been in love with Eden for up to 30 year now might cloud my judgement, but I doubt it. He is definitely not the steady type that Dr Barnes represents and there might always be the case that other women will find him attractive, that he might also be very flirty towards them, but he just doesn´t strike me as the same type of man that your usual Cad and Lothario is- he is, at least in my eyes, definitely not Willoughby or Wickham, to add a little Jane Austen to the discussion!
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
For the most part, I totally agree with you again. However, Nurse Woods (voice of reason and sanity) does try to warn Eden off Nurse Linley. She obviously thinks that he's not serious. (I think he actually is wavering towards seriousness even though Woods doesn't believe him). It is interesting, though, that when Eden kisses Linley in the ward, he immediately apologizes. I don't think he would do that if he was just on the make. However, when Bates sees them she immediately thinks that Eden is in love. If he is in love, then her observations are accurate and I like to think that she is more nuts than astute. Woods says that Barnes is upset about Eden's attentions to Linley but he has no cause for this as they are no longer engaged. I don't know; it's too complicated. At the end of the day, Dr. Eden is pretty much a stand up guy that likes women and is so gosh, darn attractive, that women like him too. I confess to being in love with Eden too! :) It's hard to criticize those beautify eyes!!
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
Hi there, back again, having finished watching the movie for the umpteenth time!
You´re right, it DOES say CO2 on the anaesthetic column- it had me puzzled, too. I switched back to what the board said when Higgins was being operated on- I couldn`t quite get it, but it was certainly not CO2. So I consulted the book and Barney`s description of what kind of anaesthetic they`re using and that`s what I found: "For longer anaesthesia we use nitrous oxide with oxygen; those are the two outside cylinders. The green one in the middle is CO2- carbon dioxide; but we needn`t bother about it, because we didn`t use it on Higgins, and in fact it very seldom is used, except in special cases."
I guess that`s the explanation- Higgins being a comparatively easy operation, they didn`t have to use CO2, whereas Freddi is having her brain operated on, she might qualify as one of the "special cases". Good grief- I should have studied medicine to be able to get to grips with the movie!
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
This is so cool. I didn't check the board for Higgins' operation. Barnes says that they only use CO2 to stimulate respiration and if you give it without Oxygen people suffocate. So why would it be on the board unless it was a props faux pas or an Easter Egg from the director. I am beginning to think I have watched this film too many times. Ha!
Bugs are much smarter than people.
E.B. White
Well, I never noticed that it said CO2 on Freddi´s operation board... does this suggest that I haven´t watched the movie often enough??? Still I wouldn`t have been able to figure it out without the book- truth be told, when Trevor Howard starts explaining in the movie, my ears usually close themselves... it´s a bit hard to understand for a German as all the chemical termini are pronounced differently, much easier when you see the words written on the paper!
Guess I`ll have a look at "The Snake Pit" tonight- the psychoanalysis in that is so much easier to understand!
It is our choices that show what we truly are... far more than our abilities.
I agree that Mr. Eden's concern for Nurse Sanson seems genuine (and non-sexual). Professionally, he comes across as a good doctor, not just an accomplished flirt, so perhaps his successful Harley Street practice was based on more than just the ability to pull in the ladies! On the other hand, a man can behave quite differently in his professional life than in his private life, so to me that doesn't prevent him being romantically "dangerous" to women outside the office.
shareBarnes
shareDr. Barnes
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Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen 🎇