MovieChat Forums > Green for Danger (1946) Discussion > A good piece of acting

A good piece of acting

posted 13 years ago by Jessica-656
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In the scene where Alistair Sim's Inspector is describing Sister Bates' death in detail, we see Nurse Sanson picturing the scene and then start to laugh hysterically, after which Nurse Woods slaps her, and Sanson starts to cry more normally. I thought this was a good piece of acting. Rosamund John's Nurse Sanson really did seem hysterical and as if she were letting out pent-up emotions in this scene, and you could see the difference between her original hysteria and her subsequent crying. I've seen many examples of supposed hysteria in movies, and IMO this was one of the best-acted. On the other hand, in several scenes where people tell Nurse Sanson how tired she looks, I have to take their word for it, because she looks fine to me!

[–] Jason_Radley 13 years ago

I agree that Rosamund John was a fine (and winning) actress, but I'm wondering whether we're expected to take Sanson's hysterics at face value. What's remarkable about Sanson is her incredible sangfroid and presence of mind; the deaths of Higgins and Bates, her attempt to gas Linley and her own suicide are conceived of and/or carried out almost on the spur on the moment.

[–] JHT 13 years ago

The acting in the film was of a very high standard. I primarily watched it because Alistair Sim was one of, if not the best of, the UKs comedy actors and I thought he's be in nearly every scene but the other actors were equally as strong, paricularly Meg Jenkins. There is a scene where all the suspects are together with rising tensions between the surgeon and the anaethetist, just before the attempted murder of the nurse, which is just brilliant. The script was top drawer as well. The plot was a bit silly, but who cares. Even the last bit when the Inspector regrets his mistake but doesn't blame himself just shows the level of the acting.