Green Mansions (C or 2/4 stars)
'Green mansion' (based on a novel & directed by Mel Ferrer) is, unfortunately, a pretty poor 1959 romantic adventure drama starring Audrey Hepburn & Anthony Perkins. When his father is murdered by a corrupt government regime, Abel (Perkins) flees the rebels in capital of Venezuela, Caracas, & heads for the nearby forest; searching for hidden gold to fund him finding soldiers to avenge his father's murder. Deep in the woods, he barely survives a wild rapids mishap; ending up in a hostile village. There, he earns their trust by showing courage & the chief asks him to go into forbidden forest to confront the mystical bird spirit that they all fear.
Abel enters the jungle, hoping to find gold, but instead comes upon Rima (Hepburn), the mercurial bird woman who has the ability to commune with animals. Rima was raised by a nefarious grandfather who still tries to exercise strict authority over her. It is up to Abel to save Rima from her wicked grandfather, safeguard her from mythical natives, & get himself out of the jungle. Drama ensues throughout this tale of love, innocence & revenge.
This simply isn't a very good movie. The story is an odd one, but not an enjoyably odd one. The filmmaking is substandard for what the studio typically produces. There is no palpable chemistry btwn. Perkins & Hepburn. And neither of them gives their very best performances individually, as well. Furthermore, this movie happened to be one of Audrey Hepburn's rare critical & box office disappointments.
Director Ferrer tried to make the film as authentic as he could by travelling to South America & the Amazon to scout locations & customs & such ... but it didn't reap any rewards; in fact, the jungle was too dark, so they had to film back on studio stages in Hollywood, anyway. Others in the cast include Lee J. Cobb, Henry Silva & Sessue Hayakawa; by the way, SUSPECT casting decisions in here, based on who they are playing. So, as you can see, the overall pedigree in actors & filmmaking was all there, but it just didn't all materialize into a movie of substance or great entertainment.
Abel enters the jungle, hoping to find gold, but instead comes upon Rima (Hepburn), the mercurial bird woman who has the ability to commune with animals. Rima was raised by a nefarious grandfather who still tries to exercise strict authority over her. It is up to Abel to save Rima from her wicked grandfather, safeguard her from mythical natives, & get himself out of the jungle. Drama ensues throughout this tale of love, innocence & revenge.
This simply isn't a very good movie. The story is an odd one, but not an enjoyably odd one. The filmmaking is substandard for what the studio typically produces. There is no palpable chemistry btwn. Perkins & Hepburn. And neither of them gives their very best performances individually, as well. Furthermore, this movie happened to be one of Audrey Hepburn's rare critical & box office disappointments.
Director Ferrer tried to make the film as authentic as he could by travelling to South America & the Amazon to scout locations & customs & such ... but it didn't reap any rewards; in fact, the jungle was too dark, so they had to film back on studio stages in Hollywood, anyway. Others in the cast include Lee J. Cobb, Henry Silva & Sessue Hayakawa; by the way, SUSPECT casting decisions in here, based on who they are playing. So, as you can see, the overall pedigree in actors & filmmaking was all there, but it just didn't all materialize into a movie of substance or great entertainment.