Green Dolphin Street
Encyclopedia
Green Dolphin Street is a 1947 historic drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
.
, Van Heflin
, Donna Reed
, and Richard Hart
, and features a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson
based on the historical novel Green Dolphin Country (1944) by Elizabeth Goudge
. The film was directed by Victor Saville
and produced by Carey Wilson.
Turner and Heflin reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theatre version of Green Dolphin Street on 19 September 1949.
Hart and Heflin, who played romantic rivals in Green Dolphin Street, were similarly cast in B.F.'s Daughter
(1948). Hart made only four feature films before his death at an early age, two of them co-starring Heflin.
) and Special Effects.
" (often recorded as "On Green Dolphin Street"), went on to become a jazz standard
. The song has been recorded by Eric Dolphy
, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis
and John Coltrane
, among others.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
Plot summary
In the 1840s, two sisters fall in love with the same man. While drunk, the man writes a letter proposing marriage to the wrong one.Production background
The film stars Lana TurnerLana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
, and Richard Hart
Richard Hart (actor)
Richard Comstock Hart was an American actor. Hart appeared in film and on TV, but his chief love was the stage....
, and features a screenplay by Samson Raphaelson
Samson Raphaelson
Samson Raphaelson was an American screenwriter and playwright.Born in New York City, Raphaelson worked on nine films with Ernst Lubitsch, including Trouble in Paradise , The Shop Around the Corner , Heaven Can Wait , and That Lady in Ermine...
based on the historical novel Green Dolphin Country (1944) by Elizabeth Goudge
Elizabeth Goudge
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books as Elizabeth Goudge...
. The film was directed by Victor Saville
Victor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
and produced by Carey Wilson.
Turner and Heflin reprised their roles in a Lux Radio Theatre version of Green Dolphin Street on 19 September 1949.
Hart and Heflin, who played romantic rivals in Green Dolphin Street, were similarly cast in B.F.'s Daughter
B.F.'s Daughter
B.F.'s Daughter is a 1948 drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. It is adapted from John P. Marquand's controversial 1946 novel of the same name, but the movie script soft-pedals the controversial elements and is a fairly conventional love...
(1948). Hart made only four feature films before his death at an early age, two of them co-starring Heflin.
Cast
- Lana TurnerLana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
as Marianne Patourel - Van HeflinVan HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
as Timothy Haslam - Donna ReedDonna ReedDonna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
as Marguerite Patourel - Richard HartRichard Hart (actor)Richard Comstock Hart was an American actor. Hart appeared in film and on TV, but his chief love was the stage....
as William Ozanne - Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Dr. Edmond Ozanne - Edmund GwennEdmund GwennEdmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
as Octavius Patourel - Dame May Whitty as Mother Superior
- Reginald OwenReginald OwenJohn Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
as Captain O'Hara - Gladys CooperGladys CooperDame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....
as Sophie Patourel - Moyna MacGillMoyna MacGillMoyna Macgill was an Irish stage and film actress and the mother of actress Angela Lansbury and producers Edgar Lansbury and Bruce Lansbury.-Life and career:...
as Mrs. Metivier - Linda ChristianLinda ChristianLinda Christian was a Mexican movie actress, who appeared in Mexican and Hollywood films. Her career reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. She played Mara in the last Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan film Tarzan and The Mermaids...
as Hine-Moa - Bernie Gozier as Jacky-Poto
- Patrick AhernePatrick AhernePatrick Aherne was a British film actor. He was the brother of the actor Brian Aherne.-Selected filmography:* The Ball of Fortune * Thou Fool * Huntingtower...
as Kapua-Manga - Al KikumeAl KikumeAl Kikume , born Elmer Kikume Gozier, was an American actor and stuntman of Hawaiian descent. He was born in either Honolulu or Kansas and died in Los Angeles...
as A Maori - Edith Leslie as Sister Angelique
Awards
In 1948, the film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated in the categories Cinematography (Black-and-White), Film Editing, Sound Recording (Douglas ShearerDouglas Shearer
Douglas G. Shearer was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.-Early life and career:...
) and Special Effects.
Theme song
The film's title song, "Green Dolphin StreetOn Green Dolphin Street (song)
"On Green Dolphin Street" is a 1947 popular song composed by Bronislau Kaper with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song, composed for the film Green Dolphin Street, went on to become a jazz standard after being recorded by Miles Davis...
" (often recorded as "On Green Dolphin Street"), went on to become a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
. The song has been recorded by Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, among others.