Green Dolphin Street (1947)

In the movie, Maryanne is surprised and Marguerite shocked when their mother reads the letter in which William asks for Marguerite's hand in marriage. Throughout the film this is reported as a "drunken mistake" on his part, as he meant to write Maryanne instead of Marguerite, it is their mother who makes the change while reading the letter.The films shows the page three times. So for reasons relating to her own background, Cooper makes that switch intentionally yet never is that revealed. How much better-and happier-it seemed that couple would have been. When William, at the very end, tells of the name change due to being drunk, I wondered if HE knew of the switch or was just justifying when be believed to be his mistake. Heartbreaking when the ship arrives in NZ and he sees the wrong sister..does he tell the truth or make the best of a bad situation?

From the credits onward, the movie dips and rolls, just like the earthquake and the good ship 'Green Dolphin' via the mighty Pacific. Plot aside * and it is a whopper of a plot, many countries traversed, etc. * it is the characters who made me like the movie. Turner was consistently good, to my surprise: she is ambitious for someone else and wants to be kingmaker, well there are many like that out there, mostly female. I know a few. She gets her comeuppance emotionally at the end of the movie, and ought to have been devastated, but she is strong, maybe not as strong as she thinks she is, but strong. I recommend this movie for Turner fans, which I am not. I also recommend this movie for fans of well done historical dramas, which this is, in terms of scenery and ambiance.

As the cliché goes, the book is so much better than the movie.That having been said, it's a great story, and the film acting is excellent according to the standards of the 1940s.I've wondered why such a bland actor was cast in the lead. He's supposed to be a weak character, but surely MGM had roster of highly skilled actors who could convincingly PLAY weak.Unfortunately, some of those lines in the script are just unactable. Despite the talent on screen, they make you want to gag.Nevertheless, there's some dynamic drama, and those special effects are spectacular, even today.The evocative, romantic theme music was made into a song, "On Green Dolphin Street," which has become one the most frequently played tunes in the jazz repertoire.

Although I've been a vintage film buff for years, I saw this film for the first time this week. Glady's Cooper's deathbed scene, played with Edmund Gwen and Donna Reed, has now become one of my favorite, most touching moments in film. Her dignity and courage, Gwen's simplicity and kindness, and Reed's ethereal beauty, along with the composition and lighting of the scene (including the candle-lit crucifix at the rear), riveted my attention and emotions from beginning to end. By the end of the scene I had tears streaming down my face, and believe me I'm a hard nut to crack.Otherwise, I thought there was a fine performance from Van Heflin (worthy of a look-alike Orson Welles), a rather startling and frightening depiction of a New Zealand earthquake and flood, very beautiful costumes and sets, and did I mention that Donna Reed is so beautiful you can barely stand to look at her? Her scene with Lana Turner below the crucifix at the convent, in which she describes her happiness at becoming a nun, is worthy of Ingrid Bergman in "The Bells of St. Mary's.