Martyn Green Movies
Martyn Green sang for many years with the D'Oyly Carte Opera and also worked as a dramatic actor. He appeared in four films during his career: a biography of Gilbert and Sullivan, a rendition of their operetta, Mikado (1939), a detective film, Lovely Way to Die, and the film adaptation of O'Neil's drama Iceman Cometh (1973). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1974
For its third animated-cartoon presentation, ABC Afterschool Special offers a streamlined adaptation of Edmond Rostand's romantic play Cyrano de Bergerac. The best swordsman and wittiest raconteur in all France, Cyrano de Bergerac (voiced by José Ferrer, recreating his most famous Broadway role) also has one of the largest noses known to man, and it is for this reason that he is reluctant to declare his love for the beautiful Roxanne. This, however, does not prevent Cyrano from helping his handsome but somewhat cloddish friend Christian win Roxanne's hand, simply by surreptitiously feeding flowery dialogue to Christian while the latter pitches woo. Cyrano was produced by the busy Hanna-Barbera studios. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Kurt Kasznar, Joan Van Ark, (more)
John Frankenheimer's screen version of Eugene O'Neill's 1947 Broadway play The Iceman Cometh is set in 1912 at Harry Hope's dingy waterfront saloon. On the occasion of Hope's birthday, several derelicts enter the scene to pontificate on the lives they'd planned, the lives they still dream about, and the wasted lives they wound up with. The cast features Lee Marvin as Hickey, a loser who's convinced himself that he's a winner; Robert Ryan as Larry Slade; and Fredric March (his last film role) as Harry Hope. The Iceman Cometh was one of a series of prestige productions presented by the American Film Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, (more)
- 1968
Schuyler (Kirk Douglas) is a hard-boiled detective who turns in his badge when he believes the criminals are being handled with kid gloves and too much respect. He is hired by prominent attorney Fredericks (Eli Wallach) as a bodyguard for his client Rena (Sylva Koscina), who is accused of murdering her husband. Her playboy boyfriend Fleming (Kenneth Haigh) is also under suspicion. Schuylur keeps one eye on his beautiful suspect while trying to uncover more information about the murder. Fredericks displays a disarming, folksy nature which belies his shrewdness. The detective soon comes to believe that Rena is being framed for the murder. Singer Jackie Wilson delivers the song "A Lovely Way To Die" during the opening credits of this murder mystery. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, (more)
- 1957
The prestigious CBS dramatic anthology The U.S. Steel Hour digressed from its usual format to present this lively musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest. The story, about two love struck young men who both pretend to bear the name of Earnest to please their respective sweethearts, remains substantially the same. However, the emphasis is shifted away from nominal leading man John Worthing (David Atkinson) and his aristocratic fiancée, Gwendolen Fairfax (Louise Troy), so that the characters of scampish Algernon Moncrieff and impressionable ingénue Cecily Cardew become the major roles. Edward Mulhare (who was at the time occasionally spelling Rex Harrison as star of the Broadway smash My Fair Lady) is seen as Algernon, with Dorothy Collins, an American vocalist best known for her work on Your Hit Parade, top-billed as Cecily. Also in the cast is Martyn Green, who in 1957 was the foremost interpreter of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, in the somewhat expanded role of Rev. Chasuble. The original songs, by Lee Pockriss and Ann Crosswell, include "Mr. Bunbury," "Perfection,," "My Eternal Devotion," "A Wicked Man," "Metaphorically Speaking," "Lost," and "My Very First Impression." "Who's Earnest?" was originally broadcast live from New York. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dorothy Collins, Edward Mulhare, (more)
- 1953
Robert Morley and Maurice Evans play W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, 19th-century composers of such imperishable comic operettas as H.M.S. Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. Much is made of the inescapable fact that Gilbert and Sullivan grew to dislike each other intensely. Also touched upon is the fact that both men felt they were writing "beneath" their talents, and yearned to do something more serious than their witty frivolities. And of course, we are treated to generous excerpts from several of Gilbert and Sullivan's works, performed by such D'Oyly Carte veterans as Martyn Green. Gilbert and Sullivan was originally titled The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan; its US release title was The Great Gilbert and Sullivan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Morley, Maurice Evans, (more)
Though it boasts an American director and star, this Technicolor cinemadaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado is a faithful record of what it must have been like to attend a performance of Britain's D'Oyly Carte opera company. Rradio tenor Kenny Baker stars as Nanki-Poo, the wand'ring minstrel who wanders into a curious set of situations in the Japanese village of Titi-Pu. D'Oyly Carte perennial Martyn Green plays the leading role of Ko-Ko, the timorous Lord High Executioner who must perform one execution per day or he'll lose his job-and his own head. Ko-Ko finds a likely candidate for decapitation in the form of Nanki-Poo, who feels mighty suicidal when it seems as though his sweetheart Yum-Yum (Jean Cola) is out of his reach. Unbeknownst to Ko-Ko, Nanki-Poo is the son of none other than The Mikado, played with a combination of pomp, circumstance and Noel Cowardlike waspishness by Sydney Granville. Most of the satirical Gilbert & Sullivan songs have been retained, including "The Lord High Executioner", "Three Little Maids from School are We", "Tit Willow", "Here's a How-de-Do", and "The Object Most Sublime". Musical accompaniment is provided by the London Symphony Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenny Baker, Martyn Green, (more)
