Graham Greene Movies
Oxford-educated author/essayist Graham Greene published his first major novel, Stamboul Train, in 1932; two years later, the novel became the first of a multitude of Greene works to be adapted for the screen. Incredibly prolific, Greene divided his books into two classifications. His "Entertainments" were his bread-and-butter mysteries, espionage thrillers and psychological melodramas, examples of which include This Gun for Hire and Our Man in Havana; and his "Novels" were such deeper and (to him) more meaningful works as The Power and the Glory (filmed by John Ford as The Fugitive in 1948) and Brighton Rock. From 1935 to 1940, he was film critic for The Spectator, gaining fame for championing such "populist" entertainers as Laurel and Hardy. During this period, he also served as literary editor of Night and Day.While Greene adapted many of his own fictional works for films--with particularly laudable results in the cases of two Carol Reed-directed pictures, The Third Man (1949) and The Fallen Idol (1949), the latter project earning the writer an Academy Award nomination--Greene was generally unhappy with the movie versions; the 1958 filmization of The Quiet American, completely distorted Greene's spin on the tinderbox political situation in Southeast Asia in favor of a flag-waving pro-American stance, and in the TV-series version of The Third Man, the wholly amoral and nihilistic Harry Lime was converted into a grown-up boy scout. In 1972, a collection of Graham Greene's Spectator movie reviews were gathered together in the British anthology The Pleasure Dome (published in the U.S. as Greene and Film); and in 1990, a full-length assessment of his screen work, titled Travels in Greenland: The Cinema of Graham Greene, was written by Quentin Falk. Graham Greene's screen credits should not be confused with those of the Native American character actor of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Graham Greene's allegorical novel about America's role in the Vietnam conflict, and how it was perceived by the rest of the world, is brought to the screen for the second time in this adaptation directed by Phillip Noyce. Thomas Fowler (Michael Caine) is a British journalist who in 1952 is covering the early stages of the war in Indo-China for the London Times, not a demanding assignment since few in England are especially interested in the conflict. When not filing occasional reports, Fowler spends his time with Phuong (Do Thi Hai Yen), a beautiful woman who shares lovemaking and opium with Fowler and is willing to accept the fact the married journalist will never make her his wife. Fowler becomes friendly with Alden Pyle (Brendan Fraser), a cheerful and articulate if seemingly naïve American who is in Saigon as part of a medical mission. As Fowler and Pyle develop a closer friendship, Pyle is introduced to Phuong, and the American soon becomes infatuated with her. When Fowler's editors suggest he return to London, he responds by digging himself deeper in covering the war, and Pyle attempts to take Phuong away; she soon rejects him. Undaunted, Pyle continues with his work, but Fowler discovers that medical help is not what the American is bringing to Vietnam. Pyle is in fact a CIA operative who is helping to organize and finance a "Third Force" who will battle Ho Chi Min's forces as well as the French and their allies. Fowler also learns that Pyle is behind a series of bombings which are believed to have been carried out by Communist extremists, and faces the ugly fact that his American friend is in fact a terrorist killing in the name of Uncle Sam's political interests. While completed in the fall of 2001, The Quiet American went unreleased until late 2002; after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the film's producers felt the film's critical view of America's role in the Vietnam war might be considered especially offensive. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, (more)
A man trying to run away from trouble finds it follows him in unexpected ways in this action-packed vehicle for comic actors Eddie Griffin and Orlando Jones. Daryl Chase (Jones) is a successful investment banker who handles international accounts for a major New York firm. Chase discovers to his surprise that one of his biggest clients, a company from Mexico, is actually a front for a cartel of drug smugglers; Chase realizes too late that he's been framed for money laundering, and is now wanted by the FBI. Chase is soon approached by a CIA agent, who thinks Chase's relationship with the Mexican drug kingpins might prove useful, but when his local contact disappears, Chase has to make his way to Mexico in order to save his skin and hopefully clear his name. Needing a new identity to get out of town and across the border, Chase obtains a stolen passport -- and soon learns the man whose name he's using is in even deeper trouble with the law than himself. With nowhere else to turn, Chase asks streetwise hustler Freddie Tiffany (Griffin) to help him get out of town; Chase will pretend to be Freddie, while Tiffany will pose as a businessman like Chase. However, Chase finds out Tiffany isn't the man he thought he was, and that his sticky situation is even more perilous and fraught with secrets than he imagined. Double Take was inspired by the 1957 drama Across The Bridge, which was in turn based on a novel by Graham Greene; the supporting cast includes Edward Herrmann, Gary Grubbs, Garcelle Beauvais, and Daniel Roebuck. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orlando Jones, Eddie Griffin, (more)
Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a bright and charming high-school student who also has a dark and willfully eccentric side; he does little to mask his contempt for many of his peers and enjoys challenging the authority of the adults around him. Donnie is also visited on occasion by Frank, a monstrous six-foot rabbit that only Donnie can see who often urges him to perform dangerous and destructive pranks. Late one night, Frank leads Donnie out of his home to inform him that the world will come to an end in less than a month; moments later, the engine of a jet aircraft comes crashing through the ceiling of Donnie's room, making him think there might be something to Frank's prophesies after all. The rest of Donnie's world is only marginally less bizarre, as he finds himself dealing with his confused parents (Mary McDonnell and Holmes Osborne), his college-age sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal), his perplexed analyst (Katherine Ross), a rebellious English teacher (Drew Barrymore), a sleazy self-help expert (Patrick Swayze), and the new girl at school who is attracted by Donnie's quirks (Jena Malone). Donnie Darko was the first feature film from writer and director Richard Kelly; Drew Barrymore, who plays teacher Karen Pomeroy, also lent her support to the project as executive producer. A director's cut played in select theaters on a limited basis in the summer of 2004, featuring original music cues and trimmed scenes originally in Kelly's first cut of the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, (more)
Based on the novel by Graham Greene, this romantic drama stars Ralph Fiennes as Maurice Bendrix, a novelist who, during World War II, had an affair with Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore), the wife of his best friend Henry (Stephen Rea). Sarah abruptly broke off the romance in 1944, but two years later, after Maurice runs into Henry, he becomes obsessed with the affair and hires a man to investigate Sarah. He reads her diary of their forbidden romance in the midst of the London Blitz and discovers that, overwhelmed with fear and guilt, she pledged to God that she would end the affair if Maurice's life were spared. Maurice is determined to reintroduce himself into Sarah's life, but she fears that being near him would be too great a temptation. The End of the Affair was previously brought to the screen in 1955 by Edward Dmytryk; this version was written for the screen and directed by Academy Award-winner Neil Jordan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 1991
Based on a novel by Graham Greene, Alec Guinness stars as the title character, a descendent of Don Quixote. After he is appointed monsignor, he sets off with a leftist politician (played by Leo McKern) on an adventure reminiscent of the Cervantes novel. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The 1990 made-for-cable remake of Graham Greene's This Gun for Hire stars Robert Wagner as a professional assassin who is tricked into killing a politician who he thought was a New Orleans gangster. On the run, the assassin takes a stripper as a hostage; she happens to be the fiance of the FBI agent on his trail. The assassin and the stripper fall in love and manage to outwit the FBI and police. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Nancy Everhard, (more)
- 1990
- PG
Ian Bertram (Robert Lindsay) is a mathematical genius who works as an accountant for a multinational firm based in England. When he meets Cary Porter (Molly Ringwald), who recently started working for the same company, Ian immediately falls in love and quickly proposes marriage. Cary accepts, and they plan a modest wedding, but when Ian's accounting skills earn him the admiration of company head Herbert Dreuther (John Geilgud), Herbert offers to pay for a honeymoon in Monte Carlo and give them a ride back on his yacht. But while Mr. Dreuther means well, he has problems with his memory, and once Ian and Cary get to Monte Carlo, Herbert has forgotten all about them. Stuck at the hotel with a large bill that he can't afford, Ian works out a plan to win at roulette; his scheme works, and he earns enough to pay their bill, get them home, and have plenty left over. But his sudden success at the gambling tables makes Ian drunk with power, and Cary discovers that her new husband has turned into a power-hungry tyrant. Strike It Rich was adapted from the novel Loser Takes All by Graham Greene; it has been shown under the novel's title, as well as under the title Money Talks. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lindsay, Molly Ringwald, (more)
- 1988
Anthony Hopkins stars in this glossy TV adaptation of Graham Greene's The Tenth Man. The scene is Paris, during the Nazi occupation. Hopkins plays a French lawyer who is sentenced to be executed as a reprisal for the activities of the Resistance. To escape the firing squad, Hopkins arranges for another man to take his place. That man, played by Timothy Wilson, is an embittered soul with no desire to go on living. As part of his bargain with Hopkins, Wilson wills Hopkins' estate to his own heirs. At war's end, Hopkins, travelling incognito, takes a gardener's job at the estate he once owned. He gradually falls in love with Wilson's sister Kristin Scott Thomas. And then total stranger Derek Jacobi shows up--claiming to be the long-lost Hopkins! Produced in Britain by veteran TV-movie maven David Rosemont, The Tenth Man was first offered December 4, 1988, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Dr. Fischer (James Mason) is a cynical tycoon whose favorite past time is exposing human greed. Determined to prove that even the most righteous person can be bought, Fischer (Bates) plans a party with a strange and diabolical twist. The party favors contain one of two things--one million dollars cash, or a bomb designed to blow the "gift" recipient into tiny pieces. His guests go through a strange, emotional journey, ultimately deciding if they are willing to trade their dignity and risk their lives for the possibility of wealth. Directed by Michael Lindsey-Hogg, Dr. Fischer of Geneva also features Alan Bates and Greta Scacchi. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, James Mason, (more)
- 1983
John Mackenzie directed this schematic adaptation of Graham Greene's best-selling thriller The Honorary Consul. Richard Gere stars as Dr. Eduardo Plarr, a brilliant doctor who has chosen to practice in the provinces rather than the teeming city of Buenos Aires because his father remains a political prisoner in Paraguay. As the story begins, Plarr is awaiting word from his father after years of silence. One day Leon (Joaquim de Almeida), an old childhood friend, contacts him. Leon was a priest who had left the church and is now working for the Paraguayan underground. Leon blackmails Plarr into obtaining information on an upcoming visit to the province by the United States Ambassador. Leon's plan is to kidnap the ambassador and hold him for ransom in order to obtain the release of Paraguayan political prisoners -- including Plarr's father. The source for the information is an alcoholic has-been, Charley Fortnum (Michael Caine), the province's honorary British counsel, whose wife Clara (Elpidia Carrillo) also happens to be Plarr's mistress. When the kidnapping goes wrong, Plarr is forced to re-examine his relationship with Clara and with Charley, whose betrayal by Plarr has put Charley's life in jeopardy. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Richard Gere, (more)
- 1983
This Graham Greene story is a bout a boy who has trouble moving beyond his father's death. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
This routine espionage drama is based on a novel by Graham Greene about a low-level British informant who is caught in a trap. Castle (Nicol Williamson) has a desk job in British intelligence. Around him are heavyweights like Col. Daintry (Richard Attenborough), Sir John Hargreaves (Richard Vernon), and Percival (Robert Morley) who will cold-bloodedly stop at nothing to do their jobs as they see fit. And Castle certainly is a nobody compared to them. One day when a friend of his in Africa needs some help, Castle is conned into supplying the Eastern block countries with info on demand. No one suspects him because of his low position, but when his office partner is hauled off, Castle begins to rethink his situation. This was director Otto Preminger's last film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, John Gielgud, (more)
- 1975
The short stories of prolific British author Graham Greene were grist for the mill in this weekly British anthology. Shades of Greene featured some of the best character actors in the United Kingdom, all of whom seemed thrilled at playing full leads rather than their usual supporting roles. Among the noteworthy writers who adapted the 19 stories for television were John Mortimer, William Trevor, and Clive Exton. Individual titles included "When Greek Meets Greek," "Cheap in August," "The Root of All Evil," and "A Little Place Off the Edgeware Road." Telecast variously in a 25-minute and 50-minute format, Shades of Greene was presented by Thames Television from 1975 to 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Based on a novel by Graham Greene that uses the rise of Nazi Germany as its backdrop, this drama stars Michael York as Anthony Farrant, an idealistic young British businessman. On his way home after a trip to the Far East, Anthony takes a friend up on her advice and makes a stop in Germany, where he calls upon Erich Krogh (Peter Finch), a highly successful financier. While Anthony was taught to value fairness and decency, he soon falls under Erich's spell, in which opportunism, corruption, and decadence hold sway. England Made Me was filmed in Yugoslavia, doubling for both Germany and France; Tony Wollard's art direction was nominated for a British BAFTA Award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Finch, Michael York, (more)
- 1972
- PG
In the lively comedy/adventure Travels with My Aunt, adapted from Graham Green's book, Henry (Alec McCowan), a timid, bookish accountant whose life seems to have died stillborn, discovers how to live with gusto thanks to the rough ministrations of his thoroughly eccentric aunt Augusta (Maggie Smith). Aunt Augusta bursts into Henry's life during the funeral for his mother, Augusta's sister. She whisks him to her apartment for a general cheering up, and he is thoroughly bemused by her bohemian ways and her much-younger black Caribbean boyfriend. In the next few hours, she manages to pry him from his dusty life and involve him in a series of incredible adventures involving old love affairs, espionage, kidnappings, and more money than he has ever dreamt of. Before the story ends, Henry has properly gotten into the spirit of his madcap aunt's adventuring. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, (more)
- 1967
The humorous title of this story taken from the novel by Graham Greene gives the viewer the wrong impression. The story concerns the residents of a once-posh hotel in Haiti and the fate of the country's people under the despotic dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) is the philandering wife of a South American ambassador Peter Ustinov. She seeks solace in the arms of hotel-owner Brown (Richard Burton), whose main focus is to keep making improvements on his crumbling building. Alec Guinness plays Jones, the suave charlatan who claims to be a retired military officer to hide his vocation as a shadowy weapons dealer. Brown later gets a sudden twinge of morality and decides to go off to the mountains to help the rebels in their heroic cause. Watch for silent film great Lillian Gish as Mrs. Smith in this plodding drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
Graham Greene wrote this witty comedy inspired by Cold War paranoia. Jim Wormald (Alec Guiness) is an Englishman selling vacuum cleaners in Cuba on the cusp of the revolution. Hawthorne (Noel Coward), a British intelligence agent, is looking for information on Cuban affairs and recruits Jim to act as a spy. Jim has no experience in espionage and no useful knowledge to pass along, but Hawthorne is willing to pay for his services, and since Jim's daughter Milly (Jo Morrow) has expensive tastes, he can use the money. To keep Hawthorne happy (and his paychecks coming in), he turns in reports on the Cuban revolution that are copied from public documents, "hires" additional agents who don't exist, and presents blueprints of secret weapons that are actually schematics of his carpet sweepers. However, Hawthorne and associate "C" (Ralph Richardson) think that Jim is doing splendid work and encourage him to continue; meanwhile, Capt. Segura (Ernie Kovacs), the elegantly corrupt chief of police, has been fooled by Jim's charade into believing he's a real spy -- and has also become attracted to Milly. Our Man in Havana also features Burl Ives and Maureen O'Hara in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, (more)
The Quiet American was the first major American-financed film to touch upon the powder-keg situation in Vietnam (still referred to as Indochina in 1958). Audie Murphy plays an enigmatic American who comes to Saigon, ostensibly on an economic mission. He meets an embittered journalist (Michael Redgrave) who is living with an Indochinese girl (Giorgia Moll). The American falls for the girl and promises to marry her. In retaliation, the reporter tells the communists that the American GI's economist stance is a cover, and that he is actually selling munitions to non-communist troops. Graham Greene had intended his novel The Quiet American to be an attack against American influence in Southeast Asia. Producer/director/adapter Joseph L. Mankiewicz would have none of that, so he changed the ending into a pro-Yankee tract -- thereby killing any impact the film might have had. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, (more)
- 1957
- NR
After an extensive talent search, producer-director Otto Preminger selected a 17-year-old unknown from Iowa, Jean Seberg, to play Joan of Arc, a role traditionally portrayed by actresses twice to three times Seberg's age. Seberg is cast opposite such venerable pros as Richard Todd (as Dunois), Anton Walbrook (the Bishop of Beauvais), John Gielgud (Earl of Warwick) and Felix Aylmer (The Inquisitor). Cast as the vacillating Dauphin is Richard Widmark. Graham Greene's screenplay refashions the original Shaw text in the form of a flashback. Seberg eventually became an accomplished actress by virtue of her appearances in such nouvelle vague films as Breathless, but it was too late to salvage Saint Joan, which was figuratively burned at the stake by critics and filmgoers alike. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1957
As a favor to an old friend, producer Alex Gordon, James Cagney turned director for the first and only time in his career with Short Cut to Hell. The film is a remake of the 1942 Veronica Lake-Alan Ladd starrer This Gun For Hire. Robert Ivers plays Kyle, a hired killer who is double-crossed by his employer Bahrwell (Jacques Aubuchon). Seeking revenge, Kyle is reluctantly teamed with Glory Hamilton (Georgann Johnson), who has been targeted for elimination by Bahrwell and his henchman Nichols (Murvyn Vye). Unfortunately, Glory is the girlfriend of detective Stan (William Bishop), forcing Kyle to go on the lam before he can settle accounts with the film's principal villain. Kyle is finally able to get even with Bahrwell, and in the process reveals his long-dormant "good" side. Though the film itself is nothing special, Cagney's direction is sharp and efficient; it's too bad that Short Cut to Hell was his only effort behind the cameras. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, (more)
A Graham Greene novel was the basic source for the British psychological melodrama Across the Bridge. Rod Steiger plays Carl Schaffner, a prominent financier who has absconded with company funds. A genius at improvisation, he plans to elude the authorities by murdering Paul Scarff (Bill Nagy) and assuming the dead man's identity. Upon arriving in Mexico, however, Schaffner learns to his chagrin that Scarff was himself an even more notorious fugitive from justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, David Knight, (more)
- 1956
In this location-filmed domestic seriocomedy, Rosanno Brazzi and Glynis Johns play an accountant and his new wife, honeymooning in Monte Carlo. With the casino in full view and ready for action, the couple would be remiss if they didn't give the gaming tables a try. Besides, Brazzi is certain that he's worked out a "system." Sure enough, the couple's marriage suffers mightily as the lure of the casino becomes stronger than their devotion to each other. Based on a story by Graham Greene, Loser Takes All was remade in 1990 as Strike It Rich, with Robert Lindsay and Mollie Ringwald. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rossano Brazzi, Glynis Johns, (more)
Recently freed from his MGM contract, Van Johnson headed to England to star in a series of pictures, the first of which was The End of the Affair. Adapted by Lenore Coffee from the novel by Graham Greene, the film casts Johnson as Maurice Bendrix, the clandestine lover of married Briton Sarah Miles (Deborah Kerr). When Maurice disappears during the London blitz, Sarah feels responsible; perhaps if she hadn't been cheating on her husband Henry (Peter Cushing), Maurice might never have been placed in harm's way. She gets down on her knees and prays, promising to return to her husband and give up Maurice if her lover's life is spared. The film's title rather gives the game away. The best performance is delivered by John Mills, as an affable private detective hired by Henry Miles to check up on Sarah's whereabouts. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, (more)
- 1954
This mystery is adapted from a Graham Greene novel and begins as a British spy arranges a meeting with his son, whom he hasn't seen in four years. They are to meet in Venice, but unfortunately, the spy is unable to make the appointment. The boy then gets a mysterious call from his father breaking their date. Meanwhile, a compassionate hotel receptionist convinces her American lover to help the boy find his father. The boy friend investigates and discovers that the boy's father had found a fellow spy in trouble and was captured and drugged while trying help him. Both of the British spies are then placed on a boat and sent to Communist Europe where the police cannot catch them. Fortunately, the brave Yankee devises an ingenious plot to save them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, (more)
