Customer Reviews

The Green Glove

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here's a good example of a film with first rate potential which was made by journeymen artists. Most of the actors do good jobs, and a few are very good. Glenn Ford as Michael Blake plays a standard action hero but he does it with charm. George Macready as Count Paul Rona always makes a smooth villain. Some of the smaller parts are well handled; Cedric Hardwicke as Father Goron, Gaby Andre as Rona's mistress, Jany Holt as the Countess. The film was shot in Paris, the south of France and Monte Carlo and it's pleasant to view the towns and the scenery. The script, unfortunately, depends far too often on coincidence and luck. The music is predictable. Cliches are used as shorthand. There is one long sequence where the two unmarried leads find themselves having to stay at a country inn where there is only one room. The coy innuendo is tiresome; the situation is as old as the hills and has been done far better by others. And while Blake is supposed to be down on his luck, he seems to have no problem paying his hotel, food, bar and train bills. By the end of the movie, when there is a rousing climb up a rocky, steep mountain and a shootout in the belfry of an old stone church, it's hard to really care much because so much of the movie has been predictable. Also a factor is that The Green Glove fell into the public domain. It's watchable, but not much better than that. A better DVD transfer might have helped because of the importance of the locations. There are no extras.

Michael Blake (Ford) has come to France to locate the jeweled gauntlet of St. Elizaire, the green glove, a holy relic that was stolen from a small church during World War II. Blake had encountered the relic and the thief, Count Paul Rona (Macready), when he landed during a parachute jump near a chateau in 1944. Rona lost the glove. Blake thinks if he can find the relic and sell it, it'll put him back on his feet. But Rona, now an unscrupulous art dealer in Paris, is still after the gauntlet. He plans to track Blake, then take the relic. In the meantime, Blake has met a young woman, Chris Kenneth (Geraldine Brooks), working as a tour guide. It's instant love, and off they go together from Paris to the ruins of the chateau. Eventually, the bad guys get theirs, the church gets back the glove, Blake finds himself by doing the right thing, and he and Chris embrace as the camera pans across the scenery.

If the price is right and you like old adventure movies, you might consider this...but only if the price is right.

"This one" refers to the [supposedly] remastered DVD edition of A2zcds. I just bought it and IT IS AWFUL! Ditto for the soundtrack. The picture quality is equal to that of a bad video. Dark and murky and full of "moth holes".[Large white spots, commonly referred to as snow]. For the first 40 minutes or so, it was hard to figure out what was going on, or who was who, as the picture was so bad that one just couldn't see, never mind make out details. On top of that, lovely Geraldine Brooks was very unfavourable photographed and Glenn Ford looked as though he hadn't slept for days. [Which may not be that far from the truth --]. During the lengthy chase scene up the mountain side at the end, it is so dark that you just have to guess what's going on. And naturally, one thinks it is night time. But no, suddenly we're in broad daylight. Or maybe the moon came up real bright or something. But by that time you don't care anymore, since the whole thing is a mess anyway. Aside from the technical flaws, the scrip leaves a lot to be desired also. It is all over the place and utterly confusing.
Should you still want to buy this DVD, there are 3 photographs on the back of the box the disc comes in. In one photo one can just barely make out who's on it. The other two are just black, or nearly so. That will give you a pretty good idea of what the movie is like.
Well, you win some, you lose some. And this one is a dead loss. A waste of time and money.

A saint's stolen glove, a holy relic, touches believer's lives but belongs back in its resting place in the church. A gem encrusted antiquity, its earthly value contrasts with its healing force . To return it or cash in is a temptation to overcome.

Glenn Ford is an American in France after the war trying to foil George MacCready's attempt to possess the glove and its power. The chase over the rugged landscape of southern France is on, by foot, car and train. A haunting musical score with an unforgettably nostalgic theme along with forthright black and white photography make this film one of my personal favorites.

Simple faith is pitted against sophisticated cunning in a beautifully done film. I saw the movie when I was 9 and I'm now 60. It still moves me the same way it did back in 1952.

Mystery, murder and romance come together in this tale of good versus evil. The saint's glove, a holy relic, touches people's lives but belongs back in its resting place in the church. A gem encrusted antiquity, the glove's earthly value contrasts with its healing spiritual power . To return it or cash in is a temptation to overcome.

Glenn Ford is an American in France after the war trying to foil George MacCready's atempt to possess the glove and its power. The chase over the rugged landscape of France is on, by foot, car and train. A haunting music score with an unforgettably nostalgic theme along with beautiful black and white photography make this film one of my personal favorites.

Simple faith is pitted against sophisticated cunning in a movie of mystery and power. I saw the movie when I was 9 and I'm now 60. It still moves me the same way it did back in 1952.

Glenn Ford stars in this low budget obscure movie with him coming across an art dealer (George Macready) who has a Green Glove (an emerald glove) during WW2. It gets lost during a bomb explosion. Glenn Ford retrieves the glove years later. He is also framed for murder and being tracked down by the French police. This wasn't anything special. It sounded more interesting that it was. The DVD from Alpha is decent. Basically they get the transfer as is, with no touchups and just get it on DVD - so if they get the rights to a movie that has a good transfer, then the transfer will be good. It might be worth renting to some, Glenn Ford completests should give it a try, but dont expect an all time classic. It is not awful, just nothing special either.

The Green Glove is about a World War II veteran in France gets mixed up in murder while investigating a stolen treasure. Now I Have seen a couple of restored copies of this that could hardly be called "restored" or "remastered" but that is the least I could say about this copy. A2ZCDS did a great job in remastering this title.

The Green Glove, 1949 film

The film begins with a view of a church high on a cliff in the south of France, the village of St. Elziare. The bells begin to ring. What happened? The "Green Glove" was returned mysteriously, only a dead man nearby. They show American troops coming ashore in August 1944. One American was trapped behind German lines, and finds a German newspaper reporter with a green glove in his bag. There is a bomb blast. When Blake awakes the situation has changed. Years later Blake returned to search for the Green Glove. A man in gray follows him, but Blake shakes this tail. The police want to question Blake about a body in his hotel room! What is the link between Blake and the dead man? Later Blake leaves his room. We see traffic on the street and the railroad station. [Note the tailing technique: when one man is recognized another replaces him. But does he follow too closely?] That tour guide is on the train; somebody broke into her room and tossed it.

The man following Blake is not from the police, he has no scruples about using a gun! [The shot doesn't attract attention?] We see an art dealer who is involved in this story. He knows the story of the Green Glove, and got a telegram from Pépé. Blake goes to that church. Count Roloff is there with his three men. There is a fight in a dimly-lit room [for stunt doubles]. A whistle identifies the arrival of the police. There is a fight. Blake falls through a roof and meets a person from his past. That old bag has a surprise in it. Later Blake and Miss Chris Keniss seek shelter from the rain at an inn for some comic scenes. Can they find a way out? Blake calls Chris with a plan to trap the Count at St. Elziare. Will something go wrong? Blake walks to St. Elziare before Roloff's men arrive. Following a goat track at night provides drama. Blake climbs the stairs to the bell tower, the Count follows. Will one of the Count's henchmen make a mistake? The bells ring out to call the villagers, the pastor finds the glove in its rightful place. There is a happy ending.

This is a barely average drama that has too many coincidences in its story. It does not compare favorably to the other crime dramas ("film noir") of its era.