The Green Girl (2014)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

How sad is this?

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Just saw this film on Amazon. Well worth the watch for anyone old enough to remember the days of "The Big Three" network television, where the guest stars were almost as regular as the series stars.That said? I got the sense Ms Oliver never quite 'fit in' to whatever task, professional or otherwise, she was pursuing. The possible exception being her early theater days.She obviously was a very bright woman with plenty of talent, never mind the devastating good looks. And while most of the interviewee's recall a very vivacious and positive spirit, with a good nature? I just got the sense she always wanted to be somewhere else, deep down inside.I was very saddened by the manner of her passing, in which it seemed she was really tired of fighting, and or living.And I'm not being critical of her here. This was just how I interpreted this film.The doc itself really hadn't hooked me at first. It almost seemed like a bland old "A&E" bio from the 80's, without the high production values.But in the last half hour, a sudden abundance in attention to her deeper personal life grabbed me. Her relationship to her mother, lack of a long term relationship, childless, and eventually the manner of her death was just? Sad. There is no other way to describe it, for me.I'm glad the doc was made, as Susan's is a story worth telling.Things may have been much different for her, in terms of her aspirations, had she been born 10-15 years later.Again, for those from this era, I'd recommend this.

I just finished watching this film. It's amazing! And that's not just because of how it tell's Susan Oliver's story (in great detail with love, respect, and honesty) but how it shows us how Hollywood worked during that time period... and the effect this had on people, especially someone who was her own person first and not willing to play by the rules every step of the way.Susan Oliver left a large body of work... only some of which I've seen. I own the "Route 66" series DVDs, so I think I'll start with her multiple appearances there. As this film shows, she could play many different types of characters. I look forward to seeing many more of those performances.This film made me both want to see her at work more and wish she had lived to benefit from the chance to meet her fans today. She's be a huge hit at the celebrity autograph shows! Susan Oliver was only 58 when she died... truly gone too soon.

Disclosure-I donated on Kickstarter, saw this in a theater prior to DVD release, am not an employee, am not related to cast or crew and not connected with Hollywood. ***WARNING-SPOILERS AT BOTTOM***First, Thank You to Susan's family, friends and co-workers who took their time to reminisce about her and share photos and other items and to the crew.Susan Oliver died in 1990 in obscurity, but news travels fast today on the Internet. Curiosity and technology caused George Pappy to use his iPhone to see Susan's IMDb page, he read her autobiography and this set into motion events that made this movie. The dedicated crew made this for less than $80,000, with much hard work, wearing of multiple hats, frequent flier miles and countless Tweets and Facebook posts. Amy Glickman-Brown did a fantastic job sifting through hours of B&W and color footage to showcase Susan's life. Since some footage is over 50 years old and of varying quality, a considerable amount of time was spent on digital video noise reduction. Much of Susan's dialog is from scripts, so Elizabeth Brown excellently acts as her voice, speaking life from Susan's written words. The soundtrack music is unobtrusive and smoothly augments the movie's flow. Production finished in the nick of time, as Peter Duryea died during filming and Nancy Malone, Biff Manard, and Mira John Slovak died before the DVD release. The Director's commentary elaborates on some topics and mentions an outtakes DVD will be made. When all film, television, still photo, print and web credits are listed, it's an amazing amount of time, research, travel, legal work, editing and test screenings to produce a 96 minute documentary! I saw Susan first in 1976 in "The Menagerie". In late 2012 on Antenna TV, I saw her in "The Naked City", went to IMDb and saw "The Green Girl" link. This DVD showed me many things about Susan; I saw the M*A*S*H episode she directed, many of her movies and television appearances, read her autobiography and would've loved to have met her. I spoke with fixed and rotary wing pilots about aircraft flight characteristics and I'm amazed Susan crossed the Atlantic alone in a single engine plane with 480 flight hours; she really was driven! Susan had many facets: actress, record setting pilot, writer, director, humanitarian (flew for Easter Seals) and "a good egg" to name a few and she strikes me as someone who would probably have succeeded in almost anything she attempted. For a such a stunningly beautiful, fascinating woman who brought much joy to millions, sadly her life was not very happy. I've bought several DVD's for friends who like Star Trek and one is a retired military pilot. ***FINAL WARNING-SPOILERS BELOW***In the DVD, my favorite photos of Susan are: holding the 1970 Powder Puff Derby trophy, in pigtails, smiling brightly from ear to ear, as pilot Margaret Mead talks nearby in a telephone booth and wearing a flight suit near a military jet. The last scene is a black screen with white letters captioning Susan's words as she leaves a farewell message on a relative's answering machine. Presented without music, each sound, the answering machine beep, the original cassette tape's limitations and the receiver hanging up sound is perfection. The crew gives Susan the final word in her own voice, some of the last words she ever said to loved ones. Rest In Peace.

A true revelation in celebrity documentaries, told with love, respect, earnestness and compassion. The amazing part is that this film could be as emotionally compelling as it is, given that the subject - actress Susan Oliver - was so hard to pin down as an individual. Part mystery, part enigma, and gifted beyond compare, her legacy is thoughtfully preserved in The Green Girl. You don't have to be a fan of Susan to enjoy this film. You don't even have to know who she was. You'll be drawn in, and find yourself wanting to discover her works. Great job by the director and editor. An obvious labor of love for all involved, meticulously researched and presented.