The Green Glove (1952)

Simply A Masterpiece

Just perfect...

Fresh and Exciting

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Michael 'Mike' Blake (Ford) was in the war, captured Count Paul Rona (Macready) who got away and hid a green glove belonging to a church. Years later Blake goes back to France to get the glove and make things right again - but he has a lot of trouble doing so and find a love interest along the way, Christine 'Chris' Kenneth (Brooks).Rather boring story for the most part - it started out boring, picked up for a bit and interesting before it fell back into a majorly lame, boring film again. I was unimpressed with the movie overall.From what I've read, the film was based on actions that took place during Operation Dragoon - but apparently only the VERY beginning of the film was - the rest of the film was all about a fictional romance and a green glove.3/10

The story opens with a priest finding a gauntlet and a dead soldier, and he is glad to see that "the famous green glove" has returned.... the rest of the story is the flashback where we see the events leading up to this. Glenn Ford is Mike Blake, American, post war. He makes pals with local french girl "Chris" in Paris, who is a tour guide (Geraldine Brooks). They are questioned by the gendarme when a dead man shows up in Mike's room. Sound quality is TERRIBLE, and the picture quality is just OK, and this was probably made from a public domain copy. Lots of running about, adventures, train rides. People who claim not to speak English, but react violently when they eavesdrop. Traipsing around castles. It's okay.... the story is kind of over the river and through the woods. Dramatic musical score. The acting is fine.... just that the story kind of drags. Turner shows this one about once a year. rare find for Glenn Ford fans. This one, sometimes called "the white road" is also part of the four-pack of Mystery Classics from TreeLine Films, 2004.Written by Charles Bennett, who worked with Hitchcock on TONS of stuff. was even nominated for an Oscar for Foreign Correspondent. Directed by Rudolph Mate; HE was nominated for FIVE Oscars in the 1940s. didn't win.

This is one of those films that could have been a lot better. Make the gauntlet more interesting. Have it centered in the culture. For heaven's sake. The thing has only been missing for a few years. Create a kind of religious fervor. Then put Glenn Ford and his adversaries on a collision course of some kind. Instead, it's never really clear why all the fuss. Is the bad guy just psychotic or are his intentions purely economical (I suppose they are). Ford finds himself in the middle of an investigation just by showing up. Why has he been targeted so specifically be the police? There is an element of North by Northwest in here, but it just doesn't work. Ford is a pretty boy, but he's not very charismatic. Then there are those endless scenes, running up and down the mountain to get to the church where the gauntlet resides. I also don't know why those bells kept ringing for so long. The love interested is sort of contrived and lacking in real sparks because the dialogue lacks wit and mystery. It's reasonably interesting, but quite an investment of time.

The Green Glove is a medieval relic, removed during World War II, that Glenn Ford needs to return to its proper resting place. The story isn't particularly interesting, but a fine cast, highlighted by a thoroughly radiant Geraldine Brooks, makes this one worth a look. The film also benefits from French location work and the finale--a pursuit across, up, and over some incredibly steep terrain--is positively Hitchcockian.