The Greengage Summer

Plot

Joss Grey (Susannah York), a 16-year-old English girl, finds herself responsible for the care of her three younger siblings on a summer vacation in France when their mother is suddenly taken ill and rushed to the hospital. When they go to the Hotel Oeillets, proprietress Mademoiselle Zisi (Danielle Darrieux) does not want the responsibility of unchaperoned children, but her enigmatic English lover Eliot (Kenneth More) persuades her to accept them. As the days pass, she wishes she had stuck to her original answer; she is increasingly jealous of the attention Eliot pays to the children—especially to Joss.

Meanwhile, hotel employee Paul (David Saire), becomes suspicious of Eliot, snoops in his room, and finds a pistol. Eliot catches Paul and gets Zisi to fire him, but Joss's 13-year-old sister Hester (Jane Asher) has taken a liking to Paul and begs Joss to get Eliot to reconsider, which he does. But later he becomes angry when shutterbug Hester takes his picture. Then he rushes out of a tour of caves where champagne is stored to avoid famous guest Monsieur Renard (Raymond Gérôme), the best policeman in France. He also insists on turning away potential guests.

Tensions come to a boiling point when Zisi throws a glass of champagne in her rival's face. Eliot chases after her, saying—within Joss's hearing—that she is only a child. Gleaning from a newspaper article that Eliot is a notorious jewel thief, the outraged Joss mails Hester's photo of him to the police.

Eliot has already decided to leave. He sneaks out late at night but, hearing a drunken Paul attack Joss, rushes up to her room. He punches Paul, who tries to climb down a drainpipe but falls to his death. A remorseful Joss tells Eliot what she did to endanger him. At her request he gives her a grownup kiss. Then he disposes of Paul's body and absconds.

While Renard is questioning the uncooperative children the next morning, their solicitor uncle, Mr. Bullock (Maurice Denham), arrives. He has been summoned by an unsigned telegram to extricate them. From the source of the message, Renard realizes that Eliot is trying to escape across the border on a river barge.

Cast

Production

The film was a coproduction between Victor Saville and Edward Small for United Artists. It was meant to be one of several the two made together, a never-filmed adaptation of The Mousetrap intending to be another, with the third being Legacy of a Spy. Cary Grant was the original choice for the male lead. However the film was eventually set up at Columbia.

More later wrote that Lewis Gilbert insisted he go on a diet before making the film in order that he be more believable as a romantic lead. More did so as he very badly wanted to make the movie.

Reception

The film premiered on 5 April 1961 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End. Reviews were positive.

Lewis Gilbert thought Kenneth More was miscast. "He was somehow too normal, it didn't quite work; that's a role Dirk [Bogarde] should have played because you could well imagine a girl of fifteen or sixteen falling in love with Dirk."

Susannah York also felt that, though she "loved" the movie "I didn't think that was a totally successful film. I always felt that Dirk Bogarde was the person for the Kenneth More role. It needed someone with a touch of dark mystery and Dirk would have been perfect."