prcadle There is a whole subset of movies from the 1930's to the early 50's which revolve around the plot of a man who becomes so obsessed with the idea of succeeding at the task he has taken on for himself, that he temporarily loses his sense of decency and alienates - always in this order - his best friend/colleague, his girlfriend/fiancée, and finally, all the men who work for him and worship the ground he walks on. The main character is usually an engineer with a new idea that will make him lots of money, but the real motivation for him is proving his idea will work. Examples of this type of film would be Pat O'Brien in "China Clipper", John Wayne in "Tycoon" and James Stewart in "Thunder Bay".Green Fire is one of the last of this type of film, and one of the most beautifully shot. It has some action sequences thrown in - a couple of short gun fights with the local bandit leader, for example, an avalanche or two and an almost devastating flood. There is also a love triangle of sorts.This one is set in Colombia, South America, and the idea is to find the emeralds in an old mine that the conquistadores first opened. Stewart Granger is the mining engineer, Paul Douglas his partner and best friend. Granger is presented as a lovable rogue who cons his buddy into staying on for one more adventure.Nearby to their mine is a large coffee plantation, owned by Grace Kelly's character and her brother. She is devoted to this plantation as it has been in the family for 4 generations. The brother is young ands restless and doesn't care "beans" about coffee, which of course makes him a great patsy for Granger to con into backing the mining operation.Granger and Kelly fall in love, but she is afraid he will be ever the wanderer and she's firmly rooted to her plantation. Granger becomes more and more ruthless in his pursuit of the emeralds - first alienating his friend Douglas, then Grace and eventually his actions endanger the lives of everyone in the region, and may destroy the plantation. But of course it all works out in the end, he comes to his senses, regains his moral balance and kisses the girl in the rainstorm at the end of the film.A very routine plot line, set in what was then a rather exotic locale. Granger was a limited actor, but this was not a demanding role and he does well. Douglas is probably the best among the cast as the best friend with more common sense and stronger moral compass. Grace Kelly is lovely as always, but not very convincing in the role - she just never really was the "outdoors type".The film is shot in beautiful widescreen color, some location shooting seems to have taken place, but most of it was on very nicely done sets and backlots.At 1 hour and 40 minutes, the film tells its story pretty briskly with not much extraneous material.It's not a timeless classic, but it is a good example of typical 1950's adventure films, and is entertaining enough to watch once every few years.

Uriah43 "Rian X. Mitchell" (Stewart Granger) is an ambitious mining entrepreneur who is looking in Columbia for a long-lost emerald mine built by the Conquistadors in 1687. He finds it but some bandits also find him and he is shot, robbed, pushed off a hillside and left for dead. He manages to stumble away but is then attacked by a jaguar. Fortunately, a village priest named "Father Ripero" (Robert Tafur) happens to be there and shoots the jaguar before it can kill Rian. Father Ripero then takes him to a nearby coffee plantation where "Catherine Knowland" (Grace Kelly) manages to tend his wounds. When he recovers he tells her that he has a partner, "Vic Leonard" (Paul Douglas) that he has to see right away but that he will return. Once he and his partner return to the coffee plantation they begin to work on the emerald mine which creates difficulties for all concerned. Anyway, having given the initial plot I will stop right here so as not to spoil the movie for anyone who wishes to view it. That said, while the entire cast performed in a decent manner the film seemed slow in some parts and lacked energy. Part of the problem may have been that the romance between Rian and Catherine lacked passion. Likewise, the action was solid but not very unique or original. In short, this is a decent movie with beautiful scenery and a capable cast. But with all it had going for it I believe it should have been better.

raskimono Time has not been kind to this cinemascope curio from 1954 that did good box office business back then. Granger and Kelly, neither of whom qualify among my favorite actors are the stars. Granger was always too stoic for me. The man couldn't act and Kelly too cold and imitating other actors instead of giving her own performance. This movie involves the search for "green fire" the name for some jewels and involves a rival team that is trying to use Granger to find the jewels and intercept it from him, once found. Kelly is a white girl in the land with a plantation. That about wraps it up. The love story is staid and the action sequences dull, even in cinemascope. I am told I must write at least ten lines so this should do it.

whpratt1 This film only captures the audience because of Grace Kelly (Catherine Knowland),"The Swan",'56, who is very charming and magnetic through out the entire picture and is well matched with actor Stewart Granger,(Rian X Mitchell),"King Solomon's Mines",'50, these two great actors make this a classic film because of their great talents. Paul Douglas(Vic Leonard),"The Maggie",'54 gave a very interesting and supportive role. The director of this film, Andrew Marton was very famous for many great productions like, "Sea Hunt",'58(TV Series) with L.Bridges,Sr, and King Solomon's Mines,'50. If you adored Grace Kelly, you will like this picture!