SnoopyStyle It's early 20th century. Abel (Anthony Perkins) barely escapes political turmoil in Caracas, Venezuela in which his father, the Minister of War, was killed. He decides to seek the needed gold for revenge from the jungle. He is captured by natives and befriends the tribal chief. He is told not to enter a specific forest which he promptly does in search for gold. He catches a glimpse of a girl and the chief recalls the death of his beloved son at the hands of that girl. Abel is told to kill this daughter of Didi. When he returns to the forest, he is bitten by a coral snake and saved by Rima (Audrey Hepburn). She lives in the forest with her grandfather Nuflo (Lee J. Cobb).This is trying to be an epic romantic adventure. It purports to use real locations and that is appreciated. There are some big vistas and good exterior shooting. On the other, the studio interior filming does detract. The difference between real exterior locations and fake interior work is problematic. It takes all the positive and taints it. The acting is big theatrics especially from Audrey Hepburn. Abel is not necessarily an appealing character. There are problems with everybody in the way they're portrayed. If not for the great actors, this would be a bad watch.

kirksworks Major spoilers isolated below."Green Mansions" has been hard to see for many years. WB finally released this MGM film in their Archive Collection, so since it's now available, here's some words of encouragement for people who might have read that this is just an atrociously bad film. Yes, it does have its faults, but contains an engrossing plot with some surprising twists and is buoyed by some beautifully conceived atmosphere. Some jungle shots are truly stunning. The film was partly photographed on location in Venezuela, which has waterfalls, flora and fauna unlike other jungles. Yes, many of the jungle scenes are obviously a set, but more often than not artificial jungle and real jungle blend well. Some shots of the jungle have real depth. They remind me a bit of the fanciful jungle created in the 1933 "King Kong" by use of matte paintings and miniatures, except in "Green Mansions," the jungle foliage fades off into the mist in full color.Perhaps both Anthony Perkins as Abel the revolutionary and Audrey Hepburn as bird girl of the jungle, Rima, were miscast, but Lee J. Cobb's overacting as bird girl's 'grandfather' bothered me more. Both Perkins and Hepburn look good, Hepburn a bit too much, with not a hair out of place. She never really gets down and dirty like a girl raised in the jungle would. I wanted to see her suck the poison from Perkins' leg, but fat chance. She's just too sophisticated, and Hepburn never tried another role like this one, with the exception of the Kiowa Indian girl in John Huston's "The Unforgiven." She didn't fare much better in that one either. Still, in "Green Mansions" Hepburn was blended into the jungle scenery magically by her director (and husband at the time), Mel Ferrer. There is one shot where Perkins' character, Abel, wanders through the jungle looking for bird girl Hepburn. When he leaves the shot, Hepburn moves down from a tree. She'd been there the whole time and just blended so well, she became a part of the tree.Henry Silva, as the chief's son, Kua-Ko, fares much better than the leads. Kua-Ko has some perverse psychology that gives the film a depth not found in Abel or Rima. Sessue Hayakawa speaks no English as the tribe chief, Runi, and although Hayakawa is Japanese, he doesn't look out of place with the other South American natives.The film has a fairly high quotient of "kitsch," with Perkins strumming guitar and singing to Hepburn being the highlight. Some of the matte shots are obvious, while others are beautifully realized. One shot of the camera tilting up from the jungle set to the tall trees and vines reaching up through streaming sunlight is as good as anything done today in the digital realm. Some of the matte shots are obvious, but still richly atmospheric. A conversation between Abel and Rima on a cliff side with with two distant waterfalls beyond them made for lush eye candy. So see the film for the visuals if nothing else. MAJOR SPOILERS START HERE:Storywise, I liked how the Cain/Abel story was woven into the subtext. There were actually two Abels, with Kua-Ko being Cain who slew is brother, and Perkins' Abel being a replacement for the brother Kua-Ko killed. And though many may disagree, I really liked the ambiguous ending. Was bird girl alive or dead? We see her, but the shot is so magically composed and majestically lit, like a view of heaven, that it could easily suggest otherwise. SPOILERS ENDIt should be mentioned that beefing up the enjoyment of "Green Mansions" is the marvelous score by Bronislau Kaper and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Fans of Indiana Jones might not find much to appreciate in "Green Mansions," but if you like a good story, seeping with atmosphere, you could do a lot worse than spend two hours in this magical Venezuelan jungle.

usersince03 I first saw this on TCM about a year ago. This was good but it wasn't a classic like the other films Audrey Hepburn or Anthony Perkins made after Green Mansions e.g Psycho, Breakfast At Tiffanys, My Fair Lady. I loved Audrey's hairstyle in the film, it looked different to other hairstyles she has in her films before and after. I think Mel Ferrer who was Audrey's husband at the time directed this good. I think Anthony Perkins was great as Audrey's love interest and I love his voice. The supporting cast acted well and I loved the deer Ip. I was disappointed at the end when Rima gets killed by the Indians then Able dies, I makes me sad because they are both no longer with us.

la_lupa123 I LOVED THIS MOVIE ,Anthony Perkins is a total god ,and i can't even start on Audrey's magical charm. it would be like a great anniversary and celebration of the past away actor and the novel .This movie should to be released on DVD ,since it would be an awful waste of such history. Is there a way to release this movie on DVD? we should start a petition to the company for its release ,for a time honored keep's sake!. The story is so enchanting a deserves much more credit than it has been given. It was thrilling and romantic giving the audience a sense of hope in then end of the film. There are several great oldies that should be released on DVD such as this movie ,to honor the actors and their work. Green mansions deserves to be released on DVD ,hopefully with special features such as a biography on the late Anthony Perkins ,and commentary on the book.