Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26775 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-14
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 166 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Green Man and School for Scoundrels are gems of both British comedy and the great Alastair Sim treasury. The Green Man is a charming film that carries a wickedly subversive streak of black humour squarely on the back of Alastair Sim's disgruntled criminal mastermind. Planning to assassinate a windbag MP, his dastardly plot is embroiled in a comedy of errors when George Cole's vacuum cleaning demonstration turns up a corpse in the piano at Sim's Windyridge cottage. Teaming up with the long-legged neighbour Cole tracks down the bomb to a secret hideaway for the MP--a pub called the Green Man. This is the sort of masterful comedy that deftly gets away with confusing the audience, who are never sure whose side they should be cheering.

In School for Scoundrels wimpy Ian Carmichael wants to impress girls and get one over on all-round show-off and cad Terry Thomas (playing gloriously to type). Discovering Alastair Sim's unorthodox school Carmichael happily enrols and learns the quaint tricks of the day for securing the admiration of a fair lady. Ultimately as a star pupil he teaches the Master a thing or two about true love when everything turns out just fine in the end. The three central performances are brilliantly realised, particularly the role reversal between Carmichael and Thomas. Try playing a tennis match after a viewing without calling "hard cheese". --Paul Tonks

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
This double-feature of Alastair Sim movies featuring the equally inimitable Terry-Thomas is a wonderful thing. In THE GREEN MAN Sim plays Hawkins, a timid mild-mannered clockmaker, in reluctant retirement from his rather exciting career as an International Assassination Expert. Suddenly a mission comes his way and he wheedles his way into secretary Marigold's affections to glean vital information for his cunning plan to kill Sir Gregory Upshott. But she knows too much and must go too. George Cole stars in a great turn as a vacuum cleaner salesman charming the pop socks off Jill Adam's soon-to-be-wed beauty. Terry-Thomas is the married, dashing, sports car-driving lover of Dora Bryan who tends bar at The Green Man hotel where the killing must take place. This is a classic matinee movie full of fabulous farcical scenes as Sim tries to fulfill his mission and avoid detection.
The SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS is a college where Alastair Sim teaches oneupmanship. Ian Carmichael plays the hapless new student Palfrey who's unlucky in everything. Terry-Thomas plays the already one-up cad Raymond Delauney who Palfrey must beat for affections of April (Janette Scott). During the tennis scene you'll be in hysterics as Terry-Thomas, in response to bad play from Carmichael, repeatedly calls "Hard Cheese". It's great to see the competition hot-up between them with Sim cooly standing by with advice.

Customer Reviews

Alastair Sim at the Double!

These are two quality comedy films:

School for Scoundrels (1960) - A very funny film with an impeccable cast (Terry-Thomas, Alastair Sim, Ian Carmichael, Dennis Price, John Le Mesurier and many more). It's all about "One-Upmanship" in all aspects of life, particularly romance. After a number of put-downs and knock-backs at the hands of Terry-Thomas, Ian Carmichael decides to enrol at a College (run by Alastair Sim) that specialises in "One-Upmanship" so he can better cope with life's difficulties, mainly at the expense of others. The series of set-backs before Carmichael enrols at the college are very funny. A tennis match between Carmichael and Thomas (to impress the lady they are both after) is particularly good, with Terry-Thomas calling out "hard cheese!" every time Carmichael fluffs a shot (which he does with excruciating regularity). The results following Carmichael's experience at the college, and his difference in approach to life, are hilarious and highly entertaining.

The Green Man (1956) - A wonderful black comedy starring the incomparable Alastair Sim as a clockmaker, who is secretly one of the world's foremost assassins. He takes a pride in his work, is self-important, and not used to things going wrong. However, when George Cole comes on the scene as a bungling vacuum cleaner salesman, Sim's latest assassination plans begin to unravel.

Lots of laughs in both films - great entertainment!

Would have rated 5 stars but for...
...the careless transfer of "School for Scoundrels". This film was composed for presentation at 1.66:1, but for some reason Warners used a cropped print. The title credits are at the correct aspect ratio, but as soon as they're finished, the picture changes to full frame. There are a few scenes in which the cropped image cuts off part of the action at the right or left extremities, an annoyance that could easily been avoided.

The Sim and Terry-Thomas Double Act
The Films.
The Green Man and School for Scoundrels are both basically brilliantly cast B pictures. Both are very funny and Green Man is fast paced and expertly made - its quite short - 76 minutes or so. The producers/writers, Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat are probably more responsible for the direction than the credited first time director Robert Day. The School for Scoundrels is slightly thin, like a series of sketches and Alastair Sim takes a supporting role to Ian Carmichael and Terry-Thomas who make the jokes work. The talented director Robert Hamer was battling his alcoholism during the shooting but this is not apparent from the result.

The DVDs
There are no extras and a few later scenes in the print of Scoundrels are very light which is slightly annoying. Two films on one disc make it good value especially if you buy it for less than £10. Look out for Sim in Green for Danger and London Belongs to Me in November 2005. Now please can we have The Happiest Days of Your Life with Sim and Margaret Rutherford on DVD.