Anthony Perkins plays a young man from Caracas who finds himself searching for gold in South American jungles. He meets up with an Indian tribe and believes that a forbidden forest they know of may contain gold. Instead, it contains a goofy little fairy child played by Audrey Hepburn, and her grandfather, played by Lee J. Cobb. The Indians believe Hepburn is a murderous forest demon, and they later task Perkins to kill her for them. Of course, the two fall in love. Henry Silva co-stars as the tribal chief's retarded-looking son, the only one of them who can speak English. He's the villain of the picture, as he often is. The film is very corny. While some of it was filmed in South America, most of the scenes are either filmed on sets or in front of back projection, so it all comes off as very fake. Perkins is pretty good and Audrey, well, if this wasn't one of her best performances, she's still so damn adorable that it makes the film somewhat worth watching. I did think the film picked up a bit in its final act, and I loved the ending. Perkins sings the title song, which is pretty good, too.

I saw this film when I was 13 years old, and I still remember the steamy misty jungle and the almost magical lighting. I don't remember much of the plot, but the cinematography obviously made a lasting impression. I remember Audrey Hepburn as innocent and one with her surroundings. It was so enchanting, i just wanted to dive into the screen and live among all that beautiful greenery. The impact of the film was more visceral than intellectual, and, for me, it was very effective in creating a mood, a milieu and an ambiance. Although it's been almost half a century since I first saw this film, I still vividly remember those "green mansions". If the intent of the film was to tell a story or to showcase its stars, then it may have fallen short. But if it sought to transport its viewers into an enchanted green jungle, then my lasting recollections are a testament to its success.

I guess there's some difference of opinion as to what is found in the area that headwaters of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers make their neighborhood. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote that there was a lost world of prehistoric dinosaurs when he wasn't doing Sherlock Holmes stories. But W.H, Hudson has us believe that there's a young waif like girl making her home with her granddad among all the hunter/gatherer tribes of the area.At the time that both The Lost World and Green Mansions were written that area was still one of the few unexplored parts of our globe. I daresay that there are still some parts of that area that haven't seen the trod of civilized feet ever. But it sure makes for stories of imagination and in the case of Green Mansions, romance.W.H. Hudson who was also a naturalist and ornithologist by trade had the advantage over Conan Doyle because he knew from whence he wrote about. The film has some lush photography and in fact was shot on location in Venezuela. In fact it opens with a view of Angel Falls, one of the great natural wonders of the world. Makes the Niagara Falls in my neck of the woods look like a waterfall from a Six Flags Park.Green Mansions had been kicking around Hollywood for almost thirty years before Mel Ferrer decided it would suit his wife Audrey Hepburn. It was originally bought by RKO for Dolores Del Rio who scored big in another exotic romance, Bird of Paradise. Anthony Perkins plays an exile from a revolutionary government in Venezuela who has retreated deep into the interior jungle. He's looking for gold, but instead finds Rima the bird girl living with her grandfather, Lee J. Cobb. Perkins also finds a tribe of headhunters with Sessue Hayakawa as their chief and Henry Silva as his son. They're a suspicious lot and fear the nymph of the rain forest.For a story set in Latin America, it's interesting that only Henry Silva is a Latino in the cast. Yet the leads have to be the sensitive types and Hepburn and Perkins do fill the bill there.Sad to say that Green Mansions was a flop critically and financially. I think we ought to take a second look at it. My guess is that no one wanted to see Audrey Hepburn in something so radically different than what she had been doing up to that time. She's quite good, every bit as good as Jean Simmons in The Blue Lagoon which is a similar story.Check this one out if it is shown on TCM.

Green Mansions (1957): Starring Anthony Perkins, Audrey Hepburn, Lee J. Cobb, Henry Silva, Sessue Hayakawa, Nehemiah Persoff, Estelle Hemsley, Michael Pate, Bill Saito, Yoneo Iguchi...Director Mel Ferrer...Screenplay Dorothy Kingsley.Based on the obscure turn of the century novel by William Henry Hudson, "Green Mansions" was the work of director Mel Ferrer, who found the part romance/part escapist adventure novel suitable to film. Released in 1959, this know forgotten film might have not been the least bit successful had it not been for the star power of Audrey Hepburn. She was married to Mel Ferrer at the time. Mel Ferrer had a long career in Hollywood and mostly as an actor (War And Peace, The Fall Of The Roman Empire, etc). As for Audrey Hepburn; by the end of the 50's, she had already won an Oscar (Roman Holiday '53) and won audiences in such films as "Sabrina" ('54) and Funny Face (57). Audiences flocked to see her films. "Green Mansions" was Audrey Hepburn's second stray into more serious , dramatic, diverse repertoire, "War And Peace" being her first. When audiences saw her leap from jungle trees, clad in an ugly potato sack-looking thing, she was performing a role as far away from the attractive, glamorous girls she had previously portrayed. The movies which followed this film would reveal her versatility as an actress. Anthony Perkins (better known for his 1960 film "Psycho") portrays Abel, a young man whose father had been killed for his political stance in a dangerous Venezuelan community. Abel, threatened by the same fate, escapes into the immense South American jungle. Here he meets the old hermit Nuflo and his ward, the exotic jungle-bred Rima (Hepburn). The local natives eventually discover Abel and his life is threatened once more. But now, he has fallen for Rima and the locals begin to turn on her as well. This is a long, slow-moving film that relies mostly on character-driven performance. While it's not really a great film (if it was, it would'nt be so obscure) it does capture the spirit of the turn of the century novel by William Henry Hudson. Lots of well-written dialog, especially between Hepburn and Perkins. They get a lot of screen time because the cast is minimal (10 actors). The first film to be made in the new Panavision, the film was gorgeous to look at when it was released. Vast panoramas of thick South American jungle, waterfalls and villages, just as they were described in the Hudson novel, came to vivid life. This is a fine film and Hepburn, although not delivering the performance of her life, is wonderful and her chemistry with Anthony Perkins is superb. Perkins was relatively unknown at the time but already he showed signs of a great if subtle actor. Overall, a great film and a great-looking film. The magic realism of the original novel may be stripped away but not the magic. Because this is the first film to be shot in Panavision, it's a valuable treasure of a film. Panavision would replace Cinemascope and great films would be shot in Panavision well into the 1970's. Among these films include "Lawrence of Arabia", "Fall of the Roman Empire" and "Doctor Zhivago."