This film is part of Rentals
The Green Cockatoo
From an original scenario by Graham Greene, this is a neat crime thriller about a girl (René Ray) who witnesses a murder, becomes a suspect herself, and gets mixed up with a sleazy Soho gangster (John Mills).
Director: William Cameron Menzies
Overview
From an original scenario by Graham Greene, this is a neat crime thriller about a girl (René Ray) who witnesses a murder, becomes a suspect herself, and gets mixed up with a sleazy Soho gangster (played by John Mills).
Directed by William Cameron Menzies just after Things to Come (1936), The Green Cockatoo boasts a cast and crew of impeccable credentials, including the great Miklos Roza who provides a lively score. Recently heralded by The Guardian’s Andrew Pulver as ‘early British film noir’, this compact, curious and fascinating work touches upon many themes in its brief running time that would become noir staples.
Related
Tornado Tornado
Action and Adventure 2025 91 mins Director: John Maclean
John Maclean’s follow-up to Slow West, an idiosyncratic western, offers a windswept interpretation of the Samurai genre.
William Tell William Tell
Action and Adventure 2024 133 mins
A peaceful huntsman is thrust into the heart of the resistance following an Austrian Empire invasion, in this gripping retelling of a timeless legend.
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
La Chimera La Chimera
Action and Adventure 2023 132 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Alice Rohrwacher’s fascinating new drama finds Josh O’Connor’s fish out of water delving into the world of stolen artefacts.
High Ground High Ground
Action and Adventure 2019 105 mins Director: Stephen Maxwell Johnson
A young Indigenous man teams up with a policeman to track down a warrior outlaw in this piercing exploration of justice and morality within the Australian settlement.
Vesper Vesper
Action and Adventure 2022 114 mins Director: Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper
In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, a young teenage survivor has to avoid scrutiny from her uncle (a menacing Eddie Marsan) and the ruthless authorities pursuing her in this dark and dangerous fairytale.
The Crying Game The Crying Game
Drama 1992 112 mins Director: Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan's acclaimed 1992 drama-mystery tells the story of Fergus (Stephen Rea), who looks after the lover (Jaye Davidson) of a British soldier he once knew. But what is Dil hiding?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Thriller 2011 127 mins Director: Tomas Alfredson
Gary Oldman leads an all-star cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, in this acclaimed adaptation of John Le Carré's esteemed spy novel.
Burning Burning
Thriller 2018 148 mins Director: Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong (Poetry) returns with this spellbinding, richly complex thriller about obsession, class conflict and suppressed male rage.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Drama 2023 102 mins
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Brown on Resolution Brown on Resolution
War 1935 71 mins Director: Walter Forde
Walter Forde’s 1935 war drama stars a young John Mills as the illegitimate son of a naval officer who brings down a German cruiser in WWI.
The October Man The October Man
Drama 1947 95 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker directs John Mills and Joan Greenwood in this mystery noir about an amnesiac implicated in the murder of a young woman.
Scott of the Antarctic Scott of the Antarctic
Historical drama 1948 110 mins Director: Charles Frend
This tale of adventure and daring was one of Ealing Studio’s most ambitious features, beautifully shot by Jack Cardiff with a Vaughan Williams score.
Flame in the Streets Flame in the Streets
Drama 1961 93 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
John Mills stars as a progressive union leader who is confronted with his own internal prejudices when his daughter brings her West Indian boyfriend home.
Great Expectations Great Expectations
Period drama 1947 118 mins Director: David Lean
The first of David Lean’s two Dickens adaptations is one of the finest British literary interpretations and one of the most acclaimed of all British films.
Things to Come Things to Come
Science Fiction 1936 97 mins Director: William Cameron Menzies
H.G. Wells' chilling vision of the future, which imagines the 20th Century as a near-endless war and struggle against tyranny, remains a key milestone in British science fiction.
Ida Ida
Drama 2014 82 mins Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
An exquisitely shot, moving drama about a Polish nun exploring her family past, which won a BAFTA for director Pawel Pawlikowski.
Clemency Clemency
Drama 2019 112 mins Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Alfre Woodard is quietly devastating as a weary prison warden presiding over her twelfth execution, in this Sundance-winning death row drama.
Rodeo Rodeo
Drama 2022 106 mins Director: Lola Quivoron
French debut director Lola Quivoron revs up with a ferocious tale of a woman kickstarting a new life in the world of guerrilla motocross racing.
Plan 75 Plan 75
Science Fiction 2022 113 mins Director: Chie Hayakawa
Faced with a rapidly ageing population, a government in near-future Japan rolls out an unsettling agenda.
Cairo Conspiracy Cairo Conspiracy
Drama 2022 126 mins Director: Tarik Saleh
A fisherman’s son is offered a place at a prestigious Islamic school in Cairo and finds himself drawn into a religious and political power struggle.
The Night of the 12th The Night of the 12th
Drama 2022 114 mins Director: Dominik Moll
A newly promoted detective is assigned to a young woman’s chilling murder in this deeply arresting crime thriller based on true events.