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The Boy With Green Hair

Play trailer Poster for The Boy With Green Hair 1948 1h 22m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Peter (Dean Stockwell), an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye (Pat O'Brien) after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.
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The Boy With Green Hair

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 05/13/2019
Few films so daringly span the local and the universal-or look so ravishing while doing so. Its eerie palette meshes perfectly with Losey's vision of a world out of joint. Go to Full Review Josephine O'Neill Daily Telegraph (Australia) 07/21/2021
Young Dean Stockwell shows amazing thought and skill in playing The Boy With the Green Hair -- shown off admirably in the film's Technicolor. Go to Full Review Christopher Kane Modern Screen 06/29/2021
It's a nice picture. It hits at bigotry, it pleads for war's forgotten victims, and certainly, Dean Stockwell's a most appealing young actor. Go to Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion 05/27/2015
Bracingly peculiar Go to Full Review Kam Williams NewsBlaze 01/07/2010
4/4
A precursor to all those radiation fallout monster flicks of the Fifties. A telling cautionary tale worth a watch for far more than the nostalgic factor. Go to Full Review John J. Puccio Movie Metropolis 12/29/2009
5/10
...a rather simplistic antiwar fantasy that pounds its message into the ground for the last twenty minutes or more. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Terry S 06/01/2024 I can't believe I saw this film when I was just 9 years old at our local ten cent theatre! All I remembered was how beautifully Nat King Cole sang the theme song. But this film is sure worth watching. In more ways than I can say. See more Boyd C 03/14/2024 an atmospheric fairytale with an emotional message. See more 06/18/2020 Another great anti-war movie from RKO. Today a film like this can easily be misinterpreted; this is an anti-war film NOT a comedy. It requires a deep understanding of the way the second world war effected the home front in order to fully appreciate this masterpiece. See more 12/17/2019 Oddball allegory about an orphaned boy whose hair turns green overnight. Is he prophet or pariah? Lush colour photography and a rich musical score can't disguise the saccharine whimsy and glacial pacing of this early Joseph Losey outing. It needs more savagery and less Pat O'Brien Oirish blarney. See more 07/20/2019 wonderful score and awsome message for all times. This is a movie to remember and tell others about. See more 01/27/2019 The best movie song ever sung: Nature Boy! See more Read all reviews
The Boy With Green Hair

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Losey

Director

Pat O'Brien

Gramp

Dean Stockwell

Peter

Robert Ryan

Dr. Evans

Barbara Hale

Miss Brand

Richard Lyon

Michael

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The Boy With Green Hair

The Boy With Green Hair (1948) The Boy With Green Hair (1948) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Peter (Dean Stockwell), an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye (Pat O'Brien) after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.
Director
Joseph Losey
Producer
Stephen Ames
Screenwriter
Ben Barzman, Alfred Lewis Levitt
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 16, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 4, 2020
Runtime
1h 22m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm
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