A true revelation in celebrity documentaries, told with love, respect, earnestness and compassion. The amazing part is that this film could be as emotionally compelling as it is, given that the subject - actress Susan Oliver - was so hard to pin down as an individual. Part mystery, part enigma, and gifted beyond compare, her legacy is thoughtfully preserved in The Green Girl. You don't have to be a fan of Susan to enjoy this film. You don't even have to know who she was. You'll be drawn in, and find yourself wanting to discover her works. Great job by the director and editor. An obvious labor of love for all involved, meticulously researched and presented.
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samlmt10 August 2014
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areopagan10 August 2014I was fortunate enough to see this film at one of its limited theatrical showings.
I have seen Susan Oliver in many films and television shows over the years, but I knew vary little about her. "The Green Girl" brought the person behind the roles to life for me.
She was as accomplished off screen as she was on, and it's tragic that she has not been acknowledged for all that she did. The unwillingness of many of the well-known actors with whom she worked to provide interviews for this film only serves to underscore that fact.
Despite that absence, George A. Pappy, Jr. and Amy Glickman Brown have managed to produce a very compelling story of Ms. Oliver's life and career. I know that I will be watching it again on video more than once. -
Just saw this film on Amazon. Well worth the watch for anyone old enough to remember the days of "The Big Three" network television, where the guest stars were almost as regular as the series stars.
That said? I got the sense Ms Oliver never quite 'fit in' to whatever task, professional or otherwise, she was pursuing. The possible exception being her early theater days.
She obviously was a very bright woman with plenty of talent, never mind the devastating good looks. And while most of the interviewee's recall a very vivacious and positive spirit, with a good nature? I just got the sense she always wanted to be somewhere else, deep down inside.
I was very saddened by the manner of her passing, in which it seemed she was really tired of fighting, and or living.
And I'm not being critical of her here. This was just how I interpreted this film.
The doc itself really hadn't hooked me at first. It almost seemed like a bland old "A&E" bio from the 80's, without the high production values.
But in the last half hour, a sudden abundance in attention to her deeper personal life grabbed me. Her relationship to her mother, lack of a long term relationship, childless, and eventually the manner of her death was just? Sad. There is no other way to describe it, for me.
I'm glad the doc was made, as Susan's is a story worth telling.
Things may have been much different for her, in terms of her aspirations, had she been born 10-15 years later.
Again, for those from this era, I'd recommend this. -
leftwingchief12 August 2014Disclosure-I donated on Kickstarter, saw this in a theater prior to DVD release, am not an employee, am not related to cast or crew and not connected with Hollywood. ***WARNING-SPOILERS AT BOTTOM***
First, Thank You to Susan's family, friends and co-workers who took their time to reminisce about her and share photos and other items and to the crew.
Susan Oliver died in 1990 in obscurity, but news travels fast today on the Internet. Curiosity and technology caused George Pappy to use his iPhone to see Susan's IMDb page, he read her autobiography and this set into motion events that made this movie.
The dedicated crew made this for less than $80,000, with much hard work, wearing of multiple hats, frequent flier miles and countless Tweets and Facebook posts. Amy Glickman-Brown did a fantastic job sifting through hours of B&W and color footage to showcase Susan's life. Since some footage is over 50 years old and of varying quality, a considerable amount of time was spent on digital video noise reduction. Much of Susan's dialog is from scripts, so Elizabeth Brown excellently acts as her voice, speaking life from Susan's written words. The soundtrack music is unobtrusive and smoothly augments the movie's flow. Production finished in the nick of time, as Peter Duryea died during filming and Nancy Malone, Biff Manard, and Mira John Slovak died before the DVD release. The Director's commentary elaborates on some topics and mentions an outtakes DVD will be made. When all film, television, still photo, print and web credits are listed, it's an amazing amount of time, research, travel, legal work, editing and test screenings to produce a 96 minute documentary!
I saw Susan first in 1976 in "The Menagerie". In late 2012 on Antenna TV, I saw her in "The Naked City", went to IMDb and saw "The Green Girl" link. This DVD showed me many things about Susan; I saw the M*A*S*H episode she directed, many of her movies and television appearances, read her autobiography and would've loved to have met her. I spoke with fixed and rotary wing pilots about aircraft flight characteristics and I'm amazed Susan crossed the Atlantic alone in a single engine plane with 480 flight hours; she really was driven! Susan had many facets: actress, record setting pilot, writer, director, humanitarian (flew for Easter Seals) and "a good egg" to name a few and she strikes me as someone who would probably have succeeded in almost anything she attempted. For a such a stunningly beautiful, fascinating woman who brought much joy to millions, sadly her life was not very happy. I've bought several DVD's for friends who like Star Trek and one is a retired military pilot. ***FINAL WARNING-SPOILERS BELOW***
In the DVD, my favorite photos of Susan are: holding the 1970 Powder Puff Derby trophy, in pigtails, smiling brightly from ear to ear, as pilot Margaret Mead talks nearby in a telephone booth and wearing a flight suit near a military jet. The last scene is a black screen with white letters captioning Susan's words as she leaves a farewell message on a relative's answering machine. Presented without music, each sound, the answering machine beep, the original cassette tape's limitations and the receiver hanging up sound is perfection. The crew gives Susan the final word in her own voice, some of the last words she ever said to loved ones. Rest In Peace. -
steve-968-944667 September 2014I just finished watching this film. It's amazing!
And that's not just because of how it tell's Susan Oliver's story (in great detail with love, respect, and honesty) but how it shows us how Hollywood worked during that time period... and the effect this had on people, especially someone who was her own person first and not willing to play by the rules every step of the way.
Susan Oliver left a large body of work... only some of which I've seen. I own the "Route 66" series DVDs, so I think I'll start with her multiple appearances there. As this film shows, she could play many different types of characters. I look forward to seeing many more of those performances.
This film made me both want to see her at work more and wish she had lived to benefit from the chance to meet her fans today. She's be a huge hit at the celebrity autograph shows! Susan Oliver was only 58 when she died... truly gone too soon. -
rileyrose11 August 2014The Green Girl Movie is a wonderful story about Susan Oliver, her life and her career. The story is told through the eyes of many that worked with her in Hollywood as they knew the quality of what she did and could do as an actor. It's filled with a lot of old Hollywood footage and great tell-all interviews. Susan was a woman driven toward multiple avenues of accomplishments, this was a surprise and a ride, one should surely get on board with.
The director's (George Pappy's) point of view is very telling. Susan's life was indeed full but very challenged. This is a story you won't want to miss seeing. I think it's very enjoyable with a lot of life lessons about the Hollywood road towards success and the expectations, as such. See it, you won't be disappointed, I think you'll enjoy this story on the very colorful life of Susan Oliver. -
davemth10 August 2014The one thing I ask from a good documentary is that it tells me something I don't already know about its subject. "The Green Girl" exceeds that in spades. It's a very well produced documentary on Susan Oliver, a staple of TV shows from the 60s who was an independent woman in every sense of the word. Her post-Hollywood career is full of amazing facts and deserves a movie all on its own. Filmmaker George Pappy does a great job in assembling Susan Oliver's life through the numerous film clips (which for a TV nostalgia nut is a can't miss opportunity all to itself) and interviews with the various actors and crew members she worked with over the years. I won't spoil anything but can only say that for baby boomers and even younger, if you're a Star Trek fan or just a fan of Hollywood in the 60's this film is well worth getting.
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catattack77-74-6182047 August 2014This is a feature-length documentary about actress Susan Oliver. The title comes from a rather famous – I daresay "Iconic" – role of hers from the first Star Trek pilot made in 1963. She played "Veena," who turned into the Green Orion Slave girl, and fodder for so many fan boys' fantasies.
However, Susan Oliver was much more than one role in a sci-fi TV show. If you watched episodic television in the fifties, sixties, seventies and even the eighties, you will have seen her, as she guest-starred in literally hundreds of shows, from Wagon Train to Route 66 to The Twilight Zone to Peyton Place. And she was such a good actress, she would appear in multiple roles on any one show; for instance, she appeared four times on Wagon Train, each a different role.
She was also an aviatrix, what they used to call a female pilot. She piloted her own twin- engine plane solo across the Atlantic. She came in first in the Powder Puff Derby, a race featuring only female pilots. In Hollywood she was in the first wave of women directors, sponsored by the AFI. Yet even after directing an episode of M.A.S.H. and Trapper John, she wasn't able to break that glass ceiling to get more directing jobs.
The documentary is a fascinating account of a beautiful woman who could act and was smart, who had many other skills, but who couldn't break down societal barriers to achieve her goals. -
UNOhwen28 March 2016Even when I was young, I never was fixated on 'fame,' or popularity based solely on superficial things. As Marilyn Monroe said in her last interview (slightly paraphrased), 'fame is fickle, I've had it, and it's passed me by.'
She knew the studios used her - to fill a type, a slot; sexy, dumb blonde.' But Marilyn wanted to show she was so much more.
I grew up in the entertainment business, and it never excited me. Some of those I knew, or met, who were 'famous,' were mean, vain, callow. Being a kid, I saw this popularity game starting to happen as I approached teen-hood.
I always thought looks are transient, and one second, you have them, but, who knows - a car crash, or you get old - for a woman, that's 40 - and then...
Some of the most beautiful women I always thought, had it in them - they'd lived, and they'd seen it, and have Had grown wiser. The smart ones played the game back. The others, well... Who knows.
But, of the 'famous,' it's only a very select few. I was always captivated by other qualities, and even when I was little, Ms. Oliver made such an impression.
This was before the Internet, so, there was really know if others felt the same,and, honestly, I didn't care, as she was acting for me. I'm sure every other person who saw her felt the same.
Her iconic role in Star Trek, is - for me a lot more than surface. She portrayed a woman, who even though she looked beautiful to those who saw her, it was illusory, and I felt it - her insecurity, her need for approval, because, as Vina, she was validated by her appearance.
There was such a gentleness to her, and her voice, it quavered, but, not with the 'sex- kitten' quality. Her voice gently prodded, and said; 'please, don't hurt me, because if you don't believe this, I can't survive.'
It broke my heart, then, and even thinking now, I'm tearing up.
That was an actor. Someone who I felt lived and breathed, because I know she felt it, without question. Just because the screen would go dark, I felt whoever Ms. Oliver was, she - and Vina, her character - lived on.
I worked in the entertainment business, and fame still never impressed me. As time went on, the media's need for more faces became ever-more rapacious, first, with cable, then the Internet, and on, and on.
Instead of looking to 'groom' someone, it was as if these (usually young) actors were young chicks, and they looked at them solely on the basis of if they'd develop into a good chicken.
Nothing more.
I'd see/hear more and more young people say they wanted to be 'famous,' but, if I ever asked; famous? For what? The question was irrelevant.
They see fame as the sole goal of approval.
It saddens me.
I was happy to find out - only as 'recently' as the mid 80's more things about Ms. Oliver which made me love her even more; I heard how she was not just a 'plane-flyer,' but, it was a deep passion. I also found out she'd passed away.
I came across this documentary a few months ago purely by accident, and it couldn't have been more serendipitous.
To see that she was so valued by those she'd worked with, and knew in her personal life, that they made this stunning, loving documentary about a person, a real flesh and blood one.
I had my best friend (who passed away a few years ago) tell me about working with her, and even though my friend could drip venom, as she talked about Susan, it was with admiration.
My friend had come up through Hollywood by being discovered at a young age by a famous director, and from then on her life was unreality. Working with Ms. Oliver showed my friend that you don't need anyone but yourself to love, because, as the saying forgoes, if you can't love yourself, you can't love anyone.
I'm so happy this film was made. For anyone who wants to learn about self-confidence, and believing in yourself, and not have yourself validated, as so many unfortunately do, by fawning fake sycophants, watch this. I wish every young girl, young woman, and young boys, and whoever else felt or feels this plastic need to be 'beautiful,' , or has a 'stage mother,' who's (usually morbidly obese), who tries to live trough them, and turn them into some 'beauty queen.'
See this, because true beauty can only come from within oneself.
I won't say anything more about this woman's life, than how touched I was - still am - how this woman I never had the privilege of meeting touched me. I know I'm not alone, as the simple fact this wonderful story was told, and all the people who helped - either by participating, or helping fund it, this is a very rare incidence of someone truly special.
Wherever you are now, Susan, thank you, you've had such an impact on so many., I know you're gentle twilight dream dust, which pass into many of us who see you, in so many wonderful ways. I always knew - even when I was a very little boy, you were a very special person, and I'm glad I at least still get to share seeing your on my screen. -
jlabritz24 August 2014It was fascinating to learn about the amazing little known life of the actress known mostly as the Star Trek "Green Girl." You do not need to be a Star Trek fan to relate to this documentary. There is actually surprising little about her being that character because the rest of her life was much deeper, and more intricate and interesting. Mr. Pappy did an excellent and difficult job of putting together the visual and interview pieces to reveal and explore the unknown and multiple sides of this beautiful actress accomplished in so much more than just her wonderful acting. Things that should have been known by more people while she was alive. I was surprisingly moved and glad to get to know her in this nostalgic experience, yet sadly after she's gone. I recommend seeing it.
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dondevries1113 March 2015I had no idea who or what The Green Girl is or was. Now I find myself having seen it three times, each more interesting and fulfilling than the last. Unexpectedly, one of the most interesting things was learning more fully about an entire industry through one person. About movies, television, about it's people, actors, directors, related persons, history, literal behind the scenes interactions, meaning generally and specifically, than I ever conceive imaginable. At the same time much broader and much narrower than I could have ever thought possible. Then comes the surprising shocker of all as a documentary. It hit me with what I expect from real entertaining invigorating movies. It has drama about drama about drama. It elicits feelings and emotion about the very people and things that are themselves initiated and formulated to elicit feelings and emotions in the first place! first about the subject person, secondly about the people intimately acquainted with the subject person. And also, not the least, about the person, people, background, processes, contacts, research methods of who made this movie / documentary; and how this movie / documentary came to be born in the first place, and how things unfolded as it was made. It has that ineffable something that keeps bringing me back to see it again. I might not be done yet. I might see it A forth time. I already know I'm going to see Few Options a second time. Touching, insightful, educational, and interesting. Yes, both of them, that's interesting, and perhaps even strange. - Thank you again, George
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stevenkinsel13 February 2021After seeing Susan Oliver in movies and TV shows since I was very young, I wanted to know more about this lovely and talented actress. She has an impressive body of work, much of which has been forgotten. This documentary does an excellent job of covering the breadth of her roles. How sad that we lost her so soon. She will always be an unsung star to me!
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phiwag-3239514 June 2020Very well made film. Interesting information on her life from friends and co stars. It was really fun seeing some of the other actors of the time that she worked with. Such a successful acting life, but should have been much more.
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While the title refers to her most enduring legacy in one episode of Star Trek, this documentary surprises the viewer in turning out to be the profile of an enigmatic actress who just bubbled under stardom in the early 1960s but in the meantime managed to put her mark on what is practically a catalogue of television of that time.
I was surprised at how much I remember seeing her but like so many other actors who carve their way into our consciousness didn't reach enduring fame.
So it is that she becomes a symbol of TV shows of the day that the full-color wide-screen stereo media of today has by it nature left behind.
I'm not slightly reminded of the many great silent films which only a handful remain watched or the many thousands of hours of radio shows which formed the foundation for television in general yet remain all but extinct to our cultural memory.
If you didn't grow up in the early-mid 1960's or if you're not a fan of TV of that time, then there probably won't be much for you here.
But if you did, you'll rewarded with a cavalcade of memories and surprises along the way. You'll see a profile of Hollywood culture of the time along with the changes in the film industry during that time, esp with the role of women behind the lens.
A fantastic effort of getting so many people to share their memories and A++ for the complicated task of editing all the stills and film.
I took off one star for the narrow focus of its subject and another star for how her death was treated as some kind of mysterious cliffhanger when it was simply the final chapter of a fine story. -
IMDbGMB23 January 2020Came across this documentary on Tubi and watched because I remember her from the Star Trek episodes when I immediately fell in love.
I had no idea she had so many appearances in so many different shows.
Anyway, this is a review. I gave 10 stars because it was informative, interesting, and not too long, like documentaries often are. Lots of people who knew her were interviewed. All of had great fondness for her, and sometimes more. A little sad. Definitely worth a watch. -
The documentary of actress, director Susan Oliver, most famous for her performance in the original Star Trek pilot episode, is a fascinating look at a prolific performer whose credits extend from the 50s to 80s in many guest starring roles in movies and especially television. This documentary is captivating but whether because its production values are good or Susan Oliver's life was a hidden treasure now revealed is hard to distinguish. This is a bittersweet tale that needed to be told about a difficult childhood, a talented career among some of the most famous actors of the time, and compartmentalized wonderful secrets, to an important look at the sociological gender bias in the film industry brings to life a memorable and undeniably breakthrough life. She lived before her time.
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A good documentary with the most clips of Susan Oliver's career that will ever be assembled. As such it is also a valuable overview of the early days of television. However, several problems come up that call into question the resources and abilities of the filmmakers.
The chief one is a lack of interviews or reflections from significant television and film industry peers. Ms. Oliver worked with scores of top-level actors, many of whom are still with us, yet none deigned to be in this documentary, despite almost certainly being asked. Especially curious is the absence of Jerry Lewis, with whom she made several movies and was clearly a friend who offered to pay her hospital bills at the end.
We are left with heavy screen time given to lesser-known performers, some of whom didn't even know she was a pilot, undermining their own credentials as intimates. The one notable exception was David Hedison, although even he is hardly a household name. The film also heavily relies on lesser-known Hollywood writers, production people, and friends, many of whom are posed with their books (and sometimes artwork), offering plenty of praise but little real insight into Ms. Oliver's life and work.
While famous people don't necessarily a good documentary make, their complete absence from this film undermines both the claims of Susan Oliver's importance to the industry and the professional credentials of the filmmakers...to say nothing of seriously hurting the film's chances of garnering mainstream interest.
The documentary also makes no attempt to put any of Ms. Oliver's work or life into perspective, by use of a narrator or any analytical framework. The film is an endless series of TV and movie clips and talking head testimonials...there is no over-arching voice to bring it all together and offer up any kind of summation on who Susan Oliver was and why she might be important and worth remembering.
Details about her personal life, especially her puzzling romantic liaisons and the obviously complicated relationship with her famous astrologer mother, are given a quick once-over. We are only given hints as to whom she may have had relationships with, and while privacy is always sacrosanct, a documentary that doesn't at least attempt to delineate the home life of its subject becomes more a curriculum vitae than a true story of a person.
One can't help but feel the filmmakers kept things light in an effort to do honor to Ms. Oliver. That they did, but the documentary finally leaves one with the same feeling one has about Susan Oliver's career: it was oddly incomplete, and less than it should have been. -
machrf21 January 2023Larry Nemecek - Star Trek Expert? I am so sick and tired of people saying they know star trek when they do not. Usually it is the younger generation. But this guy looks old enough to know that there WAS NO STAR TREK in 1964. A real expert would know this. This guy really pisses me off because he should know better based on how old he looks.
I'd really like to know who the company was that put this together, because this sound like the typical misinformation of the History Channel. If not them, people who were associate with them. This now puts the rest of the so called documentary into question. How many other facts are wrong?
I changed my rating from 1 to 8. I cannot judge the entire show on what if and possible wrong facts. The presentation paints a wonderful picture of a woman trying to make it in hollywood and never fully getting the attention from them she deserved. As a fan, I can say I loved her performances, those that I had watched.