The Green Goddess

The Green Goddess is a 1930 American pre-Code film directed by Alfred E. Green. It was a remake of the 1923 silent film, which was in turn based on the play of the same name by William Archer. It was produced by Warner Bros. using their new Vitaphone sound system, and adapted by Julien Josephson. It stars George Arliss, Alice Joyce (in her final film role), Ralph Forbes and H.B. Warner. Arliss and Ivan F. Simpson played the same parts in all three productions, while Joyce reprised her role from the earlier film. Arliss was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance. Plot A small plane carrying three British citizens — Major Crespin (H.B. Warner), his estranged wife Lucilla (Alice Joyce), and pilot Dr. Traherne (Ralph Forbes) — becomes lost and is forced to crash land in the tiny realm of Rukh, somewhere near the Himalaya Mountains. The Raja (George Arliss) who rules the land welcomes them. As it happens, the Raja's three brothers are soon to be executed for murder by the British. When the three plane-crash survivors appear, the Raja's subjects become convinced that their Green Goddess has delivered three victims into their hands for revenge. The three are to be killed once the Raja's three brothers are dead. The Raja professes no great love for his brothers, as they had posed a danger to the succession of his own children, but he sees no reason to anger his people by protecting his British guests. When he becomes attracted to Lucilla, however, he offers to spare her life if she will become his wife. She refuses.