Review of Green Mansions

I'm one of the few Audrey Hepburn fans who didn't love "The Nun's Story" (a preconceived tour-de-force) or "Love In The Afternoon" (a lead balloon), but in the hokey "Green Mansions", Hepburn gives arguably her weakest performance as Rima the Bird Girl. Anthony Perkins plays a soldier in Venezuela who comes upon a tribal family in the wilds (he's sort-of captured/sort-of not); after wandering in and out of the forest one day, the tribal leader declares Tony a warrior and orders him to kill the evil spirit living in the jungle. Turns out it's just Audrey, in a strange hairstyle that looks like a fall, who has the locals terrified. She's a lithe sprite who communicates with the animals and lives with her grandfather, who hides many secrets--one of which is where he got his gold pieces. With real-life husband Mel Ferrer as her director, it's curious that Audrey seems to be on auto-pilot, dreamily coasting by on her gamine appeal (which isn't given much of a showcase, considering Rima doesn't display many dimensions). Tony Perkins is vacuous, but the scenery and the music are quite lovely. Possibly with a stronger script and direction--and more appropriate leads--this might have been something. ** from ****