Today, most of us would not give a second glance if we were to pass someone on the street with a full head of bright green hair. Part of the reason would be because common courtesy dictates that it is impolite to stare. Another reason, and possibly the more valid one, is because the concept is no longer new to us. However, back in the 1940s, this was not the case. The 1948 film “The Boy with Green Hair” explores the basic concepts of prejudice, mixed in with anti-war propaganda. Directed by Joseph Losey and written by Ben Barzman and Alfred Lewis Levitt, the film will be screened at 7 p.m. at the Wexner Center as part of the Blacklist film series.The allegorical tale revolves around young Peter Frye (an amazing and young Dean Stockwell), who is carted off from one “relative” to another while his parents are away in England, helping out the many orphans of the recent war. He finally ends up with Gramp (Pat O’Brien), a kind, jaunty ex-vaudevillian who takes him in with open arms. Together, they forge a simple life for themselves.Unbeknownst to Peter, his parents had actually died a while back in the London Blitz. The eventual discovery of his parents’ deaths and the misery of war sends Peter into a deep depression. Later at dinner, a worried Gramp tries cheering Peter up by pointing to a healthy, green plant in the apartment, and says it represents hope and a new life to come. “It is the color of spring,” he says. It almost comes as no surprise when, the next morning, Peter wakes up with a head of shocking green hair.Needless to say, he is met with a lot of stares. Initially perturbed by everyone’s reaction, Peter regains faith in the peculiar occurrence when he learns, in a dream, the reason for his green hair. It is a reminder to everyone that he is a war orphan, and to make them realize the evils of war.But when the looks turn from curious to wary to downright hostile, Peter is forced to get rid of his remarkable green hair. It is that simple decision, and perhaps the almost obscene sight of a shiny, bald head on a mere child that make the townsfolk regret their attitude toward him.Shot in vivid Technicolor, the movie is an excellent and simple account of a typical boy who becomes an outcast just because he is different. At the same time, the movie manages to take on significant and weighty concepts such as prejudice and discrimination, as well as peace and pacifism. A movie fit for the whole family, it is a definite must-see.