Green was born in Frome, Somerset, England. He began working in film in 1929 and became a noted film cinematographer and a founding member of the British Society of Cinematographers.

Green became a full-time director of photography in the mid-1940s, working on such films as David Lean's Oliver Twist in 1948. In about 1955, Green switched to directing, and he moved to Hollywood around 1962. In addition to directing A Patch of Blue (1965), Green also wrote and co-produced the film.