Moonfleet (1955)

When I think of Fritz Lang, I think of gritty noirs, but as 1955's Moonfleet bears out, he was quite capable of other things as well.  An action/adventure period drama starring Stewart Granger and child star John Whiteley, Moonfleet is based on J. Meade Falkner's 1898 novel of the same name.  Featuring George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, and Viveca Lindfors in support and a terrific Miklos Rozsa score, this film is right up there with The Prisoner of Zenda as my favorite Granger film.  (I have yet to see Scaramouche, so things could soon change.)

In 18th-century coastal England, young John Mohune (John Whiteley) makes his way, by night, to the little town of Moonfleet, where, directed by a letter from his recently-deceased mother, he will be able to find Jeremy Fox (Stewart Granger), who according to the letter, will be a friend to him.  Recently returned from the colonies and now living in the home once belonging to the dead woman's family, Fox and the woman appear to have been in love in their youth.  Though her family drove Fox away and married her off to a more suitable man, the dead woman is confident that Fox's former love for her will cause him to help her now-orphaned son.

Not the law-abiding man the writer of the letter once knew him to be, Fox is now the leader of a band of smugglers, with no interest in the everyday responsibility of a young boy. Wanting to be rid of the child, yet wanting to do the right thing by his mother, Fox intends to send him away to be educated; however, convinced that Fox is his friend, the lad is just as determined to remain in Moonfleet.  The little boy's unconditional love and trust eventually work their magic on Fox's cold, selfish heart.  At one point, Jeremy is forced to spar with one of his own gang in order to keep John alive.




Though in his autobiography, Sparks Fly Upward, Mr. Granger refers to Moonfleet as "another dreary costume epic, directed by the once brilliant Fritz Lang," I don't agree with his opinion at all.  I quite enjoyed this film---it is interesting, exciting, and well-acted.  Complete with a long-lost diamond, a coded treasure map, a supposedly-haunted graveyard, a cutthroat hideaway, and a short, but exciting, swashbuckling scene, this film is pretty much non-stop action.  Add to that, Mr. Granger never looked more handsome, and little John Whiteley is a charmer.  There were even a couple of touching moments which got me misty-eyed.  For me, this is easily a 4-star movie...and very close to 5.

Having never read the book upon which the film is based, I can't compare the two.  However, whether the two stories differ from one another matters little to me. In fact, it never bothers me if a film is significantly different from the book which inspired it; I see them as two separate entities, both of which can stand on their own.  I'm not sure why people get so bent out of shape when a story is changed---after all, both can have merit.

Out on DVD, Moonfleet should be fairly easy to track down.  Adventure-loving film fans ought to greatly enjoy it.

Happy viewing!!

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (3 stars)

One of the most solid leading men of the 1940's and 1950's, Dana Andrews was an actor who, sadly, never seemed to get the recognition and appreciation he deserved.  Classic Movie Man, however, is doing his small part to bring Mr. Andrews a bit of recognition---he is hosting the Dana Andrews blogathon on Saturday, July 28th.  As one who places Mr. Andrews firmly among her top 20 favorite actors, I am thrilled to take part in the event and to have the opportunity to bring one of this terrific actor's lesser-known films to the attention of others.  Please visit the Classic Movie Man's blog (HERE) to take part in this event yourself or to read the film reviews and thoughts of the other participants.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, a 1956 Fritz Lang film, is a crime-drama starring Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine.  Some sites classify this as film noir, but I think it's only mildly noir.  It's mostly crime/mystery.

The movie begins with the execution of a man who had been convicted solely on circumstantial evidence.  After witnessing the execution, newspaper publisher, Austin Spencer, an opponent of capital punishment, becomes quite concerned about the possibility of convicting and executing innocent men.  Together with his son-in-law to-be, reporter-turned-novelist, Tom Garrett (Dana Andrews), Spencer devises a scheme in which an innocent man will be arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, all based solely on circumstantial evidence.  Upon conviction, the scheme will be revealed, showing the prosecuting attorney, the court, and the entire public the danger of capital punishment.

After reading in the newspaper about the unsolved murder of burlesque dancer, Patti Gray, Spencer and Garrett's plan is put into action, with Garrett being the man who will be suspect.  The two men plant Tom's lighter (a gift from his fiance, Susan) at the scene of the crime; additionally, a lady's stocking is planted in his glove compartment, and traces of the kind of makeup Patti used are rubbed on the seats of his car.

After learning that the murdered woman was last seen with a man wearing a gray tweed coat and a top hat, Tom makes sure that is how he is seen.  He begins frequenting the club where Patti worked, coming on to one of her fellow dancers, and eventually, as hoped, that woman begins to suspect that Tom was the man she saw Patti with the night of her murder.  The police are called in, and Tom is arrested and sent to trial.

Upon Tom's conviction, Austin is supposed to reveal the truth, which had been completely documented with photographs of every bit of evidence the men planted.  However, things don't work out as planned, but I won't say more than that so as not to give away anymore of the story.  I will say that there is a totally major twist, which I never saw coming.



Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is a very interesting, exciting film, and up until the very end, I was going to give it 4 stars.  However, in the end, I decided to go with 3 stars (more like 3.5), as I thought the final few minutes were a bit of a letdown.  I think it was just wrapped up too quickly; there could have been a bit more depth.  Even though I was disappointed in the strength of the ending, though, I definitely enjoyed this film and fully intend to watch it again sometime.  Though Joan Fontaine gets second billing, as Andrews' fiance, she has almost nothing to do.  She is hardly more than a beautiful face in a couple of scenes.

The film is out on DVD, plus it is on the TCM schedule for Monday, October 22nd, at 4:45 p.m. (ET).  Try to catch it if you can.  Dana Andrews is always worth watching!

Happy viewing!!

Human Desire (4 stars)

Human Desire, from 1954, is a film noir directed by Fritz Lang, and starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Broderick Crawford.  Complete with such noir staples as the femme fatale and the weak-willed, hormone-driven man who just can't stay away from her, Human Desire is one of the best noirs I've seen in awhile.  I enjoyed every minute of this film.

When he is fired from his job at the local train yard, Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) convinces his wife, Vicki (Gloria Grahame), to use her connections with an influential businessman to help him get his job back.  Vicki does, and Carl does; however, when Carl realizes that the man and his sexy, much-younger wife have been lovers, his jealousy cannot be contained.  After forcing Vicki to write a note to the man, wherein she promises to visit his train compartment that evening, Carl stabs him to death in said compartment, while Vicki looks on. Getting back to their own compartment undetected will take some doing, so Vicki flirts a bit with Korean War Veteran, Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford), who has recently returned to town after a 3-year absence.

When the dead body is discovered and an investigation begun, for whatever reason, Jeff doesn't reveal to anyone that he ran into Vicki Buckley in the corridor outside the dead man's room.  Of course, Vicki is grateful for Jeff's silence, and the two begin to get close to each other.

Eventually, Jeff and Vicki embark on a passionate affair, but with her husband hanging on to the note declaring her intention to make a visit to the dead man's compartment, Vicki knows she is trapped.  Her only escape is her husband's death---and she will lie, scheme, and seduce to convince Jeff to bring that death to pass. Does Jeff kill Carl?  Does Vicki get her letter back?  These are the questions that play out in this exciting film.

For me, this was an incredibly-directed film---Fritz Lang was in top form here.  Also, because I'm totally in love with passenger trains (it's a 40's thing!), I loved that the setting was primarily a train or train yard.  The setting just added to my enjoyment.  Acting wise, I think Broderick Crawford was very good in his role---he always excelled at portraying a boorish brute of a man.  Glenn Ford was solid and gave a good, though not spectacular, performance. The real star of the film, though, was Gloria Grahame.  She was totally terrific in this role; I have to admit, though, I'm not a huge fan of her.  I'm not sure why her face always seems frozen and why she hardly opens her mouth when she speaks, but those things are always a bit of a distraction for me.  Still, though, she played the sexy vamp perfectly.  All those things combined to make for a very good film...one I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend.

The film is out on DVD and should be quite easy to track down.  Additionally, it's on the TCM schedule for Saturday, March 31, 2012, so you could easily catch it then.

Happy viewing!!

Clash by Night (4 stars)

Clash by Night, directed by Fritz Lang, is a 1952 steamy, soap-opera kind of drama, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, and Marilyn Monroe.  The future sister-in-law of Stanwyck's character, Monroe is a supporting player and has somewhat minimal screen time, but the other three are pretty much equals...though Stanwyck gets top billing.

Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) has just returned to her small fishing village hometown, after ten years of being away in the big city.  Because things hadn't worked out as she had hoped, Mae is disillusioned, especially with regards to men.  At a local bar, she runs into fisherman Jerry Damato (Paul Douglas), who is immediately smitten with her.

After taking Mae on a date, Jerry introduces her to his friend, Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), a cynical, unlikeable man, who is as disillusioned about women as Mae is about men.  It is not a good first impression for either Mae or Earl...they argue and quibble and exchange barbs within minutes of meeting one another.

Eventually, because she wants the feeling of being protected by a strong man, Mae agrees to marry Jerry; however, she knows she doesn't really love him, nor is she cut out for the housewife kind of life.  Although Mae soon gives birth to a baby girl, she's bored with marriage and with Jerry and finds herself drawn to the newly-divorced Earl.  Though she at first fights the attraction she feels for Earl, Mae soon succumbs to her passion, and the two embark on an affair.  In a small town, though, everyone seems to know everyone's business, and their relationship is found out.

What will Jerry do when he learns of Mae's affair with his best friend?  What will Mae do when she's forced to choose between stability with Jerry and their baby daughter and passion with Earl?  Can she figure out what she really wants out of life?  And Earl?  He says he loves Mae...but can such a selfish man ever really love?  These are the questions that will play out in this very interesting film.

Clash by Night stars two of my favorites...Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan.  Stanwyck is my third favorite actress, and Ryan, one very under-rated actor in my opinion, is my co-#1 guy.  I'm not sure why I like that man so much...the characters he generally portrays are almost never likeable...they're usually cynical, angry "bad boys," which is not at all in line with who I am as a person.  Even so, though, I am completely crazy about Mr. Ryan, and when I see his name among the cast of a film, I always give it a try.

As an aside, I want to say that Clash by Night is VERY dated (translation: chauvenistic) with regard to a man's treatment of his wife.  There were several statements that made me cringe; however, it is what it is...a reflection of a different time, so I can easily overlook those statements.  I just wanted y'all to be aware because some might be offended.

This film is out on DVD and should be readily available and quite easy to track down.  (I got it from Net Flix.)  Anyhow, happy viewing!!!