Mon 30 Mar 2020
A Western Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE MOONLIGHTER (1953).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[7] Comments
THE MOONLIGHTER. Warner Brothers, 1953. Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Ward Bond, William Ching, John Dierkes, Morris Ankrum, Jack Elam. Writer: Niven Busch. Director: Roy Rowland.
In Warner Brothers’ The Moonlighter, Fred MacMurray portrays a cattle thief who finds himself at odds with not only the law, but also with his brother (William Ching). He also comes into conflict with his own true love (Barbara Stanwyck), who gets fed up with his reckless criminal ways. Typical Western fare, for sure.
Although the plot may be fairly standard, The Moonlighter is nevertheless an odd film. Not because it’s quirky or because it’s offbeat. No. It’s because of two factors, none of which seem to make much sense. First of all, the film’s running time is a mere 78 minutes, yet it has an intermission! Second, it was released in 3-D, but there’s really nothing in the movie that makes it remotely worthy of that format.
The cast also makes it an odd film. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck were undoubtedly far too talented for this uneven film. Admittedly, the reunited Double Indemnity (1944) actors do the best they can with the sometimes downright atrocious low-tech dialogue that plagues what could have, with some tweaking, been a much better film. Too much of the dialogue is on the nose, with characters telling each other how much they either love or hate one another. It’s just cringeworthy to listen to these two actors who, it’s clear, deserved a much better script than the one offered here.
And yet, despite these factors, there are some rather good moments in the film. These include when Fred MacMurray’s character works outside of the law to avenge the death of an innocent man or when Barbara Stanwyck’s character becomes a deputized lawman (or woman!) and rides out on horseback, rifle in tow, to seek justice. In how many movies, can you say that a female law officer shoots and kills a villain portrayed by Ward Bond? Not many, I suppose. That too makes The Moonlighter unique. Whether it’s worth your time depends, however, on how much you like the actors. (This includes the always enjoyable Jack Elam.) Without them, this would have been a completely turgid and forgettable production.
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March 30th, 2020 at 8:23 pm
Even considering some of their later films these two never made an odder Western, and the plot reminds you that while he may have written THE FURIES, Busch also penned DUEL IN THE SUN and going over the top was not unknown to him.
One has to wonder if Ward Bond was just happy to be out of this by the time Stanwyck shoots him.
March 31st, 2020 at 12:37 am
I remember liking this for its quirks, but that’s all I remember about it.
Perhaps the intermission was there to give the audience a break from all that dramatic tension.
March 31st, 2020 at 3:17 am
If I’m mistaken about this, please correct me:
In 1953/54 (or thereabouts), didn’t Warner Bros. announce that they would be releasing all their theatrical features in 3D?
(Or at least most of them?)
If memory serves, this was the period when WB put out House Of Wax, Phantom Of The Rue Morgue, Dial M For Murder – those are the ones I can remember offhand, but there were a small scad of other threedies during that time (a musical or two, if I’m not mistaken).
By the bye, this explains the intermission:
this would be the old two-projector system, which took so long to set up and synchronize that features had to be split in two.
I remember a time (late ’70s, I think) when WB revived Dial M For Murder in 3D, using this system – including a ten-minute intermission to handle the reel changes.
The “hip” ’70s audiences were somewhat put out by the delay, for which they hadn’t been prepared (and many of them had probably seen Dial M on TV, with commercial breaks, a time or three).
Anyway, when WB took a bath on 3D, that was the cue to go all in with TV – and that’s another story …
March 31st, 2020 at 4:37 am
Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Ward Bond, and Jack Elam.
I’d watch those actors if they were reading a telephone directory (remember them?).
March 31st, 2020 at 12:07 pm
Mike Doran is not mistaken.
March 31st, 2020 at 2:12 pm
He never is.
March 31st, 2020 at 6:30 pm
To Barry and Steve:
Your compliments are appreciated.
I try not to be mistaken.
I like to believe that most of the time, I succeed at that.
In my advancing years, I seem to be getting good at not being mistaken.
Here’s the thing, though:
I’ve learned over time to always allow for the possibility that I might be wrong.
These days, I’ve found that there are many people – some in high places – who ought to try this same method.
My viewpoint – yours may vary.