Blood on the Moon
| Blood on the Moon | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Wise |
| Produced by | Theron Warth |
| Screenplay by |
Lillie Hayward Harold Shumate |
| Based on | The novel Gunman's Chance by Luke Short |
| Starring |
Robert Mitchum Barbara Bel Geddes Robert Preston |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Edited by | Samuel E. Beetley |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Box office | $2.4 million (US rentals) |
Blood on the Moon is a 1948 RKO black-and-white "psychological" western directed by Robert Wise with cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Preston has many film noir elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona. The picture is based on the novel Gunman's Chance by Luke Short.
Cowboy drifter Jim Garry is summoned by his friend, smooth-talking Tate Riling. Garry rides into an Indian reservation and finds himself in the middle of a conflict between a cattle owner and some homesteaders. He meets cattle owner John Lufton, and eventually his daughters Amy and Carol. The Luftons suspect that Garry is on Riling's side and are initially hostile, especially Amy. Garry readily admits that he is going to work for his friend.
Riling tells Garry that he and Indian agent Jake Pindalest have devised an elaborate scheme to force Lufton into selling his herd cheaply. Pindalest has gotten the government to order Lufton to remove his cattle from the reservation in a week. Meanwhile, Riling has organized the homesteaders into blocking the move, conning them into believing that he is working in their best interests. With no other option, Lufton would have to sell his herd at bargain prices or lose everything. Lufton would never sell to Riling, but he would to a stranger like Garry. Pindalest would then see that the government buys the herd at an inflated price. Garry would get $10,000 for his part in the swindle.
Lufton manages to outsmart Riling and move his herd unimpeded, but Riling and his men stampede and scatter the cattle back onto the reservation. It would take several days to gather the herd, more time than Lufton has before the deadline. Garry becomes disgusted when a man is killed in the stampede, and he switches sides. Amy still does not trust him. She suspects Garry of betraying the contents of a letter to Riling, unaware that Carol is enamored with Riling and is the one passing information to him. Eventually, Amy comes to trust (and fall in love with) Garry, especially after he defends her father from two of Riling's men.
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Wikipedia