Moontide | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Archie Mayo |
Produced by | Mark Hellinger |
Screenplay by | John O'Hara |
Based on | the novel Moontide 1942 novel by Willard Robertson |
Starring | |
Music by |
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Cinematography | Charles G. Clarke |
Edited by | William Reynolds |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Moontide is a 1942 American drama film noir directed by Archie Mayo and Fritz Lang, although Lang was uncredited when the film was released. The screenplay was written by John O'Hara and Nunnally Johnson (also uncredited) and based on the novel written by Willard Robertson, Moon Tide (1940). The production features Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and Claude Rains.
Charles G. Clarke was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black & White.
The film tells about a man: Bobo (Jean Gabin) who fears he has committed a murder when he was drunk. And a woman: Anna (Ida Lupino), who tried to drown herself and is rescued by Bobo. They try to live together ... but a wicked man - Tiny (Thomas Mitchell (actor)) - wants to tear them apart.
When the film was first released, Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, questioned the direction of the film, especially its focus on actor Jean Gabin, writing, "But all of them need much more than a vague and irresolute script, much more than synthetic scenery and manufactured moods. Director Archie Mayo hasn't brought them into contact with real life. He has expended most of his energy in bringing the audience into contact with Mr. Gabin. And Moontide is too heavy a burden to be carried entirely by him, even though he is Charles Boyer from the other side of the railroad tracks."