Here we have the 28 year-old Ida Lupino, looking more like 19 or 20, and already the veteran of more than thirty films, being a frail, charming, and vulnerable waif. She is thoroughly convincing, and we would all like to take her in and look after her. This duty falls to the gruff Jean Gabin, a hard-drinking waterfront drifter from port to port, who has at some point arrived in the States from France. In fact, Gabin in real life had fled the Nazi Occupation and this was one of two American films which he made in exile. The film was supposed to be directed by Fritz Lang, who would have made it a moodier and darker piece. However, he was replaced by the more cheerful Archie Mayo, so we get a film whose real value is not as cinema but as encounter between Lupino and Gabin. That keeps us watching. Claude Rains gives bemused support as a California waterfront bum (hardly his usual type of role!) and Thomas Mitchell is an unctuous, scheming villain who has conned Gabin into thinking he has 'something on him'. The film is rather sinister, and in many ways pointless. If it weren't for Lupino and Gabin being so fascinating, nobody would bother to watch this movie, as it falls between many stools. But Lupino is so entrancing in this role, that presumably no one really cares about the story anyway. And listening to Jean Gabin speak heavily accented English in California is so extraordinary that one wants to watch that too. Who gives a damn about the film, we've got Lupino and Gabin, and that's all that matters. They could read the telephone directory as far as I am concerned, and I would still watch.
45 Reviews
Warm, offbeat, professional...a just a bit unexceptional.
secondtake21 January 2011
Moontide (1942)
What a surprise, and with some well known actors in little known roles. And one little known actor in the U.S., the great French star Jean Gabin. All put together in an elegant, fast, and sympathetic way.
The story is rather sweet, a love story between two unlikely loners, the charming and volatile hard drinking Bobo, played by Gabin, and the young and troubled Anna, played by Ida Lupino. Each of their pasts looms and interferes in the romance, mainly through the maliciousness of Bobo's old friend, another violent man played by Thomas Mitchell. And then there is the incomparable Claude Rains (you won't recognize him in the first scenes with his beard), who plays a truly good friend. All of this takes place in a little fishing shack at a big stone breakwater on the California Coast somewhere, and most of it takes place at night.
Archie Mayo, who made a lot of really good films and few if any masterpieces ("Petrified Forest" is his most famous, from 1936), really does show mastery of storytelling here. And with cinematography by Charles Clarke good enough to get an Oscar nomination (with some help by the more famous Lucien Ballard), you can see why this is better than most. Fritz Lang is shown as a co-director behind the scenes, and you get suspicious that the visual strength of all this is partly his doing.
But it is the story itself that might be the achilles heel here--it progresses with some twists that are suggested in the first few minutes, and that don't turn and surprise us later. The end is the end you expect, all neatly packaged.
Not that you don't mind so much--the leading characters are, if nothing else, very likable. But along those same lines, I think every scene is filmed by-the-book. Very likable, and competent, and rather beautiful all along, but lacking the edges of uncertainty, of emotional depths you would expect from these kinds of characters, even of drama in the few scenes of violence. "Moontide," with its poetic title, insists somehow that it is a just a performance and an entertainment, a light romance, even though it's just an inch from tipping into something much bigger.
What a surprise, and with some well known actors in little known roles. And one little known actor in the U.S., the great French star Jean Gabin. All put together in an elegant, fast, and sympathetic way.
The story is rather sweet, a love story between two unlikely loners, the charming and volatile hard drinking Bobo, played by Gabin, and the young and troubled Anna, played by Ida Lupino. Each of their pasts looms and interferes in the romance, mainly through the maliciousness of Bobo's old friend, another violent man played by Thomas Mitchell. And then there is the incomparable Claude Rains (you won't recognize him in the first scenes with his beard), who plays a truly good friend. All of this takes place in a little fishing shack at a big stone breakwater on the California Coast somewhere, and most of it takes place at night.
Archie Mayo, who made a lot of really good films and few if any masterpieces ("Petrified Forest" is his most famous, from 1936), really does show mastery of storytelling here. And with cinematography by Charles Clarke good enough to get an Oscar nomination (with some help by the more famous Lucien Ballard), you can see why this is better than most. Fritz Lang is shown as a co-director behind the scenes, and you get suspicious that the visual strength of all this is partly his doing.
But it is the story itself that might be the achilles heel here--it progresses with some twists that are suggested in the first few minutes, and that don't turn and surprise us later. The end is the end you expect, all neatly packaged.
Not that you don't mind so much--the leading characters are, if nothing else, very likable. But along those same lines, I think every scene is filmed by-the-book. Very likable, and competent, and rather beautiful all along, but lacking the edges of uncertainty, of emotional depths you would expect from these kinds of characters, even of drama in the few scenes of violence. "Moontide," with its poetic title, insists somehow that it is a just a performance and an entertainment, a light romance, even though it's just an inch from tipping into something much bigger.
Original Film Noir
claudio_carvalho3 September 2019
The lonely dock worker Bobo (Jean Gabin) is a strong man that likes to drink a lot. One night, after a binge, he awakes without recollections at a barge hired to sell bait. He befriends the night watchman Nutsy (Claude Rains); rescues the suicidal Anna (Ida Lupino) from the sea and brings her to the barge to recover. Meanwhile he learns that his acquaintance Pop Kelly (Arthur Aylesworth) was found murdered strangled. Bobo and Anna fall in love with each other and decide to get married. But Bobo´s former friend Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) has always lived supported by Bobo and intends to get rid of Anna.
"Moontide" is an original film noir with a different storyline, great cast and director. Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains and the uncredited Fritz Lang together are feast for any movie lover. The gloomy story and atmosphere have a melancholic happy ending and is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Brumas" ("Sea Mist")
"Moontide" is an original film noir with a different storyline, great cast and director. Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains and the uncredited Fritz Lang together are feast for any movie lover. The gloomy story and atmosphere have a melancholic happy ending and is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Brumas" ("Sea Mist")
It bit like Gabin's earlier successes merged with a Hollywood production.
planktonrules20 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Unlike many Europeans in the entertainment world who were displaced by the Nazis and came to America (such as Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder), Jean Gabin was handicapped as he was a leading man whose English was obviously poor. As for directors, the public would never know and with some other foreign actors, they were able to suppress their accents better. But, with his performance in "Moontide", you can see why the very talented Gabin made very few films during his exile from Nazi-occupied France. His English isn't terrible--but it isn't as good as an actor like, say, Charles Boyer. It's a shame, as his pre- and post-war films are often amazingly good.
Bobo (Gabin) is a barge operator who likes to drink and fight--and you see him doing this when the film begins. After waking up from a binge, he rescues a woman, Anna, who is trying to kill herself (Ida Lupino) he takes it upon himself to be responsible for her--which is quite touching. However, the nasty character Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) is always nearby--because he's holding some secret about Bobo--and Bobo has to put up with Tiny--even though there isn't much to like about Tiny. And, when Bobo and Anna marry, Tiny is sure to let his malevolence boil over and tragedy ensues.
This film is very much unlike a Hollywood film as far as the plot goes. It bears more similarity to some of Gabin's French-language films like "Port of Shadows" and "La Bête Humaine"--very dark films about madness and murder. So, while it's a bit like an early American example of film noir, it is more like a hybrid of this and the films than helped to make Gabin famous. Dark, brooding, very adult for the time and genuinely odd--this film is worth seeing--especially for its wonderful cinematography.
By the way, who came up with the names for the characters in this film?! You've got Bobo, Tiny and Nutsy--an interesting assortment to say the least!
Also, on the DVD is a documentary about the making of the film. It talks about the odd circumstances surrounding the film and its star. It turns out that the book on which the movie was based was MUCH more adult and never could have been brought to the screen at that time--though quite a bit of the book still made it to the film but was more implied than explicitly stated. It's well worth seeing.
Bobo (Gabin) is a barge operator who likes to drink and fight--and you see him doing this when the film begins. After waking up from a binge, he rescues a woman, Anna, who is trying to kill herself (Ida Lupino) he takes it upon himself to be responsible for her--which is quite touching. However, the nasty character Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) is always nearby--because he's holding some secret about Bobo--and Bobo has to put up with Tiny--even though there isn't much to like about Tiny. And, when Bobo and Anna marry, Tiny is sure to let his malevolence boil over and tragedy ensues.
This film is very much unlike a Hollywood film as far as the plot goes. It bears more similarity to some of Gabin's French-language films like "Port of Shadows" and "La Bête Humaine"--very dark films about madness and murder. So, while it's a bit like an early American example of film noir, it is more like a hybrid of this and the films than helped to make Gabin famous. Dark, brooding, very adult for the time and genuinely odd--this film is worth seeing--especially for its wonderful cinematography.
By the way, who came up with the names for the characters in this film?! You've got Bobo, Tiny and Nutsy--an interesting assortment to say the least!
Also, on the DVD is a documentary about the making of the film. It talks about the odd circumstances surrounding the film and its star. It turns out that the book on which the movie was based was MUCH more adult and never could have been brought to the screen at that time--though quite a bit of the book still made it to the film but was more implied than explicitly stated. It's well worth seeing.
a decent noir with a few really nice touches, such as the main stars
Quinoa198425 February 2009
Jean Gabin didn't star in many American films, and Moontide was the only one I could find from my local library. Maybe it was for the best; his presence on screen is very (and I mean this as a compliment) French in tone and inflection and even in style of speak. In English he fares reasonably well, and gives a solid performance as the "gypsy turned peasant" Bobo who saddles up with ex-suicide-attemptee Ida Lupino on a tiny bay community. This being said it's a kind of character that works for Gabin's limitations in the language. Because Bobo is a Gypsy it works that Gabin's English is only so fluent and has the kind of facial expressions that reflect that (as opposed to say Grand Illusion where he was so natural that it was staggering). Lupino, thankfully, is a great match, and the two have some very nice scenes together as a married couple who face trouble when one of Bobo's prior troubles comes back to haunt him, even as it wasn't his fault.
The direction is competent and the writing has some moments of cleverness or tenderness or even insight. And as the drama ratchets up one gets involved if only on a perfunctory, conventional level. But the director Archie Mayo (replacing, of all directors, Fritz Lang) some moments that really stand out for me. One that I might never forget, and should stand up among some of the quintessential early 40s noir films, is when Bobo has his drunken binge the first night at port and after causing a ruckus in the bar with punching out the guy and making the girl upset goes from bar to bar. In a montage that provides a drunken angle to the camera and editing tricks, we see Bobo going further and further, hearing characters repeat things like "drink, drink" or whatever and it is purely intoxicating to see this. It's the kind of sequence, which lasts a good long 5 minutes, that almost promises this to be a great film.
It isn't, but it was worth a shot, and for those who are curious or just big Gabin or Lupino (or Claude Rains) fans, it's worth a shot.
The direction is competent and the writing has some moments of cleverness or tenderness or even insight. And as the drama ratchets up one gets involved if only on a perfunctory, conventional level. But the director Archie Mayo (replacing, of all directors, Fritz Lang) some moments that really stand out for me. One that I might never forget, and should stand up among some of the quintessential early 40s noir films, is when Bobo has his drunken binge the first night at port and after causing a ruckus in the bar with punching out the guy and making the girl upset goes from bar to bar. In a montage that provides a drunken angle to the camera and editing tricks, we see Bobo going further and further, hearing characters repeat things like "drink, drink" or whatever and it is purely intoxicating to see this. It's the kind of sequence, which lasts a good long 5 minutes, that almost promises this to be a great film.
It isn't, but it was worth a shot, and for those who are curious or just big Gabin or Lupino (or Claude Rains) fans, it's worth a shot.
Hope Of Haven
writers_reign15 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
John O'Hara (1905 - 1970) was the finest American Short Story writer of the 20th century and one of the finest novelists. Virtually all of his novels were best-sellers but of the four (Butterfield 8, A Rage To Live, From The Terrace, Ten North Frederick) adapted for the screen only the latter - which won the National Book Award - was anything like satisfactory, whilst Pal Joey - adapted initially by O'Hara himself into the Book of a Broadway Musical with words and music by Rodgers and Hart, from his collection of stories written for The New Yorker - which appeared in an emasculated version of the Broadway musical in 1957 was a major hit mainly due to Frank Sinatra as the eponymous Joey Evans. Like most writers who came to prominence in the thirties O'Hara had several spells in Hollywood and though he only received a sole screenplay credit twice - this film and The Best Things In Life Are Free - he drew on his time there for some of his finest short stories, one Novella, Hope Of Heaven, and one novel, The Big Laugh. Fox paid him $1,250 a week to adapt Willard Robertson's novel for the screen and he worked on it from May through July of 1941.
What emerged was a mixture of several elements; San Pablo an inlet in Southern California is Steinbeck country and its denizens are akin to those inhabiting Cannery Row but without the humour; top-billed French star Jean Gabin enjoyed one of his biggest successes in the Carne-Prevert Quai des Brumes, also set in a foggy port and involving violent death, and there's also something of Irwin Shaw's The Gentle People about it (After O'Hara Shaw was the second finest American short story writer of the 20th century but he wrote The Gentle People as a stage play).
Lawyer-turned-actor Robertson appeared in more than 100 movies but put pen to paper only three times and Moontide was his only novel. It's a simple premise; gentle giant Bobo (Gabin), a drifter, is prone to getting drunk and blacking out and relies on 'minder' Thomas Mitchell, to keep him out of trouble and find him work (shades of Lennie and George in Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men). In the past he had strangled a man (a nod to La Bete Humaine, another Gabin movie) and Mitchell was privy to this and uses it as a lever to live off Gabin's labour. In the first reel a minor character, Pop Kelly, is strangled whilst Bobo is drunk and Mitchell allows him to fear the worst. The fly in the ointment is Anna (Ida Lupino) who Bobo rescues when she tries to drown herself. They fall in love, marry, and Mitchell attempts to destroy them. Robertson wrote a realistically tragic ending but Fox weren't buying that for birdseed in 1941 so it's a case of all's well that ends well as two dysfunctional people find hope in the haven of a bait-shack on the California coast. All O'Hara fans will want to see it but probably not all of them will enjoy it.
What emerged was a mixture of several elements; San Pablo an inlet in Southern California is Steinbeck country and its denizens are akin to those inhabiting Cannery Row but without the humour; top-billed French star Jean Gabin enjoyed one of his biggest successes in the Carne-Prevert Quai des Brumes, also set in a foggy port and involving violent death, and there's also something of Irwin Shaw's The Gentle People about it (After O'Hara Shaw was the second finest American short story writer of the 20th century but he wrote The Gentle People as a stage play).
Lawyer-turned-actor Robertson appeared in more than 100 movies but put pen to paper only three times and Moontide was his only novel. It's a simple premise; gentle giant Bobo (Gabin), a drifter, is prone to getting drunk and blacking out and relies on 'minder' Thomas Mitchell, to keep him out of trouble and find him work (shades of Lennie and George in Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men). In the past he had strangled a man (a nod to La Bete Humaine, another Gabin movie) and Mitchell was privy to this and uses it as a lever to live off Gabin's labour. In the first reel a minor character, Pop Kelly, is strangled whilst Bobo is drunk and Mitchell allows him to fear the worst. The fly in the ointment is Anna (Ida Lupino) who Bobo rescues when she tries to drown herself. They fall in love, marry, and Mitchell attempts to destroy them. Robertson wrote a realistically tragic ending but Fox weren't buying that for birdseed in 1941 so it's a case of all's well that ends well as two dysfunctional people find hope in the haven of a bait-shack on the California coast. All O'Hara fans will want to see it but probably not all of them will enjoy it.
Surprisingly Good Early Film Noir
ZenVortex13 March 2009
This interesting and surprisingly effective 1941 movie was one of the first films noir. Partly directed by Fritz Lang -- who quit after a few weeks due to a conflict with Jean Gabin, who was romancing Lang's ex-girlfriend Marlene Dietrich -- and featuring an international cast with creative input by Salvador Dali (!), the movie is a seminal work that helped establish some of the stylistic elements of classic film noir.
The lovely 28 year-old British actress Ida Lupino delivers a convincing performance as a suicidal teenage runaway, aimlessly passing through a Californian fishing village on her journey to nowhere.
French actor Jean Gabin exudes charm and star quality as a womanizing drifter with an insane capacity for hard liquor, who gets into drunken fights that he doesn't remember.
Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell round out the main characters with solid performances as Gabin's drinking buddies -- Rains as a failed British intellectual and Mitchell as a scheming Irish villain who is blackmailing Gabin.
Dali's contribution to the movie is a startling scene where the drunken Gabin is conversing with a pretty prostitute whose head suddenly vanishes into thin air -- transforming her into a talking torso with surrealist images of spinning clocks.
The direction is generally good. The cinematography is classic noir, especially the final scenes, which deliver an abundance of dark, haunting images as Gabin menacingly pursues Mitchell along the pier to his death. The Fox Film Noir DVD consists of a flawless high-quality print plus special features.
The lovely 28 year-old British actress Ida Lupino delivers a convincing performance as a suicidal teenage runaway, aimlessly passing through a Californian fishing village on her journey to nowhere.
French actor Jean Gabin exudes charm and star quality as a womanizing drifter with an insane capacity for hard liquor, who gets into drunken fights that he doesn't remember.
Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell round out the main characters with solid performances as Gabin's drinking buddies -- Rains as a failed British intellectual and Mitchell as a scheming Irish villain who is blackmailing Gabin.
Dali's contribution to the movie is a startling scene where the drunken Gabin is conversing with a pretty prostitute whose head suddenly vanishes into thin air -- transforming her into a talking torso with surrealist images of spinning clocks.
The direction is generally good. The cinematography is classic noir, especially the final scenes, which deliver an abundance of dark, haunting images as Gabin menacingly pursues Mitchell along the pier to his death. The Fox Film Noir DVD consists of a flawless high-quality print plus special features.
Gabin's return.
dbdumonteil1 March 2007
After a three-year gap ,this was Gabin's return.It is hard to gauge it accurately cause in the 1937-1939 years ,an era when French cinema was arguably the best in the world ,he starred in at least five masterpieces ("la Grande Illusion" and "la Bête Humaine" by Jean Renoir,"Quai des Brumes" and (my favorite) "Le Jour se lève " by Marcel Carné ,and finally Jean Gremillon's "remorques") .All that he would do afterward would necessarily be a let-down.
"Moontide" is not in the same league as his previous French performances but it is nevertheless an interesting work for any Gabin fan.The actor integrates well in an American cast (and the cast includes earnest thespians such as Ida Lupino,Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell)and his English is quite good (don't forget that Gabin was essentially an autodidact ,which is much to his credit;His contemporary equivalent for that matter is Gerard Depardieu) The screenplay may not be very exciting -and it's full of holes at that- but the atmosphere -which recalls sometimes "quai des brumes" - and Gabin's character -who,like Lantier in "la Bete Humaine" ,has an ominous past:wasn't his father a criminal brute?- are all that matters .
For his second (and last) American movie,Gabin was directed by his compatriot (who put him on the map with "la Bandera" ) Julien Duvivier .
"Moontide" is not in the same league as his previous French performances but it is nevertheless an interesting work for any Gabin fan.The actor integrates well in an American cast (and the cast includes earnest thespians such as Ida Lupino,Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell)and his English is quite good (don't forget that Gabin was essentially an autodidact ,which is much to his credit;His contemporary equivalent for that matter is Gerard Depardieu) The screenplay may not be very exciting -and it's full of holes at that- but the atmosphere -which recalls sometimes "quai des brumes" - and Gabin's character -who,like Lantier in "la Bete Humaine" ,has an ominous past:wasn't his father a criminal brute?- are all that matters .
For his second (and last) American movie,Gabin was directed by his compatriot (who put him on the map with "la Bandera" ) Julien Duvivier .
Pilot Fish
bkoganbing15 December 2011
One of two American made films that Jean Gabin did in Hollywood while in exile from his beloved France is this item Moontide. It's not anywhere in the class of The Grand Illusion, Pepe LeMoko, or La Bete Humaine in fact it goes over into melodrama. Still it's a good showcase for his talent and appeal.
Gabin is a happy go lucky sailor who is beached with his pal Thomas Mitchell in the small coast town of San Pablo in California. He's a nasty drunk however who can be provoked to violence and has been. Another waterfront denizen Arthur Aylesworth is killed and Gabin is tormented by the fact that he was on one big bender the night of the homicide and it could be him.
But that doesn't stop him from saving the life of Ida Lupino who tries to drown herself because of her own relationship problems. These two fall for each other and they plan to settle in San Pablo and marry. And of course there's no room for Mitchell in the new setup.
Which doesn't please Mitchell at all. He's basically a leech who's attached himself to Gabin and he doesn't want to give up his meal ticket. Claude Rains who is a droll waterfront philosopher calls him a pilot fish which is a fish that hangs around sharks and lives off the scraps they leave. Time for Mitchell to find another shark.
Given that this is the Code era and that a major studio 20th Century Fox produced Moontide the rather obvious homosexual attachment of Mitchell to Gabin is hard to miss. Perhaps that is something that the original director Fritz Lang might have explored a bit more. In fact the film could have been a classic had Lang stayed with it.
Still the cast acquit themselves well in Moontide and a film with Jean Gabin is always something special.
Gabin is a happy go lucky sailor who is beached with his pal Thomas Mitchell in the small coast town of San Pablo in California. He's a nasty drunk however who can be provoked to violence and has been. Another waterfront denizen Arthur Aylesworth is killed and Gabin is tormented by the fact that he was on one big bender the night of the homicide and it could be him.
But that doesn't stop him from saving the life of Ida Lupino who tries to drown herself because of her own relationship problems. These two fall for each other and they plan to settle in San Pablo and marry. And of course there's no room for Mitchell in the new setup.
Which doesn't please Mitchell at all. He's basically a leech who's attached himself to Gabin and he doesn't want to give up his meal ticket. Claude Rains who is a droll waterfront philosopher calls him a pilot fish which is a fish that hangs around sharks and lives off the scraps they leave. Time for Mitchell to find another shark.
Given that this is the Code era and that a major studio 20th Century Fox produced Moontide the rather obvious homosexual attachment of Mitchell to Gabin is hard to miss. Perhaps that is something that the original director Fritz Lang might have explored a bit more. In fact the film could have been a classic had Lang stayed with it.
Still the cast acquit themselves well in Moontide and a film with Jean Gabin is always something special.
Hopefully the sun will sweep the clouds away once the moon has set...
mark.waltz11 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A Pacific coast juke joint is the setting for this melodramatic tale of attempted suicide, surprise love, rape and revenge. Pretty surprising stuff for Hollywood during the war years. The French New Wave, still in its infant stages, is more than obvious in this superb drama of near tragedy. Jean Gabin is an unforgettable hero who takes in the suicidal Ida Lupino after she shocks nighttime beach goers by a full-dressed late night swim. Furious at first for being saved, Lupino isn't angry for long and romance blossoms. But a jealous drunken pal of Gabin's (an unforgettable Thomas Mitchell) is out of control when it comes to his lust for the luscious Lupino and after the lovebirds head to the alter, their happiness is instantly threatened.
Gorgeously photographed, this very literary melodrama will grab you from the get-go, being very similar to another Archie Mayo directed drama, "The Petrified Forest" where tragic characters faced impending doom and accepted it. The pacing never lets the grip go. Mitchell is a far cry from his hot-tempered patriarch in "Gone With the Wind", yet shows multi dimensions as the nasty villain while Claude Rains offers sage wisdom in a smaller but vital role. Characters come in and out at an amazing speed but they all leave a mark.
Lupino is at first dark and mysterious then allows her loveliness to shine through without losing her characterization. Gabin isn't without faults as a tough guy who still has the capability to love but never loses his masculinity. The script moves effortlessly from dark social commentary to romance without losing its mood, and the result is a motion picture definitely ahead of its time that, like great art, simply improves with age. The mesmerizing confrontation between good and evil after tragedy strikes is a cinematic moment that will live in your mind forever.
Gorgeously photographed, this very literary melodrama will grab you from the get-go, being very similar to another Archie Mayo directed drama, "The Petrified Forest" where tragic characters faced impending doom and accepted it. The pacing never lets the grip go. Mitchell is a far cry from his hot-tempered patriarch in "Gone With the Wind", yet shows multi dimensions as the nasty villain while Claude Rains offers sage wisdom in a smaller but vital role. Characters come in and out at an amazing speed but they all leave a mark.
Lupino is at first dark and mysterious then allows her loveliness to shine through without losing her characterization. Gabin isn't without faults as a tough guy who still has the capability to love but never loses his masculinity. The script moves effortlessly from dark social commentary to romance without losing its mood, and the result is a motion picture definitely ahead of its time that, like great art, simply improves with age. The mesmerizing confrontation between good and evil after tragedy strikes is a cinematic moment that will live in your mind forever.
Out of the nowhere, into the no place
blanche-21 August 2008
Director Fritz Lang was replaced by Archie Mayo as director of the 1942 "Moontide," and one wonders if the film would have been any better with Lang at the helm. With a script by John O'Hara, it's all dry ice, cheap sets, night shots and little action. The great French film star, perhaps the greatest, Jean Gabin, plays Bobo, a dockworker who enjoys being a free spirit. He suffers from blackouts when he's drunk, which is used to advantage by a so-called friend of his, Tiny (Thomas Mitchell), who gets money out of Bobo by hinting that he strangled a man in another town. When a waitress (Ida Lupiho) is rescued from the ocean after trying to commit suicide, Bobo covers for her so she won't be arrested. Eventually they fall in love. This doesn't fit in with the threatening Tiny's plans, as he wants Bobo to seek work elsewhere.
The movie drags along, and it's easy to see the cheapness of the production throughout. It has a certain atmosphere, but it grows tired.
It's a shame that Hollywood had no clue what to do with Jean Gabin, but seeing "Moontide," it's easy to figure out why. With his thick build, weathered face, unruly hair and large nose, he wasn't the leading man material Hollywood was used to, and he was too much a star to be a character actor. Few actors possessed his raw sexuality and charisma, seen much more clearly in Pepe LeMoko and as his signature role, Maigret. It's not for nothing that Marlene Dietrich chased him all across Europe during World War II. He only stayed in Hollywood until 1943 and worked in France as a national institution until his death in 1976. Lupino is very young, frail and pretty here and does a good job. Claude Rains as Nutsy, Bobo's friend, is good but wasted. Thomas Mitchell has the best role among the supporting players. It's a departure from his usual thick nice guys.
If you're interested in Gabin, you'll want to see this. Otherwise, skip it.
The movie drags along, and it's easy to see the cheapness of the production throughout. It has a certain atmosphere, but it grows tired.
It's a shame that Hollywood had no clue what to do with Jean Gabin, but seeing "Moontide," it's easy to figure out why. With his thick build, weathered face, unruly hair and large nose, he wasn't the leading man material Hollywood was used to, and he was too much a star to be a character actor. Few actors possessed his raw sexuality and charisma, seen much more clearly in Pepe LeMoko and as his signature role, Maigret. It's not for nothing that Marlene Dietrich chased him all across Europe during World War II. He only stayed in Hollywood until 1943 and worked in France as a national institution until his death in 1976. Lupino is very young, frail and pretty here and does a good job. Claude Rains as Nutsy, Bobo's friend, is good but wasted. Thomas Mitchell has the best role among the supporting players. It's a departure from his usual thick nice guys.
If you're interested in Gabin, you'll want to see this. Otherwise, skip it.
Moontide over San Pablo
krocheav7 June 2015
As a not often seen curiosity, Moontide is as close as it gets to 'Hollywood come Parisian'. Perhaps it could even be hailed as one of 20th Century Fox's earliest entries into 'Noir' drama. During the time exiled French leading man Jean Gabin was taking refuge in the USA (escaping the Nazis) he made two movies, this, and 'The Imposter' 44 ~ both relatively undistinguished at the time. Gabin, known for his difficult, gruff nature may well have been playing himself with his role as Bobo, a sailor with self destructive drinking habits. Bobo has a change of heart when he saves the life of a depressed young woman, played by a 20 something Ida Lupino. Lupino is the whole show, proving she was not simply a pretty face but a sterling dramatist of the highest degree. She steals every scene with strong, heart felt professionalism, a pure joy to watch! Other cast members are also of a special class, Claude Rains gives a great out of character performance as the warm hearted Nutsy, with Thomas Mitchell memorable as the nasty big lunk known as Tiny. Another odd character played by Jerome Cowan as a Dr having marital problems, has the feel of a part that may have been reduced in post production editing (could be interesting to know...?).
Equally striking is the first class moody black and white (award nominated) cinematography of veteran Charles G. Clark, whose fluid camera weaves in and out of eerie fog bound waterfront settings. The interesting screenplay by talented, self opinionated, and somewhat self destructive, John O'Hara was adapted from the novel by writer/actor Willard Robinson. Some may know Robinson from his roles in: Deep Valley '47 and The Oxbow Incident '43, among many others. Portions of the screen play were penned (un-credited) by award nominated writer Nunnally Johnson, the multi-talented producer/screenplay writer of "The Grapes of Wrath" '40. Johnson was also hailed for his classic work as the writer/director of "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" in '56.
Direction is fully credited (wrongly) to veteran all rounder, Archie Mayo but the project was started under the call of Fritz Lang. Lang was sacked after disputes with the difficult Jean Gabin. It's easy to see why many attribute much of the films atmospheric feel as being due to Lang's involvement. The sets, while visually interesting, are somewhat claustrophobic due to budget constraints. The off-the-wall montage dreamed up by unhinged 'artist' Salvador Dali during one of Gabin's binges is eye popping. The only other I've seen this good (if not better) was in Carol Reed's unforgettable classic, "Odd Man Out" '47. Producer Mark Hellinger of "The Killers" '46 and "Naked City fame" '48 ~ gives us yet another compelling watch, for those who like to trace early offbeat ventures into American 'noir' dramas.
KenR.....
Equally striking is the first class moody black and white (award nominated) cinematography of veteran Charles G. Clark, whose fluid camera weaves in and out of eerie fog bound waterfront settings. The interesting screenplay by talented, self opinionated, and somewhat self destructive, John O'Hara was adapted from the novel by writer/actor Willard Robinson. Some may know Robinson from his roles in: Deep Valley '47 and The Oxbow Incident '43, among many others. Portions of the screen play were penned (un-credited) by award nominated writer Nunnally Johnson, the multi-talented producer/screenplay writer of "The Grapes of Wrath" '40. Johnson was also hailed for his classic work as the writer/director of "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" in '56.
Direction is fully credited (wrongly) to veteran all rounder, Archie Mayo but the project was started under the call of Fritz Lang. Lang was sacked after disputes with the difficult Jean Gabin. It's easy to see why many attribute much of the films atmospheric feel as being due to Lang's involvement. The sets, while visually interesting, are somewhat claustrophobic due to budget constraints. The off-the-wall montage dreamed up by unhinged 'artist' Salvador Dali during one of Gabin's binges is eye popping. The only other I've seen this good (if not better) was in Carol Reed's unforgettable classic, "Odd Man Out" '47. Producer Mark Hellinger of "The Killers" '46 and "Naked City fame" '48 ~ gives us yet another compelling watch, for those who like to trace early offbeat ventures into American 'noir' dramas.
KenR.....
Moontide (1942)
hulkfan6316 April 2016
Fans of the great Jean Gabin, get a good dose of his charm and charisma, as he portrays 'Bobo', in this fine film co-starring a young Ida Lupino as 'Anna', his love interest. Although the production suffers a bit, mostly due to a low-budget and marginal sets, the chemistry between Gabin and Lupino is tangible. Thomas Mitchell turns in a good performance as despicable 'Tiny', the blackmailer. Claude Rains co-stars as the loyal 'Nutsy', Bobo's true friend, and if you watch closely, you'll notice Victor Sen-Young as 'Takeo'(credited as 'Sen Young') who delighted audiences as 'Hop Sing' in "Bonanza". Gabin's ability to convey a range of emotions, from bliss to rage, really carry this film and Lupino fans get to see her as a young, fragile character who finds love in the least likely of places. Viewers of "Moontide" may also like "The Sicilian Clan", which has Jean Gabin playing the matriarch of a crime family, in 1960's Europe.
Moontide Reaches A Rip Tide **1/2
edwagreen23 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Rather routine story of a dock worker who finds love with a hash slinger. The dull, somber mood is reflective of the period shown here.
Ida Lupino is excellent, as usual, because she plays the role that she was so well suited to play in films- the unhappy, vulnerable woman, who finds love and then tragedy.
As the heavy, Thomas Mitchell shows some fine acting but he is not acting exactly like his drunken doctor in "Stagecoach" or Gerald O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind."
As the man of the docks, Jean Gabin is appealing in the romantic lead. Problem with this film is that it's so obvious. Jerome Cowan is the unfaithful doctor who realizes his shortcomings and helps Lupino survive.
Ida Lupino is excellent, as usual, because she plays the role that she was so well suited to play in films- the unhappy, vulnerable woman, who finds love and then tragedy.
As the heavy, Thomas Mitchell shows some fine acting but he is not acting exactly like his drunken doctor in "Stagecoach" or Gerald O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind."
As the man of the docks, Jean Gabin is appealing in the romantic lead. Problem with this film is that it's so obvious. Jerome Cowan is the unfaithful doctor who realizes his shortcomings and helps Lupino survive.
Rare US film for Jean Gabin...
drednm6 January 2003
and a good one at that. Gabin plays a rough drifter along California's fishery coast who rescues a girl (Ida Lupino) from a suicide attempt. He takes her to his floating bait shack and the two fall in love. Unlikely storyline takes a back seat to the acting of Gabin and Lupino as well as Claude Rains as the local "failed intellectual." Great waterfront sets certainly help this moody tale. Only Thomas Mitchell seems to overplay his hand as the treacherous friend. Jean Gabin was a European favorite for 45 years, and it's easy to see why in this film. Too bad he didn't stay in Hollywood a little longer, but the war was on. Also in the film as Jerome Cowan (in a subplot that seems to have been trimmed), Tully Marshall, Vera Lewis, Helene Reynolds, and Victor Sen Yung.
if you're a fan of Thomas Mitchell...
RanchoTuVu17 July 2013
The opening of the film has Jean Gabin drinking, and heavily would be an understatement. The cinematographer and editor shine in a brilliant P.O.V. montage of bizarre 40's era special effects of hallucinogenic drunkenness. In addition Thomas Mitchell's role as Gabin's so-called buddy, but in reality his blackmailer, is very well done. He's not a nice guy in this role. Great acting by Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino and Claude Rains, who is hard to recognize in the first scene in the bar. Maybe the fault of the film lies at the hands of the writers or director or the studio or some reason yet unknown to man to tag on the happy ending.
BoBo's Wedding Day
sol-kay2 March 2008
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILER*** You've got to hand it to BoBo the Sailorman , Jean Gabin, he knows what he wants and goes all out to get it no matter what the dangers and consequence's are.
BoBo's heavy drinking and non-stop womanizing would have lead to a situation that would have gotten him locked up behind bars or in an early grave. That is until that fateful evening when BoBo ran into Anna, Ida Lupino, on he beach outside of San Pablo. Young and pretty Anna tired to pull of a "Star is Born" like suicide walk into the Pacific Ocean where a gallant and, for once, sober BoBo saved her life. Taking Anna into his docked fishing boat, as well as home, Bobo soon falls for the sweet and confused woman after she cooked him up eggs easy side up, just the way he likes them.
More or less a rootless and solitary traveling man BoBo gets hooked on Anna and decides to settle down and marry her. It's then when things get a bit strained with BoBo's friend Tiny, Thomas Mitchell, feeling that Anna is breaking up a beautiful friendship, him & BoBo, and decides to put the screws on both BoBo and his future bride.
Tiny had planned to travel with BoBo upstate from the little dinky sea-town of San Pablo to bigger and better things in beautiful and scenic San Francisco. With Anna coming on the scene Tiny is now forced to travel, with no money for transportation, upstate alone and in his mind this just is not to happen as long as he can help it. It turns out that during his last drunken episode BoBo lost his memory in what he did the last 12 or so hours. It was during that lost time in BoBo's life a friend of his Old Pop Kelly, Arthur Aylesworth, was found strangled to death. It also turned out that Pop's sailor cap was found by BoBo's and Tiny's friend Nutsy, Clude Rains, in BoBo's boat!
Tiny knowing how both crazy and powerful BoBo is when he's on the sauce, he once killed a man in self-defense while being dead drunk, is sure that BoBo did Old Pop Kelly in. With that knowledge at his disposal Tiny plans to blackmail BoBo into dropping his future bride Anna and go off to the city by the bay with him as his life-long gofer and parasite; Tiny has been living off BoBo's earning as a sailor and longshoreman for some ten years.
One thing that soon comes out about this strange relationship, Tiny & BoBo, is that Bobo isn't the only one of the hard-drinking pair who has a habit of drinking himself into never-never land. Tiny also can put it away by the bottle, not just the shot-glass, an is a bit less restrained then BoBo is when he's out cold from an all night drinking session.
**SPOILER ALERT***In fact where exactly was Tiny when Pop Kelly was strangled to death? That's the question that Anna asked a barley on his feet, from drinking, Tiny as he crashed into her and BoBo's boat on their wedding night! Bobo, an excellent mechanic, being away at the time fixing his friend Dr. Brothers',Jerome Cowan, boat came too late to save Anna, who was left beaten and unconscious, from Tiny's drunken actions. But an angry and uncontrollable BoBo wasn't too late to track Tiny down, on the sea rocks, and have him pay for everything he did with the raging waters of the Pacific Ocean doing the job for him
The relationship between BoBo and Tiny was far more interesting then that of BoBo's and Anna. I got the impression that Tiny was really interested in BoBo as a, without going any deeper into the subject, partner in life more then anything else. Being with BoBo for years Tiny got very attached to the hard drinking sailor and his sudden, after being a free man all these years, wanting to get married and settle down may have well been too much for poor confused, as well as feeling rejected, Tiny to take.
BoBo's heavy drinking and non-stop womanizing would have lead to a situation that would have gotten him locked up behind bars or in an early grave. That is until that fateful evening when BoBo ran into Anna, Ida Lupino, on he beach outside of San Pablo. Young and pretty Anna tired to pull of a "Star is Born" like suicide walk into the Pacific Ocean where a gallant and, for once, sober BoBo saved her life. Taking Anna into his docked fishing boat, as well as home, Bobo soon falls for the sweet and confused woman after she cooked him up eggs easy side up, just the way he likes them.
More or less a rootless and solitary traveling man BoBo gets hooked on Anna and decides to settle down and marry her. It's then when things get a bit strained with BoBo's friend Tiny, Thomas Mitchell, feeling that Anna is breaking up a beautiful friendship, him & BoBo, and decides to put the screws on both BoBo and his future bride.
Tiny had planned to travel with BoBo upstate from the little dinky sea-town of San Pablo to bigger and better things in beautiful and scenic San Francisco. With Anna coming on the scene Tiny is now forced to travel, with no money for transportation, upstate alone and in his mind this just is not to happen as long as he can help it. It turns out that during his last drunken episode BoBo lost his memory in what he did the last 12 or so hours. It was during that lost time in BoBo's life a friend of his Old Pop Kelly, Arthur Aylesworth, was found strangled to death. It also turned out that Pop's sailor cap was found by BoBo's and Tiny's friend Nutsy, Clude Rains, in BoBo's boat!
Tiny knowing how both crazy and powerful BoBo is when he's on the sauce, he once killed a man in self-defense while being dead drunk, is sure that BoBo did Old Pop Kelly in. With that knowledge at his disposal Tiny plans to blackmail BoBo into dropping his future bride Anna and go off to the city by the bay with him as his life-long gofer and parasite; Tiny has been living off BoBo's earning as a sailor and longshoreman for some ten years.
One thing that soon comes out about this strange relationship, Tiny & BoBo, is that Bobo isn't the only one of the hard-drinking pair who has a habit of drinking himself into never-never land. Tiny also can put it away by the bottle, not just the shot-glass, an is a bit less restrained then BoBo is when he's out cold from an all night drinking session.
**SPOILER ALERT***In fact where exactly was Tiny when Pop Kelly was strangled to death? That's the question that Anna asked a barley on his feet, from drinking, Tiny as he crashed into her and BoBo's boat on their wedding night! Bobo, an excellent mechanic, being away at the time fixing his friend Dr. Brothers',Jerome Cowan, boat came too late to save Anna, who was left beaten and unconscious, from Tiny's drunken actions. But an angry and uncontrollable BoBo wasn't too late to track Tiny down, on the sea rocks, and have him pay for everything he did with the raging waters of the Pacific Ocean doing the job for him
The relationship between BoBo and Tiny was far more interesting then that of BoBo's and Anna. I got the impression that Tiny was really interested in BoBo as a, without going any deeper into the subject, partner in life more then anything else. Being with BoBo for years Tiny got very attached to the hard drinking sailor and his sudden, after being a free man all these years, wanting to get married and settle down may have well been too much for poor confused, as well as feeling rejected, Tiny to take.
Jean Gabin In English Is Jean Gabin!
malvernp4 March 2021
This film is about as different from a mainstream Hollywood movie as any you are ever likely to encounter. From stars, story, sets and photography, it more closely resembles one that might have come from France or Italy. While 20th Century-Fox would make an important series of highly regarded neo-realistic documentary-like nourish dramas shortly after WWII, Moontide is nothing like those films. Rather, it is (as others have noted) more like a throwback to the Frank Borzage romantic films of the early 1930s--plus a few plot elements that may relate to the earlier influence on the movie of Fritz Lang.
Jean Gabin was one of the greatest film actors of all time. His command of the film medium most closely resembled the work of Spencer Tracy in its emphasis on a natural, instinctive, humane and realistic style of acting. His American period in the early 1940s produced only two films, and while Moontide is a good movie in many ways--it really only illustrates some aspects of what under slightly different circumstances could have marked a major upward turn in his long career. It is a tragedy that this gifted artist was unable to achieve the success in Hollywood he so richly deserved.
While Gabin's command of English was not the best, it likely would have improved in time--much as did that of Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier. What he did have in abundance was a huge acting talent and a wide range of major cinematic accomplishments already under his belt.
Was there another Spencer Tracy working in Hollywood at this time? It does not seem so. Several years later, MGM did include another somewhat similar actor in its family--James Whitmore. But most people familiar with the work of both men would probably. agree that Gabin was the greater of the two performers.
This is one more item to add to the list of lost opportunities in the history of film in America.
Jean Gabin was one of the greatest film actors of all time. His command of the film medium most closely resembled the work of Spencer Tracy in its emphasis on a natural, instinctive, humane and realistic style of acting. His American period in the early 1940s produced only two films, and while Moontide is a good movie in many ways--it really only illustrates some aspects of what under slightly different circumstances could have marked a major upward turn in his long career. It is a tragedy that this gifted artist was unable to achieve the success in Hollywood he so richly deserved.
While Gabin's command of English was not the best, it likely would have improved in time--much as did that of Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier. What he did have in abundance was a huge acting talent and a wide range of major cinematic accomplishments already under his belt.
Was there another Spencer Tracy working in Hollywood at this time? It does not seem so. Several years later, MGM did include another somewhat similar actor in its family--James Whitmore. But most people familiar with the work of both men would probably. agree that Gabin was the greater of the two performers.
This is one more item to add to the list of lost opportunities in the history of film in America.
Fritz Lang uncredited- real noir for fans of this type film
KayMack2312 February 2017
10 Stars- I found no errors in this film. Memorable, plot is typical noir: mystery, a little suspense (not enough to raise your blood pressure) and of course a romantic interest.
Women will love Bobo, the mysterious manly man with an accent, who can punch down bullying malefactors with no effort to save the dignity of any woman. Bobo is ever accompanied with his trusty and also-brave bulldog, who fights with him- the dog's doing so plays an important part in the mystery, which I will not divulge here so as not to spoil the ending. "Bobo" is a Gypsy, at least he calls himself one, with a tag-along leech by the name of Tiny. Tiny and Bobo are a couple of laborer types that take jobs here and there, Bobo is a strong and honest good natured fellow, both he and Tiny drink to excess and sometimes fight (with Bobo it's usually to defend a woman or a beaten man) Bobo is ever the quiet do-gooder, always happy to lend a hand or help the helpless. Tiny has a hold on Bobo, a scheme which unfortunately is a hold that Tiny uses to blackmail and control, up to demanding Bobo keep on moving along from town to town, never attaching to anyone or thing. But- Bobo falls in love with Anna, the gorgeous and smart Lupino (who wouldn't? She is as tiny as a wasp and so pretty) whom he rescues from a possible suicide by drowning (reason for this attempt is not really given in the film) Bobo and Anna become fast friends. Anna is a wayward girl with a history of taking low jobs like slinging hash, which Tiny warns Bobo that "she is a no-good hash-slinger!". I think there are aspects of the characters that are in the book "Moon Tide" that are not addressed in the film, but that's OK because the film stands on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed Moontide and I know that viewers won't turn away when watching it because it is one of those movies that come on late late at night but you dare not sleep because you don't want to miss ONE second out of it. Just a fun, memorable and romantic feel-good kind of thing, not schmaltzy- that embraces real noir and real romance in a fine way.
A film that uses every bit of it's scenery even though it isn't much (you won't notice the spartan sets, only if you take the film apart, because the film 'takes you there')every craft in the film making was used to great advantage. In lesser hands this would not have been so good. The direction is expert: Fritz Lang uncredited, not sure why. Jean Gabin as Bobo was well cast, I'd never heard of him myself before, he is believable as Bobo the gypsy very well. He met Anna mere days ago but is well in love with her enough to marry her and she him and there is a degree of believe-ability here Both of them- Anna and Bobo I cheered for, wished well, and was in love with both of their characters so much, I wanted all of it to be true, in fact so much that it is as if one is watching a slice of life in a 1940s-era San Pedro dock, with the salty but good as gold characters who keep their mouths shut for the right reasons to protect their life long friends.
Women will love Bobo, the mysterious manly man with an accent, who can punch down bullying malefactors with no effort to save the dignity of any woman. Bobo is ever accompanied with his trusty and also-brave bulldog, who fights with him- the dog's doing so plays an important part in the mystery, which I will not divulge here so as not to spoil the ending. "Bobo" is a Gypsy, at least he calls himself one, with a tag-along leech by the name of Tiny. Tiny and Bobo are a couple of laborer types that take jobs here and there, Bobo is a strong and honest good natured fellow, both he and Tiny drink to excess and sometimes fight (with Bobo it's usually to defend a woman or a beaten man) Bobo is ever the quiet do-gooder, always happy to lend a hand or help the helpless. Tiny has a hold on Bobo, a scheme which unfortunately is a hold that Tiny uses to blackmail and control, up to demanding Bobo keep on moving along from town to town, never attaching to anyone or thing. But- Bobo falls in love with Anna, the gorgeous and smart Lupino (who wouldn't? She is as tiny as a wasp and so pretty) whom he rescues from a possible suicide by drowning (reason for this attempt is not really given in the film) Bobo and Anna become fast friends. Anna is a wayward girl with a history of taking low jobs like slinging hash, which Tiny warns Bobo that "she is a no-good hash-slinger!". I think there are aspects of the characters that are in the book "Moon Tide" that are not addressed in the film, but that's OK because the film stands on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed Moontide and I know that viewers won't turn away when watching it because it is one of those movies that come on late late at night but you dare not sleep because you don't want to miss ONE second out of it. Just a fun, memorable and romantic feel-good kind of thing, not schmaltzy- that embraces real noir and real romance in a fine way.
A film that uses every bit of it's scenery even though it isn't much (you won't notice the spartan sets, only if you take the film apart, because the film 'takes you there')every craft in the film making was used to great advantage. In lesser hands this would not have been so good. The direction is expert: Fritz Lang uncredited, not sure why. Jean Gabin as Bobo was well cast, I'd never heard of him myself before, he is believable as Bobo the gypsy very well. He met Anna mere days ago but is well in love with her enough to marry her and she him and there is a degree of believe-ability here Both of them- Anna and Bobo I cheered for, wished well, and was in love with both of their characters so much, I wanted all of it to be true, in fact so much that it is as if one is watching a slice of life in a 1940s-era San Pedro dock, with the salty but good as gold characters who keep their mouths shut for the right reasons to protect their life long friends.
Sunnyside Up and Red Dot.
hitchcockthelegend24 September 2017
Moontide is directed by Archie Mayo and adapted to screenplay by John O'Hara from the novel written by Willard Robertson. Its stars Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and Claude Rains. Music is by David Buttolph and Cyril J. Mockridge, with cinematography by Charles G. Clarke.
Sometimes weird, sometimes wonderful, but also wasteful, Moontide is a choppy experience. Hindered by production code strong arming and Fritz Lang and Lucien Ballard leaving the initial production, there's an over whelming feeling of what might have been. Story finds Gabin as Bobo, a salty sailor type living and working at the quayside, he likes a drink and after one particularly boozy night he wakes to think he may have killed somebody. Inconvenient since a troubled lady he helped has started to impact greatly on his life.
Pilot Fish Pondering.
Story is absorbing by way of the characters, around Bobo is Tiny (Mitchell), who is a leech by way of having a hold over Bobo. Then there's Nutsy (Rains), who not as his name suggests, is something of an intellectual, while Anna (Lupino) has attempted suicide and on whose appearance sets in motion a chain of dramatic events. All characters operate in and around the waterside, rubbing shoulders with various unseemly types, and it's this setting, with the tech craft on show, that grips from the get go.
Most scenes are filtered through film noir lenses, with mists constant, dim lights prominent, and the glistening of the water belies the darker edges in the play. A drunken hallucinogenic dream is Dali in effect, which is one of a number of strange scenes throughout, of which one is where we find the bizarre sight of Tiny whipping Nutsy in the shower! Certain touchy things are inferred delicately, and conversations are never less than attention holding. If only the plot wasn't so erratic, with so many infuriatingly dangled carrots, then we could have had a higher end proto noir to savour.
Splendidly performed, though, with Mitchell and Lupino not playing to their usual types, and the visuals a real treat for the so inclined of noirish persuasion (Clarke was Oscar Nominated for his work), giving us just enough to have a good time with. Still can't help hankering for Lang and Ballard though... 6.5/10
Sometimes weird, sometimes wonderful, but also wasteful, Moontide is a choppy experience. Hindered by production code strong arming and Fritz Lang and Lucien Ballard leaving the initial production, there's an over whelming feeling of what might have been. Story finds Gabin as Bobo, a salty sailor type living and working at the quayside, he likes a drink and after one particularly boozy night he wakes to think he may have killed somebody. Inconvenient since a troubled lady he helped has started to impact greatly on his life.
Pilot Fish Pondering.
Story is absorbing by way of the characters, around Bobo is Tiny (Mitchell), who is a leech by way of having a hold over Bobo. Then there's Nutsy (Rains), who not as his name suggests, is something of an intellectual, while Anna (Lupino) has attempted suicide and on whose appearance sets in motion a chain of dramatic events. All characters operate in and around the waterside, rubbing shoulders with various unseemly types, and it's this setting, with the tech craft on show, that grips from the get go.
Most scenes are filtered through film noir lenses, with mists constant, dim lights prominent, and the glistening of the water belies the darker edges in the play. A drunken hallucinogenic dream is Dali in effect, which is one of a number of strange scenes throughout, of which one is where we find the bizarre sight of Tiny whipping Nutsy in the shower! Certain touchy things are inferred delicately, and conversations are never less than attention holding. If only the plot wasn't so erratic, with so many infuriatingly dangled carrots, then we could have had a higher end proto noir to savour.
Splendidly performed, though, with Mitchell and Lupino not playing to their usual types, and the visuals a real treat for the so inclined of noirish persuasion (Clarke was Oscar Nominated for his work), giving us just enough to have a good time with. Still can't help hankering for Lang and Ballard though... 6.5/10
Don't look for a Noir. Love, not
friedlandea6 February 2019
Whenever the world becomes too bleak to behold - which, alas, is often - when I want to kick in the TV set because I can't take the news, I call up this film on my computer. When the final credits roll I am mellow again. There is some beauty in life. I have heard this film deprecated. I can only say that those who do so have misunderstood it completely. Two faults are held against it: it fails as a film noir; its story in inconsequential. Neither point is justified.
First of all, it is not a film noir. It has no intention of being a film noir. It does not pretend to be one. True, there are scenes in a waterfront gin joint. Yes, the fog machine works overtime while Thomas Mitchell's "Tiny" is herded over the end of the jetty and into the waves. If those were the criteria for a Noir many other pictures not Noir would be called Noir. Had the studio wanted to film a noir (and in 1942 we are only at the very verge of the era of films noirs) could it have called upon a director less inclined to that spirit than Archie Mayo? If you want a film noir with Thomas Mitchell, a waterfront locale and fog, see "Out of the Fog," which even adds Ida Lupino into the mix. "Moontide" is a love story, a sweet, sweet, simple, love story. Take it as that. Take it for what it is, and you will not be let down. You may even, as I am on a bad day, be uplifted.
Second quibble, the story is meager, inconsequential. Inconsequential is merely a pejorative word for something that is, in all innocence, simple. Simplicity becomes a sin. Yes, the story is simple. The essence of a love story is simplicity. Lovers meet. Lovers part. Lovers are reunited. What more, at bottom, is Wuthering Heights? What makes a love story work? A pair of lovers who merge into one. No pair, in my opinion, did it better than Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino in "Moontide." Theirs is not a fiery, frenzied passion. It is, to repeat the word, sweet; to repeat again, simple, and tender. But it is never "mush." King George V, so the story goes, prayed every night that he might uphold the difference between sentiment and sentimentality. Here we uphold the essence of tenderness without the excesses of the maudlin. No one, in French or English, could play it better than Jean Gabin. Ida Lupino adds a heartbreaking upward intonation to her voice. Simple words become a sort of plea, a plea that she will not be abandoned. A plea for love.
The protagonists are magnificent. Likewise the antagonist. Thomas Mitchell must have relished a chance to do the part of a heavy, though his character is not truly evil but, as Gabin says, weak. (This is not the only chance Mitchell had to delve into villainy; he does it perfectly again in "Dark Waters" a few years later.) As for Ida, she must have relished her chance to play opposite Jean Gabin. Only the year before she came out of her greatest role, opposite Bogart in "High Sierra," with a sour taste. Bogart, peeved apparently that once again he was balked at getting the first credit, treated her badly, belittled her, especially in the last scene, such that she refused ever again to work with him. Her chemistry with Gabin (on and off the set evidently) is of a far finer nature. If you feel low, find this movie and relax.
One more word, anecdotally. Fritz Lang was set to direct the picture. He began, but quit abruptly. He found it hard to work with Jean Gabin, the reason being that they both were lovers of, and rivals for Marlene Dietrich. If so, Marlene apparently made her choice, and it was not Fritz Lang. Mercedes McCambridge in her autobiography (a fascinating book) recalled a party at her house. Among those present were Nicholas Ray, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland and Michael Wilding, and Marlene Dietrich, Mercedes' close friend. Marlene, after a few drinks, held everyone captive while she declaimed a fantasy version of her eventual funeral. It was to be in Paris, filmed of course, a procession down the Champs Elysees, a packed Cathedral of Notre Dame. "The camera picks up a lone figure. It is a man in a rumpled suit ... he is leaning against the wall in an insolent manner, one foot braced against the stone.... Unmoved by the tolling bells and the booming organ, he stands alone ... He is Jean Gabin!"
First of all, it is not a film noir. It has no intention of being a film noir. It does not pretend to be one. True, there are scenes in a waterfront gin joint. Yes, the fog machine works overtime while Thomas Mitchell's "Tiny" is herded over the end of the jetty and into the waves. If those were the criteria for a Noir many other pictures not Noir would be called Noir. Had the studio wanted to film a noir (and in 1942 we are only at the very verge of the era of films noirs) could it have called upon a director less inclined to that spirit than Archie Mayo? If you want a film noir with Thomas Mitchell, a waterfront locale and fog, see "Out of the Fog," which even adds Ida Lupino into the mix. "Moontide" is a love story, a sweet, sweet, simple, love story. Take it as that. Take it for what it is, and you will not be let down. You may even, as I am on a bad day, be uplifted.
Second quibble, the story is meager, inconsequential. Inconsequential is merely a pejorative word for something that is, in all innocence, simple. Simplicity becomes a sin. Yes, the story is simple. The essence of a love story is simplicity. Lovers meet. Lovers part. Lovers are reunited. What more, at bottom, is Wuthering Heights? What makes a love story work? A pair of lovers who merge into one. No pair, in my opinion, did it better than Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino in "Moontide." Theirs is not a fiery, frenzied passion. It is, to repeat the word, sweet; to repeat again, simple, and tender. But it is never "mush." King George V, so the story goes, prayed every night that he might uphold the difference between sentiment and sentimentality. Here we uphold the essence of tenderness without the excesses of the maudlin. No one, in French or English, could play it better than Jean Gabin. Ida Lupino adds a heartbreaking upward intonation to her voice. Simple words become a sort of plea, a plea that she will not be abandoned. A plea for love.
The protagonists are magnificent. Likewise the antagonist. Thomas Mitchell must have relished a chance to do the part of a heavy, though his character is not truly evil but, as Gabin says, weak. (This is not the only chance Mitchell had to delve into villainy; he does it perfectly again in "Dark Waters" a few years later.) As for Ida, she must have relished her chance to play opposite Jean Gabin. Only the year before she came out of her greatest role, opposite Bogart in "High Sierra," with a sour taste. Bogart, peeved apparently that once again he was balked at getting the first credit, treated her badly, belittled her, especially in the last scene, such that she refused ever again to work with him. Her chemistry with Gabin (on and off the set evidently) is of a far finer nature. If you feel low, find this movie and relax.
One more word, anecdotally. Fritz Lang was set to direct the picture. He began, but quit abruptly. He found it hard to work with Jean Gabin, the reason being that they both were lovers of, and rivals for Marlene Dietrich. If so, Marlene apparently made her choice, and it was not Fritz Lang. Mercedes McCambridge in her autobiography (a fascinating book) recalled a party at her house. Among those present were Nicholas Ray, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland and Michael Wilding, and Marlene Dietrich, Mercedes' close friend. Marlene, after a few drinks, held everyone captive while she declaimed a fantasy version of her eventual funeral. It was to be in Paris, filmed of course, a procession down the Champs Elysees, a packed Cathedral of Notre Dame. "The camera picks up a lone figure. It is a man in a rumpled suit ... he is leaning against the wall in an insolent manner, one foot braced against the stone.... Unmoved by the tolling bells and the booming organ, he stands alone ... He is Jean Gabin!"
What's so great about Gabin?
mollytinkers12 October 2022
Is it because he's French? Is it because he's swarthy yet sensitive? Is it because he seems like the type to aggressively pin you against the wall and then make the most tenderest of love to you? I don't know.
What I do know is that Thomas Mitchell shines in this one. You can't go wrong with Lupino. Rains makes the most of as meatless a role as he can. Sadly, Gabin does not strike me as a Hollywood lead.
I think what intrigues me most about this film is the set design. While the juxtaposition between soundstage and screen backdrop is prominent, it somehow melds into a pleasing experience of production design. And there's a reason the cinematographer was Oscar-nominated.
Recommended for diehard fans of 1940s cinema.
What I do know is that Thomas Mitchell shines in this one. You can't go wrong with Lupino. Rains makes the most of as meatless a role as he can. Sadly, Gabin does not strike me as a Hollywood lead.
I think what intrigues me most about this film is the set design. While the juxtaposition between soundstage and screen backdrop is prominent, it somehow melds into a pleasing experience of production design. And there's a reason the cinematographer was Oscar-nominated.
Recommended for diehard fans of 1940s cinema.
Chamber drama on a barge involving very much drink and a few murders, mostly accidental
clanciai16 August 2018
This must be both one of Jean Gabin's and Ida Lupino's best films, although Thomas Mitchell's acting also is better than ever, for once not entirely sympathetic but rather tragically pathetic, and even Claude Rains plays a very unusual part for his qualifications - he stands out as the most mysterious character in this off hand fishing village drama of California, where there is nothing else to do but to work and drink, and you are usually out of work. It's a very Frank Borzage kind of setting and intrigue, which makes it only the more precious for its marvellous direction - Fritz Lang was part of it, and not only Archie Mayo. Ida Lupino enters as a suicide and goes through a marvellous transformation during the course of worrying events, ending up in almost an accidental murder case. You never get to know how Pop Kelly really was murdered or by whom, since everybody involved in the probably accidental murder must have been more than just drunk, and nothing is ever proved, although Ida could be right in her final conclusions. The one who should know everything and probably does is Nutsy (Claude Rains), who keeps sympathetically quiet about it. But it is Jean Gabin's film above all, superbly seconded by Ida Lupino at her very best. The whole film is worth watching just for his entrance.
Ebb tide
jotix10010 October 2004
It is surprising to learn that John O'Hara wrote the screen play for this movie. At least, the way we see it today, it appears sadly dated and devoid of interest. In fact, one has to question what kind of reception this movie had at the time it was released.
Evidently this movie was made on a low budget. It has a feel of a B type picture from the beginning. The set, which passes as San Pablo looks clearly a studio pool. Director Archie Mayo doesn't add anything to make this an interesting story. We know how it will end before hand.
Jean Gabin, the great French film star tried his luck in Hollywood. His career in France was much better than what we see in this vehicle. He has great moments in the movie, but everything is against him, and the film, as we watch it today, appears passe and without any interest for the viewer. At best, it's a curiosity piece and a rarity because M. Gabin's short stay in America. He deserved better!
Ida Lupino is Anna, the girl that wants to drown herself and is rescued by Bobo. She shows in the film she could hold her own against a more experienced and worldly Gabin. Claude Rains, as Nutsy, is hard to recognize in the opening scenes. One wonders why did he take this role since it didn't add anything to his otherwise brilliant career. He must have made this movie right after Casablanca, in which he shines. Thomas Mitchell also appears as Tiny, the heavy man intent in blackmailing Bobo and trying to seduce Anna.
Evidently this movie was made on a low budget. It has a feel of a B type picture from the beginning. The set, which passes as San Pablo looks clearly a studio pool. Director Archie Mayo doesn't add anything to make this an interesting story. We know how it will end before hand.
Jean Gabin, the great French film star tried his luck in Hollywood. His career in France was much better than what we see in this vehicle. He has great moments in the movie, but everything is against him, and the film, as we watch it today, appears passe and without any interest for the viewer. At best, it's a curiosity piece and a rarity because M. Gabin's short stay in America. He deserved better!
Ida Lupino is Anna, the girl that wants to drown herself and is rescued by Bobo. She shows in the film she could hold her own against a more experienced and worldly Gabin. Claude Rains, as Nutsy, is hard to recognize in the opening scenes. One wonders why did he take this role since it didn't add anything to his otherwise brilliant career. He must have made this movie right after Casablanca, in which he shines. Thomas Mitchell also appears as Tiny, the heavy man intent in blackmailing Bobo and trying to seduce Anna.
neither a high tide or low tide for Moon Tide
HimmelskeVaffel11 October 2006
The characters in this movie were on the interesting side even though there were pretty much straight forward and didn't have much emotional depth. The relationship between the characters themselves made the characters somewhat interesting. For Claude Rains fans, it has been said that this is possibly the closest the Rains ever came to playing himself. So, it is interesting to see what he was moderately like.
The drinking montage in the beginning of the film is interesting because it is very surreal...it sort of reminded me of that silent Salivor Dali film that was made.
However, the film was very slow moving and the plot was not really either clever or in-depth. It was a very straight forward plot that you don't really find out what is driving the plot until the end. In the beginning it seems like just a lot of loose ends.
Over all, I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing it if they really wanted to. After all, I even own a copy!
The drinking montage in the beginning of the film is interesting because it is very surreal...it sort of reminded me of that silent Salivor Dali film that was made.
However, the film was very slow moving and the plot was not really either clever or in-depth. It was a very straight forward plot that you don't really find out what is driving the plot until the end. In the beginning it seems like just a lot of loose ends.
Over all, I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing it if they really wanted to. After all, I even own a copy!
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