Moonrise

Moonrise. Poster from B-Noir Detour. Please click to enlarge the image.

Kuun noustessa / Månen går upp. US © 1948 Chas K. Feldman Group. A Republic release. D: Frank Borzage. P+SC: Charles Haas – based on a novel by Theodore Strauss (1946). DP: John L. Russell. M: William Lava. "Moonrise" (William Lava, Harry Tobias). "Lonesome" (Theodore Strauss, William Lava) sung by David Street.
    Starring Dane Clark (Danny Hawkins), Gail Russell (Gilly Johnson), Ethel Barrymore (Grandma), Allyn Joslyn (Clem Otis), Rex Ingram (Mose), Harry Carey, Jr. (Jimmy Biff), Lloyd Bridges (Jerry Sykes). 88 min.
    Brilliant print from UCLA restoration master; beautiful definition of light.
    Viewed at Orion, Helsinki, 27 Feb 2005.

A dramatic opening montage brings us straight to the heart of this film noir: the curse of the convicted and hanged man shadowing the life of the son. The oblique and forceful visual conception is consistent through the picture: night, fog, shadows, silhouettes, fragmented bodies, partly seen faces. This is a strongly visual film. Also the music is good noir. The actors are a bit pale, themselves on the verge of being drowned in the menacing shadows. ***+