Moonrise (1948)
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100% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(189 ratings)
All of his life, Danny Hawkins (Dane Clark) has been taunted and mistreated by most of the people around him, enduring innumerable beatings and other humiliations as a boy because his father was a murderer who died on the gallows. He finds it not much better as an adult, living with his aunt in the… More All of his life, Danny Hawkins (Dane Clark) has been taunted and mistreated by most of the people around him, enduring innumerable beatings and other humiliations as a boy because his father was a murderer who died on the gallows. He finds it not much better as an adult, living with his aunt in the small Virginia town of Woodville -- especially when he is contending for the attentions of young schoolteacher Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell) with his boyhood tormentor Jerry Sykes (Lloyd Bridges), whose bullying and arrogance are made worse (and more galling) by the fact that he's the son of the town banker (and its richest man). Sykes picks a fight with Danny and loses for the first time, but he dies in the process. Knowing how the town thinks of him because of his father, Danny tries to hide the body. But for all of his bitterness over how he's been treated, he can't truly escape the feelings of guilt over what he's done -- nor can he escape his fear of what people will probably think. For a time, his new romance with Gilly distracts him, but he's unable to put it out of his mind for long, especially when he's forced to join his good friend Mose (Rex Ingram) on a raccoon hunt that takes them right to the pond where the body is hidden. Soon the sheriff (Allyn Joslyn) is investigating, and he can't help but confer with the one man in town whose judgment he respects nearly as much as his own -- Danny. And when Danny's deaf-mute friend, Billy (Harry Morgan), unknowingly uncovers a key piece of evidence, Danny is pushed almost to the breaking point. He's driven by his own instincts to run away, and invite almost certain capture or death, but Gilly and the sheriff see this as a chance for Danny not only to free himself of the torment over what he's done but from the past that has haunted him and blighted his life -- if only they can reach him and make him understand. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Borzage
- Written By
- Charles F. Haas, Theodore Strauss, Charles S. Haas
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
PG,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1948 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Parte noir, parte melodrama, o filme funciona como estudo de personagens e conto de moralidade, mas se enfraquece sempre que se entrega ao água-com-açúcar entre o conturbado protagonista e a mocinha.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A compromised film noir, due to themes of redemption and a happy ending, the newly restored Moonrise merits attention for it visual and sound elements, particularly stylized b/w cinematography of John Russell, who in 1960 shot Hitchcock's Psycho.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The film's beauty lies in Borzage's overpowering visual mise-en-scene.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Superb, moody Frank Bozage drama.
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Cast
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Dane Clark
as Danny Hawkins
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Gail Russell
as Gilly Johnson
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Ethel Barrymore
as Grandma
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Allyn Joslyn
as Clem Otis
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Rex Ingram
as Mose
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Henry Morgan
as Billy Scripture
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David Street
as Ken Williams
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Selena Royle
as Aunt Jessie
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Harry Carey Jr.
as Jimmy Biff
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Irving Bacon
as Judd Jenkins
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Houseley Stevenson Sr.
as Uncle Joe Jingle
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Harry V. Cheshire
as J.B. Sykes
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Lila Leeds
as Julie
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Lloyd Bridges
as Jerry Sykes
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Clem Bevans
as Jake
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Oliver Blake
as Ed Conlon
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Bill Borzage
as Barker
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Michael Branden
as Barker
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Phil Brown
as Elmer
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Tom Fadden
as Homer Blackstone
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John Harmon
as Baseball Attendant
- Jim Hawkins
- Buzz Henry
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Tommy Ivo
as Jerry Age 7
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Harry Lauter
as Boy
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Doreen McCann
as Girl
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Joel McGinnis
as Boy
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Monte Montague
as Hunter
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Virginia Mullen
as Miss Simpkins
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Steven Peck
as Danny Age 7
- Archie Twitchell
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Helen Wallace
as Martha Otis
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Charles Lane
as Man in Black
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Johnny Calkins
as Danny Age 13
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Tim Hawkins
as Alfie
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Casey MacGregor
as Barker
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Jimmy Crane
as Boy
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Renee Donatt
as Ticket Seller
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Bob Hoffman
as Boy
- James L. Kelly
- George Backus
- Harry Morgan
