The Moon Is Down (1943)
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100% of users liked it
(51 ratings)
In this downbeat drama based on a novel by John Steinbeck (which was also adapted for the stage), German troops invade Norway during WWII, and Nazi forces occupy a small town. Col. Lanser (Cedric Hardwicke), the officer in charge of the occupation, believes that reason and the illusion of… More In this downbeat drama based on a novel by John Steinbeck (which was also adapted for the stage), German troops invade Norway during WWII, and Nazi forces occupy a small town. Col. Lanser (Cedric Hardwicke), the officer in charge of the occupation, believes that reason and the illusion of cooperation will achieve more than open hostility against the townspeople, and he tries to persuade the city fathers to work with him. However, an anti-Nazi resistance force soon springs into action, and they begin sabotaging German installations and materiel and assassinating Axis officers. Mayor Orden (Henry Travers) gently but stubbornly refuses to assist Lanser in any way, as he tacitly aids the resistance movement. Eventually, Lanser is forced to respond to the continuing anti-Nazi actions with a series of arrests and executions, but the Norwegians bravely remain steadfast against the enemies to the end. One of the children in the village is played by Natalie Wood, who was a mere five years old at the time (it was her second film, following a small role in Happy Land). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Irving Pichel
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Mar 14, 1943 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
The film's main problem is that it achieves one of the things it sets out to do: it makes the Norwegians faceless and anonymous.
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Cast
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Cedric Hardwicke
as Col. Lanser
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Henry Travers
as Mayor Orden
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Lee J Cobb
as Dr. Winter
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Peter van Eyck
as Lt. Tonder
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Doris Bowden
as Molly Morden
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Margaret Wycherly
as Mme. Orden
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Henry Rowland
as Capt. Loft
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E.J. Ballantine
as George Corell
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Irving Pichel
as Inn Keeper
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Violette Wilson
as Peder's Wife
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Hans Schumm
as Capt. Bentick
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Ernst Dorian
as Major Hunter
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John Banner
as Lt. Prackle
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Helene Thimig
as Annie
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Ian Wolfe
as Joseph
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Kurt Kreuger
as Orderly
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Jeff Corey
as Albert
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Louis V. Arco
as Schumann
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Ernst Hausman
as Moeller
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Charles McGraw
as Ole
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Trevor Bardette
as Foreman
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John Mylong
as Staff Officer
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Otto Reichow
as Sergeant
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Sven Hugo Borg
as Sergeant
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Dorothy Peterson
as Mother
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Ernst Deutsch
as Maj. Hunter
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William Post Jr.
as Alex Morden
- William Prince
