Moonrise

Had no idea Borzage was capable of this darkness. The opening scene is a minor masterpiece.

A beautiful, poetic film that anticipates "Night of the Hunter" in its magnificent opening sequence. Dane Clark has perhaps the best role of his career, Gail Russell is beautiful, and both Ethel Barrymore and Rex Ingram are fine. Frank Borzage got one last chance at excellence, and he made the best of it here.

Some guy is bullied because his dad was a murderer, so he murders one of the meanies who tease him, and the film goes on to preach that it was totally understandable but that he should still turn himself in. If that sounds embarrassing - it is. The movie is a cheesefest, with jackhammer subtlety and terrible moral short-sightedness. The love interest is little more than a vessel of the film's messaging - naïve as all women are according to 1940s Hollywood.

nteresting sequences and shots from Borzage and a good performance from Russell don't do enough to make up for weak source material and a miscast Dane Clark. The twist for a 40s melodrama is a positive ending after a dark start featuring a fine opening sequence from Borzage. It's mostly down hill from there as Clark plays a role of a much younger man. Ingram does well to avoid the stereotypical portrayal of a magical negro. The end result is a mediocre film with a few remarkable moments.

Equal parts southern gothic, film noir, and French poetic realism, all stirred together and overcooked until it begins to burst at its melodramatic seams. It threatens to be laughable if not for how unassailably sincere and emotive it is from start to finish. There's a crane shot early on that zooms in on a decrepit, fog-shrouded mansion in a swamp at night that made my heart soar; it's one of those moments for which the cinema was made.

I found this melodramatic and somewhat boring with a far too happy ending for its subject matter. For a noir film, I felt it lacked grit.

Ao cair da noite estreava há 75 anos em Los Angeles. Holy shit! Não faço segredo que o Borzage é um dos meus ídolos dentre os cineastas pioneiros, mas aqui ele consegue me deixar mais uma vez boquiaberta com seu trabalho de mise en scène, não tem uma câmera que se posicione de forma menos que espetacular, não tem uma luz que não está na gradação correta. Simplesmente brilhante. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 11.

Wow! Right off the bat he kills Lloyd Bridges! Dane Clark does a real good job as this complicated man. Does fumble the excitement in periods, but regularly reminds us of his desperation with great scenes. The Rex Ingram character was the key to the morality of the story. Gail Russell was sweet. Wish she was more involved. And Ethel Barrymore concludes the tale of the man nicely. It's the combination of all these elements which makes Frank Borzage's Moonrise (1948) special.

Found another gem. A man was taunted and bullied his entire childhood for having a father who was hanged for murder. An incident led to him killing a man accidentally. Should he try to get away with it, or turn himself in?

I get the feeling that Bong Joon-Ho has seen this

Great filmmaking layed on a slim material.

Great direction and cinematography. Often labelled as a noir, but more a humane crime drama. What I really liked about this one is how the psychological isolation of Danny is also a result from his own stubbornness and inclination to see the worst in people as a result of his childhood being bullied, which make blind to lots of understanding people around him. Borzage, the romanticist he is, shows that the predetermined fatalism isn't irreversible; redemption through love is always possible.

85.50

The poetry of shading, angle, motion, and associative editing. This is a formalist's dream, and among the most gorgeous and expressive Golden Age noirs. That grace stumbles over Dane Clark, whose performance is so nerve-wracked that it grates and strains suspension of disbelief. Of course the film is about the anxious torment of a guilty conscious, and aesthetically it seems to exist outside of the real world, but plainly, Danny might as well have "I'm the killer!" stamped on his forehead.

Star Rating: ★★★1/2

reminder (mostly to myself) that kent jones' piece on borzage for film comment is glorious.

watched: 2014, 2018

If this one was more available, it could very well attain Night of the Hunter status. Southern noir, seeped in the humidity - you can practically feel the mosquitos buzzing around you. Haunting, beautiful sequences mixed with suspense as great as Hitchcock. A gem.

I liked the sheriff character and little else.

Strikingly beautiful imagery and great performances make for a haunting and very captivating noir. I found the film's thematic choices more interesting than the narrative ones, as Hawkins seems to do things that depict his melancholy and moral confusion rather than things which would be natural outgrowths of those feelings. This made me have to change my expectations, but it was still a rewarding film to watch.

Noir tinged with a lush, lyrical air. The expressionist melancholy of the film generates a sense that it's floating just above reality. The melodrama is not exactly heightened but made pervasive and ethereal. Borzage's usual attention to mise-en-scene tantalizes the imagination, and I was struck by the multiple references to the concept of witnessing. Probably the only real complaint I have is that Gilly's love for Danny seems to spring out of nowhere. Otherwise, a beautiful film.

Rural noir that shows director Frank Borzage in top form. The much-heralded opener promises more than the rest of the film can deliver, but it's still a sensitive, gorgeous movie with excellent supporting performances and striking imagery. (Other high points beyond the opening include a paranoid freak-out on a ferris wheel, and a chase through a misty swamp.)

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