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Simply A Masterpiece

Perfect cast and a good story

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

MOONFLEET, a swashbuckling tale of smuggling and conspiracy, is based on a historical adventure novel of old. It's all but forgotten today, which is a pity as this is a fairly good, if old-fashioned movie. Instead of focusing on the usual derring-do and feats of heroism, the focus of the movie is a relationship between an innocent young boy and one of the most feared smugglers working the coast.What follows offers twists-aplenty, steadfast direction from seasoned professional Fritz Lang, and some colourful costumes. The locales are well drawn and the characters are fun to watch. Stewart Granger is, as usual, slightly arrogant and stand-offish, but it's youthful Scots actor Jon Whiteley who holds it all together as the boy. He's not your usual whining/crying little screen kid, instead a tough and resourceful character whom it's impossible to dislike.MOONFLEET works some great set-pieces into its running time, from the lightning strike in a creepy graveyard to the subsequent hunt through smuggling dens and old crypts. The action, although limited, is jolly, and the twist ending is particularly fine, something I didn't spot coming at all. MOONFLEET is no classic but fans of classic cinema will enjoy it.

Somewhere Over the Ocean Blue One recent afternoon, as the heat crept up the sides of the verdant foothills, I chanced to watch the very last film of one, Skelton Knaggs. He of the ugliest of the liver damaged wing watchers. He passed on to the fields of Oberon before the film was released, but his visage lighted the battlements of it in fantabulous color and Cinemascope. He had no dialog, but was there to add what paltry finesse he could to the proceedings. It is a kind of Robert Louis Stevens-ish buck swashler with a beauteous score by Miklos Rozsa and a half hearted direction by Fritz Lang, who seemed to spend not too much time on it, but wanted to get in line for a ticket on a sea voyage homeward bound. It starred Stewart Granger whom I have always enjoyed because he was a leading man who did not care if his hair was turning gray. Avast me hardies, and give 'em lead!

Little B-pictures like this don't tend to have a lot going for them. There is much about Moonfleet to indicate it comes from the lower end of studio output – a now-obscure adventure novel as its source text, minimal sets, outdoor scenes on the back-lot, garish costume design and Fritz Lang in the director's chair. Not that Lang was a bad director – far from it – but he was never allowed to get his hands on anything prestigious during his Hollywood years, and his name in the credits is as good as sign of "cheap and cheerful" as any. However the great thing about movie-making is that inventiveness and flair cost nothing, and these are things Lang had by the bucketful.The daunting and adventuresome spirit of the novel really seems to have inspired Lang, and from the offset he fills the screen with the kind of disturbing imagery that he always did so well – a nightmarish stone angel, hands appearing out of the earth, a hanged criminal creaking in the breeze, all shot with a painterly precision that heightens their macabre impact. Also integral to Lang's approach is the way he utilises the barren sets to create stark empty spaces in his shots. A great example is when Stewart Granger first appears. Lang has the camera track back, gradually opening out the space, which is all the more effective because the shots leading up to that moment had very close, tight compositions. Many of the compositions have some conspicuous empty space or distant vanishing point, and the whole picture acquires this desolate feel, as if we are a long way from law, safety and normal civilization. So what has this to do with the story? Well, it's very simple for feelings of fear and unease to flip over into ones of excitement. It's that fine line between the creepy and the thrilling that really brings the adventure plot to life. Lang even places us squarely inside the sense of danger with point-of-view shots in the scene where young Jon Whitely is hiding from the smugglers in the crypt.One of the biggest holes in these low-budget productions was often the cast, but while none of the performances in Moonfleet is exactly outstanding, there is a good balancing out of adequate ones. Whitely, Granger and the ubiquitous George Sanders give restrained and naturalistic turns, each convincing and never too exuberant. Granger in particular keeps things at a steady pace, and succinctly shows his character's conflicting emotions through subtle changes in his face. On the other hand we have some gloriously expressive and theatrical performances from various bit players, keeping up that slight unworldly tone, but only in roles which are small enough that they do not threaten to unbalance the picture. The stand-out among these latter players is Alan Napier as the fire-and-brimstone pastor, who gets one brief yet riveting appearance.Moonfleet also happens to be one of a number of pictures from the 1950s which it appears would later be reference points in the Indiana Jones movies of the 1980s. Specifically, the afore-mentioned crypt scene reminds me of the opening of Last Crusade, in which the teenage Indy spies on a gang of treasure-hungry hoodlums. The underground burial chamber is also reminiscent of the Venetian catacombs from later in the same movie. Although these similarities could be coincidental, it is perfectly believable that Moonfleet would fire the imagination of a nine-year-old Steven Spielberg and sear itself into his brain, all testament to the powerful imagery and keen sense of adventure that transcends its low-budget roots.

This film is overrated in France which at first sight appears bizarre to say the least but when you see that the same country gives first class status to a boring, intolerable and annoying comedian like Jerry Lewis, ANYTHING is possible ! That said, the film certainly makes for good entertainment and both Stewart Granger and George Sanders are very entertaining, as is the boy who plays John Mohune. I am not sure where this was filmed but had difficulty recognizing the Dorset Coast which is one of the most spectacular coasts in the British Isles. The main negative point of the film is the plot which is fairly limited and leaves the spectator thirsting for something a little more meaty. As much of the film is seen through the eyes of the child, this bestows an original quality upon it. I have not read the original novel so have no way of comparing it to the film but in general I tend to compare films and novels separately and not always try to see if the film adheres closely to the novel. Certain licence must be taken when bringing something to the screen. The DVD of Moonfleet was issued in France sometime during the first half of this year (2007).