MOONRISE

Moonrise was originally intended as a project for William Wellman, to star either James Stewart or John Garfield (with whom Dane Clark has been compared), but was eventually turned over to Frank Borzage. Long known as one of the screens premier romanticists, Borzage crafted this odd combination of film noir and small-town Americana while exploring a favorite theme, the plight of desperate lovers hanging on in the face of adversity. Danny Hawkins (Clark) has endured a hapless childhood, continually tormented by others because his father was hanged for murder. Now grown, he accidentally kills one of his childhood persecutors (Lloyd Bridges) and must struggle with nearly pathological guilt. Borzage and producer-screenwriter Charles Haas show us the brutality at the edge of Americana, with bright soda fountains and a county fair offset by rain-slicked streets and a foreboding swamp. Gail Russell gives a sensitive performance as Clarks patient sweetheart, Rex Ingram is outstanding as Clark's friend and conscience, Mose, a philosophical hermit. Clark and Ingram's relationship, matter-of-factly ignoring racial barriers, is singularly humane and genuine. Cinematographer John L. Russell provides the film with stunning visuals, notably the disturbing opening sequence at the gallows, and the violent fight between Clark and Bridges. Moonrise manages to balance tough realism and lyrical romance, and is arguably its great director's last important film. (Ed Carter)

Director: Frank Borzage.
Screenplay: Charles Haas, dalla novella di Theodore Strauss.
Director of photography: John L. Russell.
Editor: Harry Keller.
Music: William Lava.
Cast: Dane Clark, Gail Russell, Ethel Barrymoore, Allyn Joslyn, Henry Morgan, Rex Ingram, David Street, Selena Royle, Harry Carey jr., Irving Bacon, Lloyd Bridges, Housely Stevenson, Phil Brown, Harry V. Cheshire, Lila Leeds, Clem Bevans.
Director of Production: Charles Haas.
Production company: Republic Pictures Corp.

Conservazione e restauro: Realizzati dall'UCLA sulla pellicola originale e sul negativo a 35mm.

Preservation history: Preserved at UCLA from original 35mm nitrate picture and track negatives.

Note di programmazione: Nella carriera di Borzage questo è un film insolito, uscì al termine di un decennio nel quale il noir era all'apice della produzione hollywoodiana. Moonrise possiede elementi di questo stile, ma, ancora una volta, ad essere in primo piano sono la vicenda personale di due amanti e la forza di redenzione che ha l'amore nella vita della gente. Il modo in cui il passato può intromettersi e modellare l'esistenza di coloro che vivono al presente è narrativizzato nella storia di un giovane il cui padre è stato impiccato per omicidio e che ha vissuto con quel terribile ricordo sin dall'infanzia. Quando viene accusato di un crimine analogo, egli deve decidere se fuggire e abbandonare la donna che ama oppure affrontare la paura nell'interesse di quell'amore.