Blood on the Moon
Encyclopedia
Blood on the Moon is an RKO
black-and-white
"psychological" western
directed by Robert Wise
with cinematography
by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum
, Barbara Bel Geddes
, and Robert Preston
has many film noir
elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona
. The picture is based on the novel Gunman's Chance by Luke Short
.
Riling intends to swindle naive landowners in an elaborate scheme involving a plan to make sure that cattle owner Lufton and his family don't get grazing land, thereby losing their stock.
At first aligning himself with Riling, Garry finally figures out that his so-called friend is up to no good. He switches loyalty to Lufton and his daughters, leading to a bloody showdown.
gave the film a good review and lauded Robert Mitchum's acting and Lilly Hayward's screenplay:
The film was also reviewed favorably by Variety
magazine:
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
"psychological" western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
directed by Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
with cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
, and Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
has many film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona...
. The picture is based on the novel Gunman's Chance by Luke Short
Luke Short (writer)
Luke Short was a popular Western writer.Born in Kewanee, Illinois Glidden attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for two and a half years and then transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia to study journalism.Following graduation in 1930 he worked for a number of...
.
Plot
Drifter cowboy Jim Garry receives a job offer by mail from smooth-talking Tate Riling. Garry rides into an Indian reservation and finds himself in the middle of a feud between cattle ranchers and homesteaders. Garry doesn't realize that his new boss Riling is a criminal.Riling intends to swindle naive landowners in an elaborate scheme involving a plan to make sure that cattle owner Lufton and his family don't get grazing land, thereby losing their stock.
At first aligning himself with Riling, Garry finally figures out that his so-called friend is up to no good. He switches loyalty to Lufton and his daughters, leading to a bloody showdown.
Cast
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Jim Garry - Barbara Bel GeddesBarbara Bel GeddesBarbara Bel Geddes was an American actress, artist and children's author. She is best known for her role in the television drama series Dallas as matriarch Eleanor "Miss Ellie" Ewing. Bel Geddes also starred in the original Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the role of Maggie...
as Amy Lufton - Robert PrestonRobert Preston (actor)-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
as Tate Riling - Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Kris Barden - Phyllis ThaxterPhyllis Thaxter-Early life and career:Born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, she was the daughter of Maine Supreme Court Justice Sidney Thaxter and his wife, a former actress. Thaxter worked on Broadway in the 1930s and signed an MGM contract in 1944...
as Carol Lufton - Frank FaylenFrank FaylenFrank Faylen was an American movie and television actor.Born Frank Ruf in St. Louis, Missouri, he began his acting career as an infant appearing with his vaudeville performing parents on stage...
as Jake Pindalest - Tom TullyTom TullyTom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
as John Lufton - Charles McGrawCharles McGrawCharles Butters , best known by his stage name Charles McGraw, was an American actor, who made his first film in 1942, albeit in a small, uncredited role. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa.-Career:...
as Milo Sweet - Clifton YoungClifton YoungRobert Howard "Clifton" Young was an American film actor.-Career:Born Robert H. Young, the child actor played "Bonedust" in nineteen Our Gang films from 1925 to 1931, his most notable film being School's Out...
as Joe Shotten - Tom TylerTom TylerTom Tyler was an American actor in silent and sound motion pictures, best known for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the acclaimed 1941 movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel.-Biography:...
as Frank Reardon - George CooperGeorge CooperGeorge Stephen Cooper , was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.He umpired two Test matches between 1948 and 1950...
as Fred Barden - Tom Keene as Ted Elser
- Bud OsborneBud OsborneBud Osborne was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films and television programs between 1912 and 1963.Osborne was born in Knox County, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack...
as Cap Willis - Zon Murray as Nels Titterton
- Robert BrayRobert BrayRobert E. Bray was an American film and television actor probably best remembered for his role as the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the long-running CBS series Lassie.-Life and career:...
as Bart Daniels
Critical reception
The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the film a good review and lauded Robert Mitchum's acting and Lilly Hayward's screenplay:
- ...Blood on the Moon still stands out from run-of-the-range action dramas. The reason is obvious enough. This picture has a sound, sensible story to tell and, besides, it is well acted. Robert Mitchum carries the burden of the film and his acting is superior all the way...Lillie Hayward's screen play, taken from a novel by Luke Short, is solidly constructed and by not over-emphasizing Jim Garry's inherent honesty, she has permitted Mr. Mitchum to illuminate a character that is reasonable and most always interesting. The same can be said of the rancher's daughter, whom Miss Bel Geddes represents. Others who give worthy help include Walter Brennan, Mr. Preston, Phyllis Thaxter, Frank Faylen and Tom Tully. And a word should be said, too, for the direction by Robert Wise. A comparative newcomer to the directorial ranks, he has managed to keep the atmosphere of this leisurely paced film charged with impending violence.
The film was also reviewed favorably by Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine:
- Blood on the Moon is a terse, tightly-drawn western drama. There's none of the formula approach to its story telling. Picture captures the crisp style used by Luke Short in writing his western novels...Picture's pace has a false sense of leisureliness that points up several tough moments of action. There is a deadly knock-down and drag-out fist fight between Mitchum and Preston; a long chase across snow-covered mountains and the climax gun battle between Preston's henchmen and Mitchum, Brennan and Bel Geddes that are loaded with suspense wallop.