Moonfleet (1955)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

J. Meade Falkner (novel)
Jan Lustig (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Moonfleet is set in Dorset, England. The Fleet refers to the land just west of Portland, Southern England.

Plot Keywords:

Smuggling | One Word Title | Diamond | Based On Novel

Cast

Stewart Granger	...	Jeremy Fox
George Sanders	...	Lord James Ashwood
Joan Greenwood	...	Lady Clarista Ashwood
Viveca Lindfors	...	Mrs. Minton
Jon Whiteley	...	John Mohune
Liliane Montevecchi	...	Gypsy (as Liliane Montevecchi of the Ballet de Paris)
Melville Cooper	...	Felix Ratsey
Sean McClory	...	Elzevir Block
Alan Napier	...	Parson Glennie
John Hoyt	...	Magistrate Maskew
Donna Corcoran	...	Grace
Jack Elam	...	Damen
Dan Seymour	...	Hull
Ian Wolfe	...	Tewkesbury
Lester Matthews	...	Major Hennishaw

Also Known As:

Das Schloß im Schatten (Austria) [de]
Das Schloss im Schatten (West Germany) [de]
Il covo dei contrabbandieri (Italy) [it]
Kätketty aarre (Finland) [fi]
Les contrebandiers de Moonfleet (France) [fr]
Los contrabandistas de Moonfleet (Spain) [es]
Mens bøddelen ventede (Denmark) [da]
O Tesouro do Barba Ruiva (Portugal) [pt]
O gentleman tou ypokosmou (Greece) [el]
Slottet i skuggan (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

USA:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (1955) (cut) | USA:Approved (certificate #17271) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Oceanside, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This film was simultaneously produced in two different versions. A CinemaScope version which has an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, and a spherical (non-CinemaScope) version intended to be matted during projection to a 1.75:1 aspect ratio.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Right at the beginning of the film, when the little boy comes to, there's a shot where we can see the people surrounding him (as seen by the boy). But judging by the boy's place on the table in the next shot, he should be looking at the people upside down.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Les messages de Fritz Lang (2001) (V)

An enjoyable adventure

I just watched Moonfleet for the first time and enjoyed it. I taped it one afternoon from the TV as it is not available on video.

A young boy is sent to the town of Moonfleet by his dying mother to be looked after by an old flame of hers. While there, he gets into all sorts of adventures and dangers including smuggling, grave robbing and treasure.

The cast includes a good performance by Stewart Granger and is joined by George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, John Hoyt and young Jon Whiteley.

I read in one review that this move is family viewing but I thought some of the scenes in it including the dead man hanging from a pole at the beginning may be a little too scary for younger children.

An excellent movie.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.