Moonfleet (1955)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

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

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
Skelton Knaggs	...	Jacob
Richard Hale	...	Starkill
John Alderson	...	Nathanial Greening
Ashley Cowan	...	Tomson
Frank Ferguson	...	Coachman
Booth Colman	...	Capt. Stanhope
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oliver Blake	...	Crispin - Jeremy's Guest (uncredited)
Leo Britt	...	Ephraim (uncredited)
Dorinda Clifton	...	Blindfold Woman (uncredited)
Tom Cound	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Charles Davis	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Jean Del Val	...	French Captain (uncredited)
Michelle Ducasse	...	Crying Girl (uncredited)
Elspeth Dudgeon	...	Granny Walker - Old Woman in Church (uncredited)
Alex Frazer	...	Tooley - Footman (uncredited)
Lillian Kemble-Cooper	...	Mary Hicks (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Guest (uncredited)
Guy Kingsford	...	Capt. Hawkins (uncredited)
James Logan	...	Officer (uncredited)
Peggy Maley	...	Tavern Maid (uncredited)
Keith McConnell	...	Officer (uncredited)
John O'Malley	...	Lt. Upjohn (uncredited)
Patrick O'Moore	...	Officer (uncredited)
Bruce Payne	...	Clarista's Footman (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Granny Tucker (uncredited)
Jack Raine	...	Frame (uncredited)
Gordon Richards	...	Marling (uncredited)
Erin Selwyn	...	Guest (uncredited)
Guy Teague	...	Coachman (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Ben Wright	...	Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Fritz Lang

Writing credits
J. Meade Falkner		(novel)
Jan Lustig		(screenplay) and
Margaret Fitts		(screenplay)

Produced by
John Houseman	....	producer
Jud Kinberg	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Robert H. Planck		(director of photography) (as Robert Planck)

Film Editing by
Albert Akst

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Hans Peters

Set Decoration by
Richard Pefferle
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor

Editorial Department
Alvord Eiseman	....	color consultant

Music Department
Vicente Gómez	....	composer: flamenco music (as Vicente Gomez)
Vicente Gómez	....	musician: flamenco music (as Vicente Gomez)
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (UK) (theatrical) (as Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1960) (France) (theatrical)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)

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 was the final film for Skelton Knaggs. This film was released almost two months after his death.

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:

Referenced in Noroît (1976)

Solid and enjoyable adventure suitable and accessible for family viewing

Young John Mohune comes to Dorset to meet a man called Jeremy Fox who he believes was a friend of his late mother and will help look after him. Expecting a friend in Fox, John is upset to find an uncaring man who has no interest in John. He persists though in trying to gain the friendship and attention of Fox even in the face of great dissuasion. All Fox's acquaintances are rather desperate men, which fly in the face of his rather "proper" appearance. John doesn't suspect anything, being a child, but the area is famous for smugglers and Fox may be connected and perhaps be more dangerous than anyone realises – not least the innocent John Mohune.

I watched this film simply because I was a bit taken aback by the fact that it was a Fritz Lang film. Not being a name I would have associated with a period film I decided to take a look and see what he did with it. In fairness Falkner's source material does give him something to work with and there are interesting themes and ideas running through it. It takes a little bit to get going but after a while the smuggling story and the relationships make for a good adventure that is brisk enough for children while also having a bit of meat for the adults. I quite enjoyed the sweeping adventure feel it had but I was more interested in the character of Fox, who is never a "good man" and is all the better for it (in terms of the narrative). Lang appears to be interested in this as well, and he does make Fox the biggest part of the film.

Granger rises to this by turning in a solid performance where he is a rough character but not to the point where he loses the audience. The problem with the film is not with him – unfortunately it is with Jon Whiteley. He is too cute and very much a child actor – and I don't mean that in a good way. He isn't really able to emote and, apologies for the lack of intelligent criticism, but he just got on my nerves. I'm sure this film didn't want to go too deep but I would be happy to see a remake of this with a stronger and more natural child actor in the role, that may allow the relationship to be developed a bit further. Sanders is always a welcome presence but he is given very little to do. The rest of the support cast are all solid enough but the film is pretty much Granger's and he works it well even if Whiteley isn't up to much.

Overall though this is a solid little adventure tale that makes for solid family viewing. It is brisk and swashbuckling enough to entertain children while the solid yarn will engage adults. The cast mostly give a good account of themselves and, while I didn't hate him, I must admit that Whiteley was annoying to me personally and his performance here suggested a good education but a limited ability.