#921: BORZAGE, Frank: Moonrise (1948)

-
BORZAGE, Frank (United States)
Moonrise [1948]
Spine #921
Blu-ray


A small-town fable about violence and redemption, Moonrise is the final triumph of Frank Borzage, one of Hollywood's most neglected masters. Stigmatized from infancy by the fate of his criminal father, young Danny (Dane Clark) is bruised and bullied until one night, in a fit of rage, he kills his most persistent tormentor. As the police close in around him, Danny makes a desperate bid for the love of the dead man's fiancée (Gail Russell), a schoolteacher who sees the wounded soul behind his aggression. With this postwar comeback, Borzage recaptured the inspiration that had animated his long and audacious early career, marrying the lyrical force of his romantic sensibility with the psychological anguish of film noir, in a stunning vindication of faith in the power of love.

90 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2018
Director/Writer

Based on the novel Moonrise by Theodore Strauss.
Screenplay by Charles Haas.
Frank Borzage was 54 when he directed Moonrise.

Borzage was quite successful during the silent era, scoring big with Humoresque (1920), and later 7th Heaven (1927), which won the very first Academy Award for Best Director.

Other Borzage films in the Collection:


The Film

From the opening scene, one might get the impression that this is going to be a real film noir ... and one would be mistaken. Shot in intense black and whites, it should have been a noir. But Borzage is too flexible to get trapped in any type of genre here; there is lots of subtle, facial acting — and the ending is certainly the antithesis to noir.

Republic Studios is known for its B-picture factory. Normally, they would spend about $50,000 — but here they gave Borzage a budget of $850,000. Although almost completely shot in studio, the film moves along nicely and is believable.

Dane Clark is Danny Hawkins, a victim of bullying since childhood, who kills his primary tormentor, Jerry Sykes (Lloyd Bridges). Gail Russell (what a sad story) is Gilly Johnson, a schoolteacher who — over time — falls for Danny.

Rex Ingram is great as Mose Jackson, a Black man with the voice of God. An usually woke role for 1948.

Film Rating (0-60):

50

The Extras

 The Booklet
Eight-fold foldout poster featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp.

Commentary

None.

Conversation

between author Hervé Dumont (Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic) and film historian Peter Cowie.
Interesting conversation.

Skimpy extras.

Extras Rating (0-40):

30

50 + 30 =

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine #

-
The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine # 0000A: No spine #: Ingmar Bergman's Cinema (BERGMAN, Ingmar) [1946-2003] {Sweden} Crisis [1946] A Ship To India [1947] Port Of Call [1948] Thirst [1949] To Joy [1950] Summer Interlude [1951] Waiting Women [1952] Sawdust And Tinsel [1953]  [ 89 ] Summer With Monika [1953] A Lesson In Love [1954] Dreams [1955] Smiles Of A Summer Night [1955] The Seventh Seal [1957] Wild Strawberries [1957]  [ 93 ] Brink Of Life [1958] The Magician [1958] The Devil's Eye [1960] The Virgin Spring [1960] Through A Glass Darkly [1961] The Silence [1963] Winter Light [1963] All These Women [1964] Persona [1966]  [ 94 ] Hour Of The Wolf [1968] Shame [1968] The Passion Of Anna [1969] The Rite [1969] Fårö Document [1970] The Touch [1971] Cries And Whispers [1972] Scenes From A Marriage [1973] The Magic Flute [1975] The Serpent's Egg [1977] Autumn Sonata [1978] Fårö Document 1979 [1979] From The Life Of The Marionette...
Read more

#331: OZU, Yasujiro: Late Spring (1949)

-
Image
OZU, Yasujiro (Japan) Late Spring [1949] Spine #331 DVD One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu's family portraits, Late Spring (Banshun) tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever — almost alone justifying Ozu's inclusion in the pantheon of cinema's greatest directors. 108 minutes Black & White Monaural in Japanese 1:33:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2006 Director/Writers Based on the novel Chichi to musume (Father and Daughter) by Kazuo Hirotsu . Script by Kogo Noda and  Yasujiro Ozu . Ozu was 46 when he directed Late Spring . Other Ozu films in the Collection: Eclipse Series 42: Walk Cheerfully (1930) Eclipse Series 42: That Night's Wife (1930) Eclipse Series 10: Tokyo Chorus (1931) Eclipse Series 10: I Was Born, But . . . (1932) Ec...
Read more

#589: KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof: Three Colors: White (1994)

-
Image
THREE COLORS {Spine #587} KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof (France) Three Colors: White [1994] Spine #589 Blu-ray The most plalyful and also the grittiest of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors films follows the adventures of Karol Karol, a Polish immigrant living in France. The hapless hairdresser opts to leave Paris for his native Warsaw when his wife sues him for divorce (her reason: their marriage was never consummated) and then frames him for arson after setting her own salon ablaze. White , which goes on to chronicle Karol Karol's elaborate revenge plot, manages to be both a ticklish dark comedy about the economic inequalities of Eastern and Western Europe and a sublime reverie on twisted love. 91 minutes Color 2.0 Surround in French and Polish 1:85:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2011 Director/Writers Screenplay by Krzysztof Piesiewicz and  Krzysztof Kieślowski . Kie ś lowski was 52 when he directed  White . ** K ie ś lowski ’s earliest films were docu...
Read more