Moonfleet (film)

Last updated
Moonfleet
Moonfleet poster.jpg
Directed by Fritz Lang
Written by Jan Lustig  [ de ]
Margaret Fitts
Based on Moonfleet
1898 novel
by J. Meade Falkner
Produced by John Houseman
Starring Stewart Granger
George Sanders
Joan Greenwood
Viveca Lindfors
Cinematography Robert H. Planck
Edited by Albert Akst
Music byVicente Gómez
Miklós Rózsa
Distributed by MGM
Release dates
  • June 24, 1955 (1955-06-24)(U.S.)

1960 (France)
Running time
87 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,955,000 [1]
Box office$1,574,000 [1]

Moonfleet is a 1955 Eastman Color swashbuckler film shot in CinemaScope directed by Fritz Lang. It was inspired by the 1898 novel Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner, [2] although significant alterations were made in the characters and plot.

Contents

Plot

A gothic melodrama set in England during the 18th century, the film is about John Mohune, a young orphan (Jon Whiteley), who is sent to the Dorset village of Moonfleet to stay with his mother's former lover, Jeremy Fox. Fox (Stewart Granger), is a morally ambiguous character, an elegant gentleman intimately involved with smugglers. [3] On the run from the law, Mohune and Fox must decipher a coded message in their pursuit of a fabulous diamond hidden long ago.

Cast

Production

The book was published in England in 1898 but not published in the US until 1951. [4] Reviews were excellent. [5]

MGM bought the film rights and announced Stewart Granger as the star immediately. William Wright was originally going to produce. [6]

Then the job of producing went to John Houseman. [7] Houseman later recalled, "the novel was written back about 1890, was as successful as Treasure Island had been, and then was totally forgotten. The man [J. Meade Falkner] never wrote anything else. It was a grim story, a realistic adventure story about pirates and a little boy who accidentally got himself involved with them. There was no sex. But then we began to have fun with it, and embroider it." [8]

At one stage Merle Oberon was going to be the female lead. [9] Eventually Joan Greenwood was brought over from England.

In October 1953 the film was officially put on MGM's schedule. [10]

Shooting

Filming took place in September 1954. "We are trying to make it one of the best of its type", said Houseman. [11]

Director Fritz Lang said the story "calls for mood, for atmosphere. The smugglers work in the dark, on hazy days. I plan to light my principals just as you would in a play, dropping shadows on the sides of the stage to concentrate on the main action and the players involved in it." [12]

The movie was shot almost entirely on the MGM backlot, augmented by a few shots of the California coast. During filming, James Dean visited the set; Stewart Granger said his manner was rude and dismissive. [13]

Houseman said, "I got along fine with Fritz Lang, even though we screamed and yelled at each other. But he was very anxious to make a picture at Metro, and he rather wanted to make a picture with me. On the whole, we managed to turn out something very much off the beaten track-and... we had a good time." [8]

Granger later said : "I hated working with Fritz Lang – he was a Kraut and it was a bloody awful film. I wanted to produce and act it in Cornwall and made them buy the book. MGM turned it into a big colour film. Moonfleet was not Lang's type of film – it is a romantic child's film. It wasn't a bad part." [14]

Houseman says one time during filming his associate producer, Jud Kinberg, "came down to the stage and heard this awful caterwauling. As he got near he heard: [German accent] "You are not a professional! We pay you a lot of money to be a professional actor, and it seems to me you are stupid, you are lazy, you are nothing at all...!" Jud came around the corner, and saw that the recipient of this was a little boy of eleven!" [8] The little boy being referred to was obviously Jon Whiteley, as he was the only boy actor in the film. But Jon was only nine years old during the filming and not eleven.

Reception

Houseman later said, "It ended up being rather a crazy type of picture – still much admired by European filmmakers – but, commercially, it was a disaster." [8]

The film was a critical and financial failure on release. According to MGM records the movie earned $567,000 in the US and Canada and $1,007,000 overseas. It made a loss of $1,203,000. [1]

The film was released in France in 1960 and had 917,219 admissions. [15]

The prestigious French film publication Cahiers du Cinéma named Moonfleet as one of the 100 most essential films ever made, listing it at #32.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Moonfleet</i> (novel) 1898 novel by J. Meade Falkner

Moonfleet is an 1898 novel written by English writer J. Meade Falkner. The plot is an adventure tale of smuggling, treasure, and shipwreck set in 18th-century England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Greenwood</span> English actress (1921–1987)

Joan Mary Waller Greenwood was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and also appeared in The Man in the White Suit (1951), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Stage Struck (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and Little Dorrit (1987).

<i>The Bad and the Beautiful</i> 1952 film

The Bad and the Beautiful is a 1952 American melodrama that tells the story of a film producer who alienates everyone around him. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, written by George Bradshaw and Charles Schnee, and stars Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell, Barry Sullivan, Gloria Grahame and Gilbert Roland. The Bad and the Beautiful won five Academy Awards out of six nominations in 1952, a record for the most awards for a movie that was not nominated for Best Picture or for Best Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Simmons</span> British actress and singer (1929–2010)

Jean Merilyn Simmons was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and after the Second World War, followed mainly by Hollywood films from 1950 onwards.

<i>Young Bess</i> 1953 film by George Sidney

Young Bess is a 1953 Technicolor biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England. It stars Jean Simmons as Elizabeth and Stewart Granger as Thomas Seymour, with Charles Laughton as Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, a part he had played 20 years before in The Private Life of Henry VIII. The film was directed by George Sidney and produced by Sidney Franklin, from a screenplay by Jan Lustig and Arthur Wimperis based on the novel of the same title by Margaret Irwin (1944).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Houseman</span> British-American actor and film producer (1902–1988)

John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane and his collaboration, as producer of The Blue Dahlia, with writer Raymond Chandler on the screenplay. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the 1973 film The Paper Chase. He reprised the role of Kingsfield in the 1978 television series adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Granger</span> British actor (1913-1993)

Stewart Granger was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Tamblyn</span> American actor

Russell Irving Tamblyn, also known as Rusty Tamblyn, is an American film and television actor and dancer.

<i>Green Fire</i> 1954 American film by Andrew Marton

Green Fire is a 1954 American CinemaScope and Eastmancolor adventure drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Andrew Marton and produced by Armand Deutsch, with original music by Miklós Rózsa. The picture stars Grace Kelly, Stewart Granger, Paul Douglas and John Ericson.

<i>William Shakespeares Julius Caesar</i> 1953 Shakespearean film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Julius Caesar is a 1953 American film adaptation of the Shakespearean play, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by John Houseman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, Louis Calhern as Caesar, Edmond O'Brien as Casca, Greer Garson as Calpurnia, and Deborah Kerr as Portia.

<i>The Last Hunt</i> 1956 film

The Last Hunt is a 1956 American western film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger, with Lloyd Nolan, Debra Paget and Russ Tamblyn. It was produced by Dore Schary at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was by Richard Brooks from the novel The Last Hunt, by Milton Lott. The music score was by Daniele Amfitheatrof and the cinematography by Russell Harlan.

Norman Krasna was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's Princess O'Rourke, which he also directed.

<i>Scaramouche</i> (1952 film) 1952 American film by George Sidney

Scaramouche is a 1952 romantic swashbuckler film starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. Filmed in Technicolor, the MGM production is loosely based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramon Novarro. It was directed by George Sidney and produced by Carey Wilson from a screenplay by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel. The original music score was composed by Victor Young and the cinematography by Charles Rosher.

<i>The Little Hut</i> 1957 film

The Little Hut is a 1957 British romantic comedy film made by MGM starring Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger and David Niven. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by Robson and F. Hugh Herbert, from a screenplay by Herbert, adapted by Nancy Mitford from the play La petite hutte by André Roussin.

<i>All the Brothers Were Valiant</i> 1953 film by Richard Thorpe

All the Brothers Were Valiant is a 1953 Technicolor adventure drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Richard Thorpe. The film's screenplay was written by Harry Brown and based on the 1919 novel All the Brothers Were Valiant by Ben Ames Williams. The music score was led by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography by George J. Folsey.

<i>The Prisoner of Zenda</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Richard Thorpe

The Prisoner of Zenda is a 1952 American Technicolor adventure film version of the 1894 novel of the same name by Anthony Hope and a remake of the 1937 sound version and the 1922 silent. This first color version, made by Loew's and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The film stars Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, and James Mason, with Louis Calhern, Robert Douglas, Jane Greer, and Robert Coote in supporting roles.

<i>Jupiters Darling</i> 1955 film by George Sidney

Jupiter's Darling is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical romance film released by MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman woman Amytis, Howard Keel as Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and George Sanders as Fabius Maximus, Amytis's fiancé. In the film, Amytis helps Hannibal swim the Tiber River to take a closer look at Rome's fortifications.

<i>Swordsman of Siena</i> 1962 Italian film

Swordsman of Siena is a 1962 French-Italian adventure film directed by Étienne Périer and Baccio Bandini and starring Stewart Granger, Sylva Koscina and Christine Kaufmann. The film is set in Spanish-controlled Italy during the sixteenth century.

<i>The Light Touch</i> 1951 film by Richard Brooks

The Light Touch is a 1951 American crime drama film film directed by Richard Brooks and starring Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli and George Sanders. It was produced and released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

Moonfleet may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 3 'The Eddie Mannix Ledger’, Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study, Los Angeles
  2. ↑ Moonfleet at IMDB
  3. ↑ Halliwell's Film Guide, 6th edition, 1987, p. 703
  4. ↑ Jackson, Joseph Henry (Aug 5, 1951). "A BOOKMAN'S NOTEBOOK: An Adventure Classic". Los Angeles Times. p. B5.
  5. ↑ ORVILLE PRESCOTT (Aug 31, 1951). "Books of The Times: Comparison With Stevenson Many Chilling Adventures". New York Times. p. 12.
  6. ↑ Hopper, H. (Oct 20, 1951). "Best seller story, 'moonfleet,' to be produced by metro in '52". Chicago Daily Tribune. ProQuest   178171823.
  7. ↑ Schallert, E. (May 6, 1954). "Drama". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest   166625670.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Handzo, Stephen. "JOHN HOUSEMAN THE PRODUCER'S SIGNATURE INTERVIEW". Film Comment. Vol. 11, no. 2 (Mar/Apr 1975). New York. pp. 18–21.
  9. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (May 22, 1954). "Looking at Hollywood: Clark Gable Rounds Up Top Talent for His New Movie". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 18.
  10. ↑ THOMAS M. PRYOR (Oct 11, 1953). "HOLLYWOOD DIGEST: Spectacles of Silent Era Eyed as Wide Screen Fare -- M-G-M Slate -- Addenda". New York Times. p. X5.
  11. ↑ Richard Dyer MacCann (Feb 1, 1955). "About a 'Little Kidnapper': Hollywood Letter". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 4.
  12. ↑ M. A. S. (Sep 5, 1954). "VIEWS ON THE SCREEN DIRECTED BY FRITZ LANG". New York Times. ProQuest   113093247.
  13. ↑ Bret Wood, 'Moonfleet' at Turner Classic Movies
  14. ↑ Brian MacFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema, Methuen 1997 p 231
  15. ↑ Box office information for Stewart Granger films in France at Box Office Story
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.