Opiniones de usuarios

Moontide (1942)

What a surprise, and with some well known actors in little known roles. And one little known actor in the U.S., the great French star Jean Gabin. All put together in an elegant, fast, and sympathetic way.

The story is rather sweet, a love story between two unlikely loners, the charming and volatile hard drinking Bobo, played by Gabin, and the young and troubled Anna, played by Ida Lupino. Each of their pasts looms and interferes in the romance, mainly through the maliciousness of Bobo's old friend, another violent man played by Thomas Mitchell. And then there is the incomparable Claude Rains (you won't recognize him in the first scenes with his beard), who plays a truly good friend. All of this takes place in a little fishing shack at a big stone breakwater on the California Coast somewhere, and most of it takes place at night.

Archie Mayo, who made a lot of really good films and few if any masterpieces ("Petrified Forest" is his most famous, from 1936), really does show mastery of storytelling here. And with cinematography by Charles Clarke good enough to get an Oscar nomination (with some help by the more famous Lucien Ballard), you can see why this is better than most. Fritz Lang is shown as a co-director behind the scenes, and you get suspicious that the visual strength of all this is partly his doing.

But it is the story itself that might be the achilles heel here--it progresses with some twists that are suggested in the first few minutes, and that don't turn and surprise us later. The end is the end you expect, all neatly packaged.

Not that you don't mind so much--the leading characters are, if nothing else, very likable. But along those same lines, I think every scene is filmed by-the-book. Very likable, and competent, and rather beautiful all along, but lacking the edges of uncertainty, of emotional depths you would expect from these kinds of characters, even of drama in the few scenes of violence. "Moontide," with its poetic title, insists somehow that it is a just a performance and an entertainment, a light romance, even though it's just an inch from tipping into something much bigger.

Here we have the 28 year-old Ida Lupino, looking more like 19 or 20, and already the veteran of more than thirty films, being a frail, charming, and vulnerable waif. She is thoroughly convincing, and we would all like to take her in and look after her. This duty falls to the gruff Jean Gabin, a hard-drinking waterfront drifter from port to port, who has at some point arrived in the States from France. In fact, Gabin in real life had fled the Nazi Occupation and this was one of two American films which he made in exile. The film was supposed to be directed by Fritz Lang, who would have made it a moodier and darker piece. However, he was replaced by the more cheerful Archie Mayo, so we get a film whose real value is not as cinema but as encounter between Lupino and Gabin. That keeps us watching. Claude Rains gives bemused support as a California waterfront bum (hardly his usual type of role!) and Thomas Mitchell is an unctuous, scheming villain who has conned Gabin into thinking he has 'something on him'. The film is rather sinister, and in many ways pointless. If it weren't for Lupino and Gabin being so fascinating, nobody would bother to watch this movie, as it falls between many stools. But Lupino is so entrancing in this role, that presumably no one really cares about the story anyway. And listening to Jean Gabin speak heavily accented English in California is so extraordinary that one wants to watch that too. Who gives a damn about the film, we've got Lupino and Gabin, and that's all that matters. They could read the telephone directory as far as I am concerned, and I would still watch.

The lonely dock worker Bobo (Jean Gabin) is a strong man that likes to drink a lot. One night, after a binge, he awakes without recollections at a barge hired to sell bait. He befriends the night watchman Nutsy (Claude Rains); rescues the suicidal Anna (Ida Lupino) from the sea and brings her to the barge to recover. Meanwhile he learns that his acquaintance Pop Kelly (Arthur Aylesworth) was found murdered strangled. Bobo and Anna fall in love with each other and decide to get married. But Bobo´s former friend Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) has always lived supported by Bobo and intends to get rid of Anna.

"Moontide" is an original film noir with a different storyline, great cast and director. Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains and the uncredited Fritz Lang together are feast for any movie lover. The gloomy story and atmosphere have a melancholic happy ending and is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Brumas" ("Sea Mist")

Jean Gabin didn't star in many American films, and Moontide was the only one I could find from my local library. Maybe it was for the best; his presence on screen is very (and I mean this as a compliment) French in tone and inflection and even in style of speak. In English he fares reasonably well, and gives a solid performance as the "gypsy turned peasant" Bobo who saddles up with ex-suicide-attemptee Ida Lupino on a tiny bay community. This being said it's a kind of character that works for Gabin's limitations in the language. Because Bobo is a Gypsy it works that Gabin's English is only so fluent and has the kind of facial expressions that reflect that (as opposed to say Grand Illusion where he was so natural that it was staggering). Lupino, thankfully, is a great match, and the two have some very nice scenes together as a married couple who face trouble when one of Bobo's prior troubles comes back to haunt him, even as it wasn't his fault.

The direction is competent and the writing has some moments of cleverness or tenderness or even insight. And as the drama ratchets up one gets involved if only on a perfunctory, conventional level. But the director Archie Mayo (replacing, of all directors, Fritz Lang) some moments that really stand out for me. One that I might never forget, and should stand up among some of the quintessential early 40s noir films, is when Bobo has his drunken binge the first night at port and after causing a ruckus in the bar with punching out the guy and making the girl upset goes from bar to bar. In a montage that provides a drunken angle to the camera and editing tricks, we see Bobo going further and further, hearing characters repeat things like "drink, drink" or whatever and it is purely intoxicating to see this. It's the kind of sequence, which lasts a good long 5 minutes, that almost promises this to be a great film.

It isn't, but it was worth a shot, and for those who are curious or just big Gabin or Lupino (or Claude Rains) fans, it's worth a shot.

After a three-year gap ,this was Gabin's return.It is hard to gauge it accurately cause in the 1937-1939 years ,an era when French cinema was arguably the best in the world ,he starred in at least five masterpieces ("la Grande Illusion" and "la Bête Humaine" by Jean Renoir,"Quai des Brumes" and (my favorite) "Le Jour se lève " by Marcel Carné ,and finally Jean Gremillon's "remorques") .All that he would do afterward would necessarily be a let-down.

"Moontide" is not in the same league as his previous French performances but it is nevertheless an interesting work for any Gabin fan.The actor integrates well in an American cast (and the cast includes earnest thespians such as Ida Lupino,Claude Rains and Thomas Mitchell)and his English is quite good (don't forget that Gabin was essentially an autodidact ,which is much to his credit;His contemporary equivalent for that matter is Gerard Depardieu) The screenplay may not be very exciting -and it's full of holes at that- but the atmosphere -which recalls sometimes "quai des brumes" - and Gabin's character -who,like Lantier in "la Bete Humaine" ,has an ominous past:wasn't his father a criminal brute?- are all that matters .

For his second (and last) American movie,Gabin was directed by his compatriot (who put him on the map with "la Bandera" ) Julien Duvivier .

One of two American made films that Jean Gabin did in Hollywood while in exile from his beloved France is this item Moontide. It's not anywhere in the class of The Grand Illusion, Pepe LeMoko, or La Bete Humaine in fact it goes over into melodrama. Still it's a good showcase for his talent and appeal.

Gabin is a happy go lucky sailor who is beached with his pal Thomas Mitchell in the small coast town of San Pablo in California. He's a nasty drunk however who can be provoked to violence and has been. Another waterfront denizen Arthur Aylesworth is killed and Gabin is tormented by the fact that he was on one big bender the night of the homicide and it could be him.

But that doesn't stop him from saving the life of Ida Lupino who tries to drown herself because of her own relationship problems. These two fall for each other and they plan to settle in San Pablo and marry. And of course there's no room for Mitchell in the new setup.

Which doesn't please Mitchell at all. He's basically a leech who's attached himself to Gabin and he doesn't want to give up his meal ticket. Claude Rains who is a droll waterfront philosopher calls him a pilot fish which is a fish that hangs around sharks and lives off the scraps they leave. Time for Mitchell to find another shark.

Given that this is the Code era and that a major studio 20th Century Fox produced Moontide the rather obvious homosexual attachment of Mitchell to Gabin is hard to miss. Perhaps that is something that the original director Fritz Lang might have explored a bit more. In fact the film could have been a classic had Lang stayed with it.

Still the cast acquit themselves well in Moontide and a film with Jean Gabin is always something special.

The opening of the film has Jean Gabin drinking, and heavily would be an understatement. The cinematographer and editor shine in a brilliant P.O.V. montage of bizarre 40's era special effects of hallucinogenic drunkenness. In addition Thomas Mitchell's role as Gabin's so-called buddy, but in reality his blackmailer, is very well done. He's not a nice guy in this role. Great acting by Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino and Claude Rains, who is hard to recognize in the first scene in the bar. Maybe the fault of the film lies at the hands of the writers or director or the studio or some reason yet unknown to man to tag on the happy ending.

Director Fritz Lang was replaced by Archie Mayo as director of the 1942 "Moontide," and one wonders if the film would have been any better with Lang at the helm. With a script by John O'Hara, it's all dry ice, cheap sets, night shots and little action. The great French film star, perhaps the greatest, Jean Gabin, plays Bobo, a dockworker who enjoys being a free spirit. He suffers from blackouts when he's drunk, which is used to advantage by a so-called friend of his, Tiny (Thomas Mitchell), who gets money out of Bobo by hinting that he strangled a man in another town. When a waitress (Ida Lupiho) is rescued from the ocean after trying to commit suicide, Bobo covers for her so she won't be arrested. Eventually they fall in love. This doesn't fit in with the threatening Tiny's plans, as he wants Bobo to seek work elsewhere.

The movie drags along, and it's easy to see the cheapness of the production throughout. It has a certain atmosphere, but it grows tired.

It's a shame that Hollywood had no clue what to do with Jean Gabin, but seeing "Moontide," it's easy to figure out why. With his thick build, weathered face, unruly hair and large nose, he wasn't the leading man material Hollywood was used to, and he was too much a star to be a character actor. Few actors possessed his raw sexuality and charisma, seen much more clearly in Pepe LeMoko and as his signature role, Maigret. It's not for nothing that Marlene Dietrich chased him all across Europe during World War II. He only stayed in Hollywood until 1943 and worked in France as a national institution until his death in 1976. Lupino is very young, frail and pretty here and does a good job. Claude Rains as Nutsy, Bobo's friend, is good but wasted. Thomas Mitchell has the best role among the supporting players. It's a departure from his usual thick nice guys.

If you're interested in Gabin, you'll want to see this. Otherwise, skip it.

IMO this is a better film than it is a story. It starts slowly and the initial characters are not well drawn. It is a master class in how to stage, how to light, how to edit, etc. Quite amazing that with only a few sets so much was shown. The sound stage water scenes were top notch. That all said, it's in no way boring. Certainly worth your time.

and a good one at that. Gabin plays a rough drifter along California's fishery coast who rescues a girl (Ida Lupino) from a suicide attempt. He takes her to his floating bait shack and the two fall in love. Unlikely storyline takes a back seat to the acting of Gabin and Lupino as well as Claude Rains as the local "failed intellectual." Great waterfront sets certainly help this moody tale. Only Thomas Mitchell seems to overplay his hand as the treacherous friend. Jean Gabin was a European favorite for 45 years, and it's easy to see why in this film. Too bad he didn't stay in Hollywood a little longer, but the war was on. Also in the film as Jerome Cowan (in a subplot that seems to have been trimmed), Tully Marshall, Vera Lewis, Helene Reynolds, and Victor Sen Yung.

Fans of the great Jean Gabin, get a good dose of his charm and charisma, as he portrays 'Bobo', in this fine film co-starring a young Ida Lupino as 'Anna', his love interest. Although the production suffers a bit, mostly due to a low-budget and marginal sets, the chemistry between Gabin and Lupino is tangible. Thomas Mitchell turns in a good performance as despicable 'Tiny', the blackmailer. Claude Rains co-stars as the loyal 'Nutsy', Bobo's true friend, and if you watch closely, you'll notice Victor Sen-Young as 'Takeo'(credited as 'Sen Young') who delighted audiences as 'Hop Sing' in "Bonanza". Gabin's ability to convey a range of emotions, from bliss to rage, really carry this film and Lupino fans get to see her as a young, fragile character who finds love in the least likely of places. Viewers of "Moontide" may also like "The Sicilian Clan", which has Jean Gabin playing the matriarch of a crime family, in 1960's Europe.

In essence, this is a fairytale for adults. It's a love story in a dreamy fantasy world. It's moody and dark but also full of joy and optimism. Its theme is one of hope, it's that love and happiness can find you when you think life has abandoned you.

The setting feels like a sordid, fog-bound other-worldly dream. Just drifting along in this self imposed isolation is perfect for Bobo, Jean Gabin's superbly acted character where he can hide from the outside world. It's also perfect for his very close friend Tiny, played with insidious menace by Scarlet O'Hara's dad. Tiny's world is threatened when a beautiful stranger captures Bobo's heart and he's determined not to let that ruin his own happiness. But nothing is stronger than love.

Bobo and Anna, played by the utterly adorable Ida Lupino both unexpectedly prove to each other that there really is such a thing as love at first sight. She had never been so alluring as in this and that Bobo falls so head over heels in love with her feels absolutely believable and real. As love blossoms we notice that the fog around the bay starts to lift and we see the sun. This is not to Tiny's liking.

OK, as every reviewer and his dog say, had Fritz Lang directed this, it might have been better but let's not dismiss Archie Mayo. He may not have always been at the top of his game but he was responsible for some of the absolute classics of the 1930s. He directs this with a subtle sensitivity that's rarely seen in American pictures of the forties. He creates a world that's both unreal yet hauntingly familiar. Even though it doesn't hold your attention all of the time, it's thoroughly enchanting and uplifting.

This film is about as different from a mainstream Hollywood movie as any you are ever likely to encounter. From stars, story, sets and photography, it more closely resembles one that might have come from France or Italy. While 20th Century-Fox would make an important series of highly regarded neo-realistic documentary-like nourish dramas shortly after WWII, Moontide is nothing like those films. Rather, it is (as others have noted) more like a throwback to the Frank Borzage romantic films of the early 1930s--plus a few plot elements that may relate to the earlier influence on the movie of Fritz Lang.

Jean Gabin was one of the greatest film actors of all time. His command of the film medium most closely resembled the work of Spencer Tracy in its emphasis on a natural, instinctive, humane and realistic style of acting. His American period in the early 1940s produced only two films, and while Moontide is a good movie in many ways--it really only illustrates some aspects of what under slightly different circumstances could have marked a major upward turn in his long career. It is a tragedy that this gifted artist was unable to achieve the success in Hollywood he so richly deserved.

While Gabin's command of English was not the best, it likely would have improved in time--much as did that of Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier. What he did have in abundance was a huge acting talent and a wide range of major cinematic accomplishments already under his belt.

Was there another Spencer Tracy working in Hollywood at this time? It does not seem so. Several years later, MGM did include another somewhat similar actor in its family--James Whitmore. But most people familiar with the work of both men would probably. agree that Gabin was the greater of the two performers.

This is one more item to add to the list of lost opportunities in the history of film in America.

After a drinken brawl late one evening, "Bobo" (Jean Gabin) fears that he has accidentally done for a man and so takes a job in an isolated and lonely part of their local harbour. His best pal "Tiny" (Thomas Mitchell) is his only contact with the outside world until he happens upon the desperate "Anna" (Ida Lupino) whom he saves from taking the easy way out. It's not an easy friendship at first, but gradually the two start to learn to trust each other and that's to the chagrin of his old pal who is seeing the green eyed monster rise before his eyes. With the couple now firmly determined to tie the knot, just what lengths will "Tiny" go to to thwart their joy. Though Gabin isn't really anything much to write home about here, Lupino delivers quite strongly as her character, and it's seemingly endless emotional baggage, evolves into one that's a bit more intriguing than the usual lightly developed female lead. Claude Rains also appears now and again as "Nutsy", but seems content to stay largely in the wings as the whole film really belongs to Mitchell. I haven't seen so many films where the thrust of the plot is jealousy of a more fraternal nature, and his performance cuts an increasingly sad figure of a man who exudes something pitiable that actually invites a degree of sympathy from us too. The scenario - a dark and misty port riddled with wreckage and rusting iron also adds well to the sense of accumulating peril as "Bobo" begins to realise just what is going on around him. The writing is solid enough to give everyone enough to work with and it is worth watching for a Lupino/Mitchell combo that works well.

As a not often seen curiosity, Moontide is as close as it gets to 'Hollywood come Parisian'. Perhaps it could even be hailed as one of 20th Century Fox's earliest entries into 'Noir' drama. During the time exiled French leading man Jean Gabin was taking refuge in the USA (escaping the Nazis) he made two movies, this, and 'The Imposter' 44 ~ both relatively undistinguished at the time. Gabin, known for his difficult, gruff nature may well have been playing himself with his role as Bobo, a sailor with self destructive drinking habits. Bobo has a change of heart when he saves the life of a depressed young woman, played by a 20 something Ida Lupino. Lupino is the whole show, proving she was not simply a pretty face but a sterling dramatist of the highest degree. She steals every scene with strong, heart felt professionalism, a pure joy to watch! Other cast members are also of a special class, Claude Rains gives a great out of character performance as the warm hearted Nutsy, with Thomas Mitchell memorable as the nasty big lunk known as Tiny. Another odd character played by Jerome Cowan as a Dr having marital problems, has the feel of a part that may have been reduced in post production editing (could be interesting to know...?).

Equally striking is the first class moody black and white (award nominated) cinematography of veteran Charles G. Clark, whose fluid camera weaves in and out of eerie fog bound waterfront settings. The interesting screenplay by talented, self opinionated, and somewhat self destructive, John O'Hara was adapted from the novel by writer/actor Willard Robinson. Some may know Robinson from his roles in: Deep Valley '47 and The Oxbow Incident '43, among many others. Portions of the screen play were penned (un-credited) by award nominated writer Nunnally Johnson, the multi-talented producer/screenplay writer of "The Grapes of Wrath" '40. Johnson was also hailed for his classic work as the writer/director of "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" in '56.

Direction is fully credited (wrongly) to veteran all rounder, Archie Mayo but the project was started under the call of Fritz Lang. Lang was sacked after disputes with the difficult Jean Gabin. It's easy to see why many attribute much of the films atmospheric feel as being due to Lang's involvement. The sets, while visually interesting, are somewhat claustrophobic due to budget constraints. The off-the-wall montage dreamed up by unhinged 'artist' Salvador Dali during one of Gabin's binges is eye popping. The only other I've seen this good (if not better) was in Carol Reed's unforgettable classic, "Odd Man Out" '47. Producer Mark Hellinger of "The Killers" '46 and "Naked City fame" '48 ~ gives us yet another compelling watch, for those who like to trace early offbeat ventures into American 'noir' dramas.

KenR.....

Made during wartime. ... ida lupino, who made a couple films with humphrey bogart, and later directed. Claude rains, just before his big role in casablanca. Thomas mitchell, who had such a huge role in lost horizon. Down on the docks, bobo (jean gabin) is a drinker, and may have knocked someone off. But he's not sure just what happened! A love story slowly blooms between bobo and anna. Keep an eye out for victor sen yung, as takeo. Was also in three films with humphrey bogart, and a couple charlie chans too. Longest pause ever, at about 42 minutes, when they do a close-up on bobo in the bar. It's okay, but the trivia explains how much of the story was left on the cutting room floor, thanks to the film production code. Immediately after his wedding, bobo goes off to work on a boat?? Directed by archie mayo. This was nominated for best cinematography. Izzokay. Just okay.

10 Stars- I found no errors in this film. Memorable, plot is typical noir: mystery, a little suspense (not enough to raise your blood pressure) and of course a romantic interest.

Women will love Bobo, the mysterious manly man with an accent, who can punch down bullying malefactors with no effort to save the dignity of any woman. Bobo is ever accompanied with his trusty and also-brave bulldog, who fights with him- the dog's doing so plays an important part in the mystery, which I will not divulge here so as not to spoil the ending. "Bobo" is a Gypsy, at least he calls himself one, with a tag-along leech by the name of Tiny. Tiny and Bobo are a couple of laborer types that take jobs here and there, Bobo is a strong and honest good natured fellow, both he and Tiny drink to excess and sometimes fight (with Bobo it's usually to defend a woman or a beaten man) Bobo is ever the quiet do-gooder, always happy to lend a hand or help the helpless. Tiny has a hold on Bobo, a scheme which unfortunately is a hold that Tiny uses to blackmail and control, up to demanding Bobo keep on moving along from town to town, never attaching to anyone or thing. But- Bobo falls in love with Anna, the gorgeous and smart Lupino (who wouldn't? She is as tiny as a wasp and so pretty) whom he rescues from a possible suicide by drowning (reason for this attempt is not really given in the film) Bobo and Anna become fast friends. Anna is a wayward girl with a history of taking low jobs like slinging hash, which Tiny warns Bobo that "she is a no-good hash-slinger!". I think there are aspects of the characters that are in the book "Moon Tide" that are not addressed in the film, but that's OK because the film stands on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed Moontide and I know that viewers won't turn away when watching it because it is one of those movies that come on late late at night but you dare not sleep because you don't want to miss ONE second out of it. Just a fun, memorable and romantic feel-good kind of thing, not schmaltzy- that embraces real noir and real romance in a fine way.

A film that uses every bit of it's scenery even though it isn't much (you won't notice the spartan sets, only if you take the film apart, because the film 'takes you there')every craft in the film making was used to great advantage. In lesser hands this would not have been so good. The direction is expert: Fritz Lang uncredited, not sure why. Jean Gabin as Bobo was well cast, I'd never heard of him myself before, he is believable as Bobo the gypsy very well. He met Anna mere days ago but is well in love with her enough to marry her and she him and there is a degree of believe-ability here Both of them- Anna and Bobo I cheered for, wished well, and was in love with both of their characters so much, I wanted all of it to be true, in fact so much that it is as if one is watching a slice of life in a 1940s-era San Pedro dock, with the salty but good as gold characters who keep their mouths shut for the right reasons to protect their life long friends.

A watchable film (though generally not a very exciting one), more notable for its all-star cast than anything else. Ida Lupino stars as a young woman fished out of the sea by hard-drinking dockworker Jean Gabin after an aborted suicide attempt. The acting is terrific--as usual, Lupino, in the very earliest stages of her career, simply glows--and the beautifully lit images in the film's suspenseful climax (the best part of the movie by far), set amid the rolling fog and crashing waves of a moonlit shore, will appeal to anyone with a fondness for noir. Yes, the plot takes a while to get going, and Lupino's delicate Anna falls for Gabin's craggy Bobo a bit too quickly (it's an odd couple-type love affair if ever there was one), but with a cast like this...with romance, blackmail, and a mysterious murder...AND so many dockside and fishing boat scenes that you can practically smell the salt in the air--how can you go wrong? Not a masterpiece, but certainly worth seeing.

The characters in this movie were on the interesting side even though there were pretty much straight forward and didn't have much emotional depth. The relationship between the characters themselves made the characters somewhat interesting. For Claude Rains fans, it has been said that this is possibly the closest the Rains ever came to playing himself. So, it is interesting to see what he was moderately like.

The drinking montage in the beginning of the film is interesting because it is very surreal...it sort of reminded me of that silent Salivor Dali film that was made.

However, the film was very slow moving and the plot was not really either clever or in-depth. It was a very straight forward plot that you don't really find out what is driving the plot until the end. In the beginning it seems like just a lot of loose ends.

Over all, I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing it if they really wanted to. After all, I even own a copy!