The Moonlighter

The Moonlighter (1953)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A rather bizarre Western starts off with a huge bang but then slowly dies into melodrama. Fred MacMurray plays a man believed dead but he shows back up at his mother's house swearing vengeance on what's happened to him. He then realizes that his former love (Barbara Stanwyck) is now seeing his younger brother (William Ching), which sets off a love triangle. THE MOONLIGHTER is an incredibly disappointing film when you consider the cast and especially after how well it got started. I'm not going to spoil the first fifteen-minutes because it delivers a few key plot points that are best if you don't know them going in. I will say that the entire sequence contains some terrific drama, great action and even a couple good laughs. The entire sequence is build around them wanting to lynch a cattle robber but there are many complications that come from this and it really leads to a terrific sequence. Sadly, after this, the film turns into a silly soap opera and the love story between MacMurray and Stanwyck is never believable. The two of them are always good together and their past films prove that but there's very little fire here between the two. I think a lot of this is due to the silly screenplay, which just goes crazy in the second half of the film and even the director makes some silly mistakes including using a score meant for a comedy during a couple critical killing scenes. The ending is without question one of the worst in film history and how characters just flop is downright silly. Even the big action climax at the end doesn't work as the director brings no suspense to it. The actors are fine and that includes Ward Bond as a bad guy but the film is just a mess. Originally this was shown in 3D but outside of the opening credits I didn't see a single thing fly to the screen so this movie's reputation of being one of the worst 3D movies is probably true.

Cattle rustler outwits a lynch mob and takes refuge with his Ma and kid brother; he reacquaints himself with a former sweetheart--but after he's involved in a bank robbery, the girl gets herself deputized and vows to bring him in "dead or alive". Mediocre western rides a familiar trail, the only hook for an audience (today, and most likely in 1953 as well) being the casting of the leads. Fred MacMurray is a terrific failed bad guy, his look of incredulousness suiting his hulking frame, while Barbara Stanwyck acquits herself well in cowgirl duds and handles both horse and rifle exceptionally well. Not a barn-burner by any means, and saddled with a stodgy direction from Roy Rowland, but an interesting b-item for admirers of the stars. ** from ****

Anyone else but Barbara Stanwyck would have delivered her character's lines and they would have sounded completely corny. Somehow she always sounds believable. It's not a great story, but not bad, until the ending. It simply fell flat and was disappointing. I was expecting more.

Fred McMurray left Barbra Stanwyck five years ago, always promising to return. But, while Babs drifts into an engagement with Fred's brother, Fred has been stealing cattle by moonlight (and barely misses getting lynched for his efforts). Will Babs find true love with THE MOONLIGHTER when he returns to town, or will the production code force Fred to pay some awful penalty before she gets the chance?

Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray made four movies together. Three of them are classics. This justifiably obscure western is the one that isn't. This is true, even though screenwriter Niven Busch was responsible for the great Stanwyck western -- The Furies. What goes wrong here is a mediocre and very disjointed plot that always seems to be darting off in a new, random direction, just when the old plot elements are developing some tension. There's nothing wrong with the acting. Fred and Babs play their roles well. It's just that the movie itself gives the two stars less scenes together than you would think, and cheats Babs of screen time to develop her character in the later portion of the film. Finally the film suffers from a tacked on ending that is five parts production code nonsense and five parts 3-D outdoor spectacular climax.

A western disappointment. All parties involved have done better work.

'The Moonlighter' could have been good with the right execution. The idea sounded good. The main draw though was the cast, Fred MacMurray and especially Barbara Stanwyck were both no strangers to good and more performances (Stanwyck even was magnificent at her best, which was many times) and they proved in their other outings, namely 'Double Indemnity', that they could work very well together. Ward Bond was always watchable too when in the right role.

A large part of me really did want to like 'The Moonlighter' and go against the generally negative general consensus. But this was a big disappointment for me and should have been so much better considering its potential, am aware that that is a very cliched phrase to use in a review that people are probably tired of but it does apply in the case of 'The Moonlighter'. Both Stanwyck and MacMurray have done much better work individually and of their four collaborations, this is the weakest.

Neither Stanwyck or MacMurray are among 'The Moonlighter's' many faults. MacMurray is especially good, bringing burning and rugged charisma and the right amount of gritty intensity to his character, who is more interesting than Stanwyck's and has more screen time. Stanwyck gives her all and she is steely and affecting. The film looks good generally and is nicely photographed.

Will agree with those that say that 'The Moonlighter' started off great, the first half hour is riveting. William Ching does quite well and the bank robbery sequence is tense.

Sadly, after that point the film became a tonal mishmash and very muddled narratively, hence what people mean when they talk of the film's bizarreness. It also becomes very implausible with much of it not making much sense, and that is including the very hastily paced, very anti-climactic and too pat ending and the relationship betweeen the two brothers. There is not enough chemistry between Stanwyck and MacMurray which is both underdeveloped and underused and when one sees them together they don't ignite together, what worked so brilliantly in 'Double Indemnity' doesn't work at all here.

Generally the 3D was not needed considering that 'The Moonlighter' doesn't do anywhere near enough with it. The music is too light-hearted and would have agreed been at home much better in comedy. Ward Bond looks uncomfortable and this is the type of role that would have suited him. Roy Rowland's direction is very pedestrian and so is the awkward sounding script that gets really weird in the second half. The story doesn't compel after such a great first act and becomes ridiculous and odd, the glaring lack of tension and suspense really bringing 'The Moonlighter' down significantly.

In summary, starts off great but very disappointing on the whole. 4/10