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Le voleur de minuit

Original title: The Moonlighter
  • 1953
  • Approved
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
829
YOUR RATING
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in Le voleur de minuit (1953)
Classical WesternDramaWestern

A cattle herder turned rustler runs from a lynch mob and falls, again, for an ex-lover.A cattle herder turned rustler runs from a lynch mob and falls, again, for an ex-lover.A cattle herder turned rustler runs from a lynch mob and falls, again, for an ex-lover.

  • Director
    • Roy Rowland
  • Writer
    • Niven Busch
  • Stars
    • Barbara Stanwyck
    • Fred MacMurray
    • Ward Bond
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    829
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Roy Rowland
    • Writer
      • Niven Busch
    • Stars
      • Barbara Stanwyck
      • Fred MacMurray
      • Ward Bond
    • 24User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

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    Top cast55

    Edit
    Barbara Stanwyck
    Barbara Stanwyck
    • Rela
    Fred MacMurray
    Fred MacMurray
    • Wes Anderson
    Ward Bond
    Ward Bond
    • Cole Gardner
    William Ching
    William Ching
    • Tom Anderson
    John Dierkes
    John Dierkes
    • Sheriff Daws
    Morris Ankrum
    Morris Ankrum
    • Alexander Prince
    Jack Elam
    Jack Elam
    • Slim
    Charles Halton
    Charles Halton
    • Clemmons Usqubaugh - Undertaker
    Norman Leavitt
    Norman Leavitt
    • Tidy
    Sam Flint
    Sam Flint
    • Mr. Mott - Bank President
    Myra Marsh
    • Mrs. Anderson
    William Kerwin
    • Tony
    Tom Keene
    Tom Keene
    • Sheriff
    • (as Richard Powers)
    Victor Adamson
    Victor Adamson
    • Townsman at Funeral
    • (uncredited)
    David Alpert
    • Undetermined Role
    • (uncredited)
    Al Bain
    Al Bain
    • Townsman
    • (uncredited)
    Gregg Barton
    Gregg Barton
    • Bar X Man in Lynch Mob
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Bice
    Robert Bice
    • Bar X Man in Lynch Mob
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Roy Rowland
    • Writer
      • Niven Busch
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews24

    5.8829
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    Featured reviews

    5moonspinner55

    Awfully familiar stuff...the actors give it some punch, but the material is beneath them

    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 ****
    6jpozenel

    Pretty good Western with a pretty lame ending

    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.
    lorenellroy

    Moderate Western

    The Moonlighter re-unites the stars of the great film noir Double Indemnity but to much less effect in this modest and rather tepid Western. Fred MacMurray plays the title character ,a moonlighter being a kind of cattle thief.As the movie opens he is in a prison cell awaiting trial while an inflamed mob is intent on lynching him before he can stand trial.They break into the gaol and summarily execute the wrong man due to mistaken identity. He sets out to wreak revenge on the killers but is wounded and returns home where he finds his sweetheart -played by Stanwyck-on the verge of marrying his bank teller brother.He becomes involved in a bank robbery with tragic results and Stanwyck sets out to bring him to justice.

    The performances are acceptable and the major problem is the script by Niven Busch which -perhaps through budgetary and time constraints -never gets to explore the ramifications of the story ,which ends abruptly.

    A minor Western it just about passes muster but could have been a lot better.It is however interesting to note that the Stanwyck character is the one most respected by the other characters and the town Marshall has no qualms about deputising her .In addition it is she who delivers the goods --early feminist Western maybe ?
    4alonzoiii-1

    Babs and Fred Can't Do Anything With This Western

    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.
    6SnoopyStyle

    reunion

    Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) has been moonlighting as a cattle rustler. A crowd has gathered to see him hang. Sheriff Daws insists on saving him for the trial. Rancher Alex Prince's men arrive looking to break into the jail to lynch the man. Wes escapes when the wrong man gets lynched. That man is buried as Wes while Wes seeks revenge upon Alex Prince's men. Wes' ex Rela (Barbara Stanwyck) arrives set to marry his straight-laced younger brother Tom.

    Apparently, this was shown in 3D. I don't know how that's done when it's in black and white. It must have been like one of those old toy 3d Viewfinders. Technical aside, this has MacMurray playing against type as a hardened cowboy. Also I don't get much heat with the MacMurray and Stanwyck reunion. Sticking Tom in the middle does not make it a fun love triangle. It's not the best western and I don't know how well the 3d worked. It seems fine otherwise.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Ben Mankiewicz on TCM, Barbara Stanwyck did her own stunts during the waterfall scene, and despite becoming black and blue, never held up the production.
    • Goofs
      The sexed-up image of Rela (Barbara Stanwyck) in a short skirt and low-cut blouse, prominently displayed on the poster, is nothing like the modestly-dressed, 45-year-old Stanwyck who appears in the film; the provocative line of dialogue attributed to her on the poster is never spoken.
    • Quotes

      Rela: You've changed, Wes.

      Wes Anderson: Nobody stays the same.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits roll up from behind the scene of mountains, and include "Photographed in Natural Vision 3 Dimension",

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    FAQ

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 19, 1953 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Sombras tenebrosas
    • Filming locations
      • Peppermint Falls, Sequoia National Forest, California, USA(waterfall scene - near Springville, California)
    • Production companies
      • Joseph Bernhard Productions Inc.
      • Abtcon Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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