Les Contrebandiers de Moonfleet

It is a long time since I read J Meade Falkner's novel, but I remember enough of it to realise that this film bears little resemblance to it. Around the middle of the eighteenth century John Mohune, the young son of a once-wealthy but now ruined aristocratic family, is sent after the death of his parents to stay with Jeremy Fox, the squire of the Dorset village of Moonfleet. Before her marriage to a cousin, Fox was the lover of John's mother, but they were prevented from marrying by the opposition of her family, who thought he was neither wealthy nor well-born enough for her. As the fortunes of the Mohunes have declined, however, so those of Fox have risen, and he is now the wealthiest man in the village, living in their ancestral mansion.

Fox takes a liking to the boy, and a friendship grows up between them. Unknown to John, however, Fox is not the respectable country gentleman he appears. His main source of wealth is his involvement in the lucrative, but highly illegal, smuggling trade, and he has plans to go into partnership with Lord Ashwood, a local nobleman, in a venture which involves plundering foreign ships and which effectively falls little short of piracy. The debonair Fox is also something of a ladies man, with at least two mistresses, one of whom denounces him to the authorities when he tires of her. The main plot concerns Fox and John's search for a long-lost diamond which had once belonged to one of the Mohune family.

"Moonfleet" has similarities to "Treasure Island" although it is set in Britain rather than on a remote tropical island. The relationship between the likable rogue Fox (a name presumably chosen because of its connotations of cunning) and young John parallels that between Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins. The film has been aptly described as situated on the boundary between a traditional cape and sword adventure and a Gothic horror movie. The style of acting is more that of the swashbuckling adventure. Stewart Granger, taking over where Errol Flynn left off, made something of a speciality of dashing heroes in historical costume dramas ("Blanche Fury", "Saraband for Dead Lovers", "Scaramouche" and "Beau Brummell" are other examples) and he makes an attractive hero here. The other contribution that stands out is from George Sanders, always a good villain, as the corrupt aristocrat Ashwood.

Director Fritz Lang, however, brings a very Gothic look to the film. Moonfleet may be situated on one of the most scenic counties in England, but it is no picturesque village. The atmosphere is often a dark, gloomy one, with numerous shots of the shabby alehouse or the mist-shrouded churchyard. Fox may be a likable rogue, but the smugglers are for the most part dangerous ones who would have no compunction about murdering a child. (There is a fine duel between Fox and one of their number fought to decide whether John should live or die after he inadvertently overhears their plans). This is not a great film, but is nevertheless a well-made, watchable adventure. 6/10

I saw this movie projected onto a screen, from the DVD, I think; it looked as good as old films usually do. I found it very enjoyable and was surprised that I had not seen it before. However, I feel gratified to read the complaints by one member here who could not figure out all the plot details: I couldn't, either! Now, after reading more information or speculation about the making of the film, I see why. I found that there is a whole website and society devoted to the author of the book, John Meade Falkner, and a biography of him was published not long ago.

This is my first time viewing this website. I'm impressed by the quality of the comments; I'll definitely come back.

You have seldom seem a picture so crowed with excitement ¡ . It starts in Dortshire coast, Moonfleet , England, 1775 ,october , (Moonfleet is set in Dorset, England The Fleet refers to the land just west of Portland, Southern England ) a young boy named John Mohune (John Whiteley) is sent by his deceased mummy to seek Jeremy Fox (Stewart Granger) who is actually a rakish buccaneer . Then Fox puts him under his protection and is proceeded a special father-son relationship . The boy learns that Fox is both a ex-lover of his mum and the leader of a band of smugglers. Meanwhile both of whom look for and encounter a legendary lost diamond . Fox still haunted by the memory of the dying mother but also has another lover (Viveca Lindfords) who double-crosses him .

This classic adventure film contains emotion , intrigue , chills, and colorful scenarios. Wonderful relationship along with strong friendship is developed between the buccaneer perfectly incarnated by Stewart Granger and the newcomer boy . It contains dark moments in Hammer style as happens when the young boy journeys across an eerie world full of hanging trees , gallows , ghastly sculptures , and cemeteries plenty of coffins . Wonderful secondary cast full of prestigious secondaries as George Sanders , Joan Greenwood , Alan Napier , John Hoyt , Jack Elam , Ian Wolfe , among others . Impressive production design with glamorous sets by Hans Peters . Glimmer cinematography in superb Eastmancolor and CinemaScope by Robert Planck and mostly filmed in studios , during six weeks in 1954 , being exteriors shot in Oceanside , California. Thrilling and emotive musical score by Miklos Rozsa . The motion picture lavishly produced by also actor John Houseman is stunningly directed by Fritz Lang . Lang directed masterfully all kind of genres as Noir cinema as ¨Big heat , Scarlet Street and Beyond a reasonable doubt¨ , Epic as ¨Nibelungs¨, suspense as ¨Secret beyond the door, Clash by night¨ , Western as ¨Rancho Notorious and Return of Frank James ¨ and of course Adventure as ¨Moonfleet¨ . This good adventure drama with lots of exciting and thrilling moments will appeal to Stewart Granger fans . Rating : Better than average , resulting to be a marvellous stylised version of the Great Britain coast in the 19th century . Worthwhile watching .

I just watched Moonfleet for the first time and enjoyed it. I taped it one afternoon from the TV as it is not available on video.

A young boy is sent to the town of Moonfleet by his dying mother to be looked after by an old flame of hers. While there, he gets into all sorts of adventures and dangers including smuggling, grave robbing and treasure.

The cast includes a good performance by Stewart Granger and is joined by George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, John Hoyt and young Jon Whiteley.

I read in one review that this move is family viewing but I thought some of the scenes in it including the dead man hanging from a pole at the beginning may be a little too scary for younger children.

An excellent movie.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.

This is a late Fritz Lang effort for MGM, an odd assignment for him in that it's a Stewart Granger costume picture, not the sort of project one would expect the director to have been hired for. The film turns out quite nicely. It's a fairly conventional story of smuggler's on the English coast, features a fine cast of veteran players, many of whom had appeared in pictures of this sort before.

That the story is presented in large part through the eyes of a small boy lends it a measure of distinction. We see Granger's character much as the boy does, as a hero, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. Granger is excellent in the lead. Despite what appears to be a modest budget, this is a handsome film, in the grand manner. That it's a back-lot picture, thus not a real spectacle, is more than made up for by Lang's manner of dealing with his material. The movie feels like a fairy tale. The ending is unexpectedly moving, surprised me, and is still vivid in my memory.

While not a masterpiece, Moonfleet should satisfy admirers of its director and costume picture fans as well.