La baie aux émeraudes

I saw the film in 1964 when I was 11 and loved it then. I feel the old Disney films are still the best. As I know many of my students are not familiar with the old films, I showed it to my fifth-graders recently, and they loved it (and asked to see it again). For youth viewing, the film still holds up. I still love it.

An aunt and niece (Joan Greenwood & Hayley Mills) are traveling through remote areas of Crete whereupon they encounter the suspicious brother of the proprietress of an inhospitable coastal hotel (Eli Wallach). Intrigue ensues. Peter McEnery plays a young Brit the girl finds attractive while Pola Negri shows up in the last act.

"The Moon-Spinners" (1964) inserts Hayley Mills into an island adventure that works well because it's relatively realistic, has superb locations/sets and a well-chosen cast (e.g. Wallach is perfect as the villain). It's basically Hayley Mills meets "North by Northwest" (1959) and "The Day the Fish Came Out" (1967).

Hayley was 17 during shooting and blossoming into a winsome young woman.

The film runs 1 hour, 58 minutes, and was shot on Crete and Pinewood Studios, London.

GRADE: B+

The Moon-Spinners is by far a classic movie for your video collection. Besides great actors, this movie has every little speck of something for everyone. A fortune in stolen jewels, add a dash of danger, a pinch of romance, and season this movie with Alfred Hitchcock-like intrigue and comic flair, and you have a helluva movie for the entire family! 8 out of 10.

I guess the script wasn't top-notch... Okay, it wasn't, but there are plenty of other things to concentrate on here. Pretty good performances from Eli Wallach as the villian, Hayley Mills and Peter McEnery as the detectives/romantic leads, and Irene Papas as the villian's nervous sister, who dosen't have much to do but makes an impression. Also, funny comic performances from Joan Greenwood as Mills' aunt and the appearence of Pola Negri, the silent screen star, as the jewel collector Madame Habib. The gorgeous scenery of Crete is also a big asset. I found the film to be pretty suspenseful and engaging throughout. I really wasn't sure just what was going to happen next. It did keep me on the edge of my seat in some spots. The only weak link was a very rushed and uneventful conclusion, but otherwise very well-done. This was Disney's answer to Hitchcock, and also an apparent attempt to get his young star, Miss Mills, into more adult roles after four years of excellent but very "kiddie" films for the studio. Unfortunately, she didn't get any more roles like this at Disney; her next and last was in "That Darn Cat!", a very enjoyable and funny film but still aimed more at kids. She ended up having to leave the studio, do a nude scene in another film, and have an affair with an older man in order to become more adult in the eyes of the world. Still, this was her starting point, and while Hitchcock could easily have topped this and any other suspense/mystery film, it's still fun to watch and suspenseful, never boring. See it; you won't be sorry.

Although she would soon be leaving Disney Studios Hayley Mills at the age of 18 got a chance at a semi-adult role with a semi-adult romance with young Peter McEnery in The Moon-Spinners. The film is worth a look if for no other reason than the great location cinematography on the Island of Crete.

Mills and her aunt Joan Greenwood are on holiday in Crete and they arrive at the small inn that they were supposed to be staying and the owner, Irene Papas is decidedly cool and has to be forced to provide Mills and Greenwood with accommodations. Eli Wallach who is Papas's brother is most unfriendly wishing they would leave post haste.

Wallach has reason for wanting them out, he's planning to sell some stolen jewels to Pola Negri who's collected a lot of such loot with six husbands along the way. But Peter McEnery has different ideas. He's got his own plans for the jewels.

McEnery and Mills make a fine attractive young couple and Eli Wallach as the villain is at his best. When is he ever not. And the chance to see three legends of varying degree as Irene Papas, Joan Greenwood, and silent star Pola Negri in a comeback role is not to be missed.

The Moon-Spinners plays a like a Nancy Drew mystery and I wonder why Disney never cast Hayley Mills as the teen sleuth. She would have been perfect in the role. Kids and adults will enjoy this film from the Magic Kingdom.