Over a sixteen year period, starting in 1940 and ending in 1956, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck made four movies together, the most famous probably being Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. Their third collaboration, The Moonlighter (1953), was the only western and the least familiar of the titles. This is a film I’ve only recently caught up with, once again thanks to the assistance of regular contributor Jerry Entract, and I found it a slightly unfocused but generally enjoyable affair. Revenge and redemption, those two faithful old partners in so many westerns, dominate but one is only half explored before being quietly dropped while the other is slipped in as though an afterthought. My feeling is that if these two themes had been more fully, or at least more consistently, developed, then The Moonlighter would have been a much stronger piece of work.
Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is the moonlighter of the title, a rustler who operates by night, and his opening narration places the action at the beginning of the 20th century, just as the frontier is about to finally close. As he tells us, civilization about to consign the myth of the wild west to the pages of history, but the beast’s claws haven’t been filed down totally yet. The concept of frontier justice still holds sway with some, and the crime of rustling continues to arouse strong feelings and attract harsh punishments. As Anderson sits in jail awaiting trial, a lynching party is arriving in town, impatient and aggressive. This first act of the film is the most powerful, soulful and threatening, and setting up a situation packed with potential. There’s an almost noirish, and indeed nightmarish, tone as the mob forces its way into the jail to demand its pound of flesh. There’s to be no heroic last-minute rescue as a man is mercilessly beaten, dragged from his cell, and hanged without ceremony. Only it’s the wrong man, the fates having conspired to save a guilty man while simultaneously dooming an innocent one. Anderson has been handed a new lease on life but with a bitter little proviso attached – his sense of guilt twisting itself into a thirst for revenge. However, it’s at this point, with the story part of the way down an intriguing avenue, that the focus of the script shifts and revenge drifts away to be replaced by, amongst other things, greed. With Anderson forced to rest up and recuperate in his old family home, other characters are added into the mix: Rela (Barbara Stanwyck), his former love is introduced along with his brother Tom (William Ching). This creates the possibility of a romantic triangle although it doesn’t really work out that way. Instead we meet Cole Gardner (Ward Bond), an old outlaw associate of Wes’ who is keen to talk him into going back into business. I won’t spoil the plot by revealing more about how it all pans out except to say that Wes gets to earn his redemption the hard way, suffering significant personal losses before regaining his sense of honor in the end.
The Moonlighter was written by Niven Busch, a man known for his fondness for grand passions and dark psychology. The film hints at this, or perhaps flirts with it, both in the terrific opening and later in the relationship between Wes and Rela. Yet it doesn’t come off successfully; there’s none of the high melodrama of Duel in the Sun or The Furies, nor enough of the darkness of Pursued. Now I like Busch’s work, although I understand if it’s not to everyone’s taste, and the way it has of burrowing into the minds and motivations of characters. The main problem with The Moonlighter is that it never goes far enough, all the ingredients are present and paths are started on but abandoned or strayed from before the themes have a chance to breathe and expand. Then when the redemptive aspect kicks in at the end it feels rushed and loses some of its impact as a consequence.
The director was Roy Rowland, examples of whose work I’ve looked at here in the past, and his handling of the material is patchy too. Again, I refer back to the opening, where he and cinematographer Bert Glennon hit just the right chord and conjure up an atmosphere that’s menacing and quite poignant. But his direction lacks consistency, and as soon as the action moves to the Anderson homestead there’s a flatness that reflects the loss of momentum in the script. The scene where MacMurray and Stanwyck meet after years apart only touches on their shared passion, the actors doing what they can with the dialogue, but it needs a spark and intensity that’s not achieved. Some of that does come as the story progresses, but I don’t feel it ever reaches the heights necessary to make the redemptive payoff work as well as it should.
MacMurray often made a fine anti-hero or villain, in this case I’d say he was playing the former though. When required he could tap into a kind of weary cynicism, and that’s exactly how he starts out – we first encounter him lazing in his jail cell awaiting what he fully expects to be an appointment with the hangman. The weariness falls away later, anger, distrust and bitterness coming along to displace it and MacMurray keeps it credible all the time. He also hangs onto a touch of decency too, despite his character’s criminal nature, which is vital if his eventual change of heart is to be at all convincing. Stanwyck was playing one of her signature tough broads and she’s perfectly satisfactory, as usual, though the role doesn’t have the kind of depth or shading which could bring out the best in her. She’s said to have enjoyed making westerns and the rugged outdoors stuff attracted her, something she got to indulge in here especially during the well filmed climax. Ward Bond doesn’t make an appearance until around the halfway mark, but impresses as the unscrupulous outlaw seeking out a partner to facilitate his schemes. Bond was typically most effective as bluff down-to-earth types or as an imposing physical threat. The movie gives him the chance to show off both of these aspects, moving smoothly from one to the other as the plot advances. Personally, I found William Ching the weakest link – his part is an important one yet he never really convinced me as the brother living in MacMurray’s shadow. In support, there are nice, if short-lived, turns by the likes of John Dierkes, Jack Elam, Charles Halton and Morris Ankrum.
The Moonlighter has been released as an MOD DVD in the US as part of the Warner Archive and is certainly worth a look. The turn of the century setting is potentially interesting but not a lot is made of this – the only real reference to the changing times is that Bond’s plan involves exploiting the possibilities afforded by the new motor cars. The movie was shot in 3D but I don’t know if that would add much to it (I’m no particular fan of the process myself) and it plays fine in standard 2D. Taken as a whole, the film is entertaining enough although it did need a script which retained a stronger focus and more character analysis. It starts off well and does have its moments later but meanders a little despite the short running time.
Riding the High Country 
Never seen this one Colin and does sound like a bit of a light-weight compared with the other outings for MacMurray and Stanwyck so really glad to hear about it ( thought that poster is so odd – looks more like Victor Mature and Joan Bennett!)
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Yes, just to be clear though the tone isn’t lightweight – it’s a touch inconsistent, and not sustained enough to retain focus properly. There are some powerful and effective passages but other weaker ones punctuating it all.
I chose this poster mainly for the colors and the dynamism suggested but the likenesses are slightly off.
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Thanks for that Colin – I had completely managed to ignore this one so really interesting to hear more about it.
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It was new to me too until very recently and I’m very glad to have seen it.
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Having said that, REMEMBER THE NIGHT is just a superb movie and apart from INDEMNITY, I tend to forget about even THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW. Can’t say i have a lot Roy Rowland films on my shelves, but plenty of Leisen, Wilder and Sirk …
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I actually haven’t seen Remember the Night myself but I think There’s Always Tomorrow is a terrific film.
As for Rowland, I’ve added a number of his films to my collection over the last few years but still haven’t watched Witness to Murder.
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WITNESS TO MURDER is one that i was thinking about the other day in fact (shot by the great John Alton, right?). REMEMBER THE NIGHT is primarily a romance but with a great screenplay by Preston Sturges and just beautifully played – you have to see it mate, you really do.
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I’ll definitely try to put that right as soon as I can.
And yes, Witness to Murder was indeed shot by Alton, another reason I ought to get round to seeing it.
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Saw a bit of it on YouTube (since taken down, which is annoying but fair) and really liked it
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I bought the DVD last year but it’s in Athens now – I’ll dig it out when I get back in September.
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PS well done on managing to retain your WordPress ‘identity’ – looks like all of us using the ‘twenty ten’ layout have had our custom headers purged!
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Hadn’t noticed that actually – must be annoying to have that happen. This theme doesn’t offer custom headers, which may be just as well under the circumstances.
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Seems to have been fixed now – must admit, really threw me – i mean, off i go for a month and then look what happens 🙂
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That’ll teach you! 🙂
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I know, I know – not doing that again, ever …
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That poster very eye catching.. Have not seen this one and as your recommendation not that strong, will take my time. Best regards..
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Glad the poster got your attention, Chris – that was what drew me to it in the first place.
The film is worth seeing despite some of its weaknesses – there are aspects which could have been better but it’s fine in places too. Taking your time seeing it probably isn’t a bad idea though.
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Hi Colin…hope all is well. Was waiting for your next Western post to share some info that I thought you might find interesting….there is a new book about Delmer Daves coming next year from Edinburgh University Press. It is entitled ReFocus: The Films of Delmer Daves, and should be out in 2016. Thought you would like to know! 🙂
Cheers,
Chad
http://westernsreboot.com/
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Hello, Chad. That’s something I wasn’t aware of and I’m pleased you’ve passed it along. As a fan of Daves, I’d certainly be interested in this book.
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That sounds like a book we would all like to know about! Thanks for the tip.
BTW, Colin, thanks for your kind acknowledgment.
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You’re welcome, Jerry – I really appreciated your help on this one.
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As much as I love Westerns, this is decidedly the least of four Stanwyck/MacMurray films but I do say that feeling all of the other three are great, nor is DOUBLE INDEMNITY necessarily the greatest of the three. REMEMBER THE NIGHT and THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW are at least as great, each in its own way.
I’ve seen THE MOONLIGHTER twice, the first time in 3D when it came out, and much later on TV though I don’t remember it real well now. But it seems I felt much as you did–it started with some good things going for it and might have been better than it is if it had followed through better on those things. Really, Niven Busch had probably made his contribution with the earlier movies and is more willing to follow a familiar trail, which can be fine but needs more inspiration.
I wonder if part of the problem for me is simply that 3D seemed to lower ambition in every other aspect of a movie but that one (with some notable exceptions of course). I personally don’t think that any Western needed it, though some of my favorite directors in the genre did films using the process (not their best ones though, even though I like Boetticher’s WINGS OF THE HAWK and Walsh’s GUN FURY well enough). Westerns just don’t need it and it doesn’t add to them–perhaps the one that works best for me is THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER (Gordon Douglas). I will say that this and HONDO (John Farrow) are very good but they are plenty good in 2D.
I like director Roy Rowland generally and he has done well with different kinds of movies including several better Westerns than this. I’ll admit I haven’t thought a lot about him in terms of sensibility or personal stylistic inflections, which doesn’t mean those things are not there. He would be worth closer study I believe.
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I’m not especially moved by 3D either, Blake, and you may have something there about the process absorbing some of the creative juices or directing them away to an extent.
I’ve only seen a handful of films by Rowland so far, I agree those I have seen are stronger than this one, and I haven’t though much about his personal style at this point either.
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When I showed up Fred was inventing flubber. When I later discovered that he had been a headliner in Noir and Westerns, I was surprised. In movies when things change it’s never a given that you will ride it through, I know they tried to throw Barb away, but she didn’t let it happen …
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First impressions of actors, especially if formed at a young age, can be odd – it’s always a bit of a shock to see them in completely different roles later. I was never familiar with MacMurray’s family oriented fare so it didn’t happen that way for me but I can imagine how it must have seemed for those who only saw him in such stuff.
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Another Stanwyck that I believe I have never seen.Does not sound like a barnburner so I’ll take my time. Thanks for the write-up.
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I don’t think you need to rush to see this. It’s OK, passable and entertaining enough, but still leaves you feeling it could or should have been a lot better. If it happens to pop up on TV, give it a look but that’s as far as I’d go.
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