Moontide

and a good one at that. Gabin plays a rough drifter along California's fishery coast who rescues a girl (Ida Lupino) from a suicide attempt. He takes her to his floating bait shack and the two fall in love. Unlikely storyline takes a back seat to the acting of Gabin and Lupino as well as Claude Rains as the local "failed intellectual." Great waterfront sets certainly help this moody tale. Only Thomas Mitchell seems to overplay his hand as the treacherous friend. Jean Gabin was a European favorite for 45 years, and it's easy to see why in this film. Too bad he didn't stay in Hollywood a little longer, but the war was on. Also in the film as Jerome Cowan (in a subplot that seems to have been trimmed), Tully Marshall, Vera Lewis, Helene Reynolds, and Victor Sen Yung.

10 Stars- I found no errors in this film. Memorable, plot is typical noir: mystery, a little suspense (not enough to raise your blood pressure) and of course a romantic interest.

Women will love Bobo, the mysterious manly man with an accent, who can punch down bullying malefactors with no effort to save the dignity of any woman. Bobo is ever accompanied with his trusty and also-brave bulldog, who fights with him- the dog's doing so plays an important part in the mystery, which I will not divulge here so as not to spoil the ending. "Bobo" is a Gypsy, at least he calls himself one, with a tag-along leech by the name of Tiny. Tiny and Bobo are a couple of laborer types that take jobs here and there, Bobo is a strong and honest good natured fellow, both he and Tiny drink to excess and sometimes fight (with Bobo it's usually to defend a woman or a beaten man) Bobo is ever the quiet do-gooder, always happy to lend a hand or help the helpless. Tiny has a hold on Bobo, a scheme which unfortunately is a hold that Tiny uses to blackmail and control, up to demanding Bobo keep on moving along from town to town, never attaching to anyone or thing. But- Bobo falls in love with Anna, the gorgeous and smart Lupino (who wouldn't? She is as tiny as a wasp and so pretty) whom he rescues from a possible suicide by drowning (reason for this attempt is not really given in the film) Bobo and Anna become fast friends. Anna is a wayward girl with a history of taking low jobs like slinging hash, which Tiny warns Bobo that "she is a no-good hash-slinger!". I think there are aspects of the characters that are in the book "Moon Tide" that are not addressed in the film, but that's OK because the film stands on its own. I thoroughly enjoyed Moontide and I know that viewers won't turn away when watching it because it is one of those movies that come on late late at night but you dare not sleep because you don't want to miss ONE second out of it. Just a fun, memorable and romantic feel-good kind of thing, not schmaltzy- that embraces real noir and real romance in a fine way.

A film that uses every bit of it's scenery even though it isn't much (you won't notice the spartan sets, only if you take the film apart, because the film 'takes you there')every craft in the film making was used to great advantage. In lesser hands this would not have been so good. The direction is expert: Fritz Lang uncredited, not sure why. Jean Gabin as Bobo was well cast, I'd never heard of him myself before, he is believable as Bobo the gypsy very well. He met Anna mere days ago but is well in love with her enough to marry her and she him and there is a degree of believe-ability here Both of them- Anna and Bobo I cheered for, wished well, and was in love with both of their characters so much, I wanted all of it to be true, in fact so much that it is as if one is watching a slice of life in a 1940s-era San Pedro dock, with the salty but good as gold characters who keep their mouths shut for the right reasons to protect their life long friends.

Here we have the 28 year-old Ida Lupino, looking more like 19 or 20, and already the veteran of more than thirty films, being a frail, charming, and vulnerable waif. She is thoroughly convincing, and we would all like to take her in and look after her. This duty falls to the gruff Jean Gabin, a hard-drinking waterfront drifter from port to port, who has at some point arrived in the States from France. In fact, Gabin in real life had fled the Nazi Occupation and this was one of two American films which he made in exile. The film was supposed to be directed by Fritz Lang, who would have made it a moodier and darker piece. However, he was replaced by the more cheerful Archie Mayo, so we get a film whose real value is not as cinema but as encounter between Lupino and Gabin. That keeps us watching. Claude Rains gives bemused support as a California waterfront bum (hardly his usual type of role!) and Thomas Mitchell is an unctuous, scheming villain who has conned Gabin into thinking he has 'something on him'. The film is rather sinister, and in many ways pointless. If it weren't for Lupino and Gabin being so fascinating, nobody would bother to watch this movie, as it falls between many stools. But Lupino is so entrancing in this role, that presumably no one really cares about the story anyway. And listening to Jean Gabin speak heavily accented English in California is so extraordinary that one wants to watch that too. Who gives a damn about the film, we've got Lupino and Gabin, and that's all that matters. They could read the telephone directory as far as I am concerned, and I would still watch.

The lonely dock worker Bobo (Jean Gabin) is a strong man that likes to drink a lot. One night, after a binge, he awakes without recollections at a barge hired to sell bait. He befriends the night watchman Nutsy (Claude Rains); rescues the suicidal Anna (Ida Lupino) from the sea and brings her to the barge to recover. Meanwhile he learns that his acquaintance Pop Kelly (Arthur Aylesworth) was found murdered strangled. Bobo and Anna fall in love with each other and decide to get married. But Bobo´s former friend Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) has always lived supported by Bobo and intends to get rid of Anna.

"Moontide" is an original film noir with a different storyline, great cast and director. Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Claude Rains and the uncredited Fritz Lang together are feast for any movie lover. The gloomy story and atmosphere have a melancholic happy ending and is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Brumas" ("Sea Mist")

Wow! Poetic realism, Hollywood style. MOONTIDE was originally assigned to Fritz Lang as director, but he was replaced by Archie Mayo and we may never know how much difference this made in the final film. Whatever its production history may be, this is a magnificent example of artistic use of black-and-white cinematography and set design. There is a palpable atmosphere, a sense of place (though it's never specified by name. We just know it's set on the California coast) that's downright captivating. So strong is the visual style--with its constructed sets, artfully lit, often cast in semi-darkness-- that it very often overwhelms the drama, though never throwing the balance off altogether. This is poetic realism, in what is usually termed the French style of the 1930s-40s, in a Hollywood context. The generally European feeling remains strong with the presence of Jean Gabin in the lead role. His committed performance dominates the film, only partly due to his strong French accent. It's probably a shame that the actor chose to discontinue work in American films after this and one more film, because he is so strong here. The other actors--all very good ones, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell, Claude Rains,Jerome Cowan all seem under the spell of the film's style and they work perfectly with, or against, Gabin's character. Watching MOONTIDE (a poetic title if there ever was one), one might wonder if it misses greatness only by its origin. Had Lang stayed with it, would we have something comparable to the masterworks of Carné or Renoir? As it is, the film comes close enough to be ranked only slightly lower. In the case of this movie, "underrated" is an understatement.