The Moon Is Down

This movie has no big-box office stars, nor a major director. Yet it tells its story effectively and, sometimes, in a deeply moving fashion, because the script is good and the actors, accustomed to playing character roles, make real individuals out of their assignments.

The movie starts off by establishing several points: 1) Norway fell fast to the Germans not because they were weak or pro-Nazi, but because they were betrayed from the inside by fifth columnists (Quislings), a fear that runs through several wartime U.S. movies (Keeper of the Flame is perhaps the best of those.) 2) The Norwegians are decent people, and therefore worth helping. The town's militia refuse to shoot at the German paratroopers as they are falling through the sky because "you're not supposed to do that," even though the Germans promptly slaughter the militia from hidden positions.

This could be compared to American movie presentations of the fall of France, in which the French are not portrayed as having been betrayed from the inside - though in fact they were, to an extent, by Pétain. That may, at least in part, be because the American government maintained diplomatic relations of a sort with the Vichy government until the Germans finally invaded formerly "Free France" in the hope of winning them over, with the result that Pétain could not be portrayed as the traitor he really was.

This is a fine movie, worth watching.

There were several films made during the uncertainty of WWII that focused on European resistance, to boost up morale and show the frightened Americans in the audience that if we all pulled together and resisted, we would lick the Germans. My all-time favorite is Edge of Darkness, but if you've already seen that one and are looking for more in that same subgenre, check out The Moon Is Down. It's a little on the obscure side, with Cedric Hardwicke getting top billing, Henry Travers getting second, and Lee J. Cobb taking third, but it's still a good drama. You'll have to cut it slack for not having the budget of an A-tier picture, but if it did and could have afforded Walter Huston or Monty Woolley, it might have been remembered today.

Surprisingly gritty for 1943, this war drama has many dark moments. When one group of rebels gets the firing squad, they sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" until they are killed, at which time the crowd of townspeople take over. In another scene, Henry Travers gives a condemned man a pep talk before his death, telling him that the men who kill him will never have another moment's peace. Henry delivers the lines just like he would have as Clarence the Angel, but you can see through that the script and intent were good.

Only rent this one if you're in the mood for something heavy. At that point in the war, we didn't know which side was going to win, and most of the war movies were pretty grim. You could tell we were frightened, a feeling many post-war movies weren't able to capture since the outcome was already known.

In a small Norwegian mining town where all the signs are in English, the Nazis invade, under the command of Cedric Hardwicke. Gradually, their cruel policies lead to the rising of the townsmen in The Moon is Down, based on a novel by John Steinbeck.

Director Irving Pichel -- he has a small part as an innkeeper -- works from a low-key script by Nunnally Johnson, and the entire film is played in an engagingly low-key fashion by Hardwicke, the inimitable Henry Travers as the town's mayor, and Lee J. Cobb as the mayor's friend. It's an effective propaganda film from 20th Century-Fox right in the middle of the U.S.'s war.

The Germans invade Norway. Mayor Orden (Henry Travers) is a respected leader of the small port town Selvik. Their young men are off to train when an invasion takes them by surprise. They are ambushed by the Germans led by Colonel Lanser (Cedric Hardwicke). George Corell is the traitorous storekeeper and Dr. Albert Winter (Lee J. Cobb) calls him out. Lanser needs the iron mines to continue operating and demands cooperation from Orden's town.

This is adapted from author John Steinbeck's novel. It is solidly made with good actors. It's more of an intellectual work rather than a visceral thriller. There are some long exchanges which dig into the concepts of occupation. It keeps the movie somewhat static and the intensity suppressed. It doesn't shy away from the brutality but it's not an action movie. This is a solid fairly realistic wartime movie rallying the peoples under occupation. As propaganda, it is heroic and hits many of the right notes.

If you are looking for a realistic portrayal of WWII and the German occupation of Norway, perhaps this isn't the best film ("The Heroes of Telemark" is probably better for that). This is NOT a criticism of "The Moon is Down"...in fact it's a very good film and did its job of inspiring the American people during WWII.

The film is set in Norway just before the German invasion of 1940. The townspeople in a small mining town are all happy and oblivious to the coming stampede. Soon Nazis flood the country and their leader in the town (Cedric Hardwicke) has one goal...total obedience from the people. To do so, they'll kill as many people as they need to in order to keep the iron mine opening and running at capacity. But the locals cannot stand their new German overlords and throughout the film, they work to undermine the occupiers...even at the risk of their lives. This all leads to a VERY rousing finale-- one that still packs a powerful punch today.

This Twentieth Century Fox film is interesting because it shows the Germans as being brutal...but no more so than they actually were in their occupied territories! Instead of focusing too much on this, the movie really centers on the resistance of the Norwegians. An inspiring and well made film based on a story from John Steinbeck of all people. Well worth seeing.