Comments on: Moonrise (1948): Frank Borzage Goes Dark

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:47:55 +0000

Hi Addie, I agree about Dane Clark's maturity almost affecting his performance. However, as he did in Deep Valley a year earlier, he managed to convey a confused, vulnerable and earnest, ingenuous quality that was ultimately convincing to me in this role. I suspect that Clark's performance in Deep Valley may have been one of the main reasons he was chosen for this part. It would have been interesting to see what one of the original choices for the part, Jimmy Stewart, might have done with the part, though he was forty when Moonrise was made. I think that Stewart would have been a convincing country boy, but his age may have been one reason why he gave the role a pass. Thanks for taking the time to comment on this film.

By: addie

addie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:30:58 +0000

Hi,
The only reason I was surprised by the casting of Dane Clark– he was 36, when he made this movie, but he somehow comes off as young and naive enough for the role and I think, makes the, “aw shucks,” stuff sound fine, even with the Brooklyn thrown in at times.

addie

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:56:26 +0000

Hi Jeff & Mongo,
I think that “Moonrise” was one of those movies you have to be in the mood for to enjoy. The funny thing is, I understand exactly what you guys all mean about the poetic quality of the movie overwhelming the storyline, and longing for more of Rex Ingram, Harry Morgan and Ethel Barrymore, but finding yourself puzzling over the somewhat meandering storyline.

Still, because it was an exercise in subjectivity, reflecting the warped vision of the Dane Clark character, and filled with Borzage’s lyricism, we only had a few moments of these terrific actors. I was particularly impressed with Ingram and Morgan’s sensitive playing as well as the authority that Ethel brought to her all too brief a role as the grandmother. Didn’t you wish that Danny could have asked her more forcefully why she didn’t change his name?

I realize in retrospect that she probably felt that she was giving him the only true armor she could, guaranteeing that he would have to contend with this familial legacy, but there was something almost cruel about the way she went about thrusting him out into the world where the kid had to learn to fend for himself.

Patricia,
I tried to resist caring about the somewhat off-putting central character of Danny as well, but found that ultimately his behavior made sense, given his background. I was quite moved by the time he went home to his grandmother’s shack, resolving some of his inner conflicts and forgiving his father for the pain he had passed on to him.

Thanks to each of you for your thoughtful responses.

By: mongo

mongo — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:10:37 +0000

Moira, I watched the movie in anticipation of seeing Ethel Barrymore and was disappointed at the little screen time
she had.
Although I usually like Dana Clark his tough guy image in this movie finally got on my nerves.
Thank goodness for Rex Ingram and Harry Morgan.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:45:46 +0000

I thought, at first, that the artistic storytelling was keeping me at arm’s length from the characters, but my heart was taken hold of without my being aware. I started to tear up when Danny laid the rifle against his father’s headstone.

By: morlockjeff

morlockjeff — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:22:31 +0000

I was stunned by the visual beauty of the opening fifteen minutes of MOONRISE and almost wished the rest of the film had continued in that pure cinema style with a minimum of dialogue, using sound effects and music instead. It reminded me more of a German silent film as it continued and the often overly poetic dialogue actually added a dreamlike texture to everything. Quite unique though I can see why it wasn’t well received at the time.