The Moon Is Down (film)

The Moon Is Down
The Moon Is Down
Directed by	Irving Pichel
Written by	Nunnally Johnson
Based on	the novel The Moon Is Down; by John Steinbeck
Produced by	Nunnally Johnson
Starring	Cedric Hardwicke; Henry Travers
Cinematography	Arthur Miller
Edited by	Louis Loeffler
Music by	Alfred Newman
Production; company	Twentieth Century-Fox
Distributed by	Twentieth Century-Fox
Release dates	March 13, 1943 (Toronto, Canada); March 26, 1943 (New York);
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1.2 million (US rentals)

The Moon Is Down is a 1943 American war film starring Cedric Hardwicke and Henry Travers and directed by Irving Pichel. It is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck. During World War II, German soldiers occupy a small Norwegian town.

Cast[]

Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Col. Lanser
Henry Travers as Mayor Orden
Lee J. Cobb as Dr. Albert Winter
Dorris Bowdon as Molly Morden
Margaret Wycherly as Sarah Orden
Peter van Eyck as Lt. Tonder
William Post, Jr. as Alex Morden
Henry Rowland as Capt. Loft
E. J. Ballantine as George Corell
Hans Schumm as Capt. Bentick
Frederic Brunn as German Soldier (as Frederick Brunn)
Ernst Deutsch as Maj. Hunter (as Ernest Dorian)
Ludwig Donath as Hitler's Voice (as Louis Donath)
John Banner as Lt. Prackle (uncredited)
Jeff Corey as Albert (uncredited)
Ludwig Hardt as Elderly Man (uncredited)

Production[]

The set of How Green Was My Valley was reused for this film.^[2]

Reception[]

Bosley Crowther, the film reviewer for The New York Times, gave The Moon Is Down a mixed verdict. He lauded screenwriter Nunnally Johnson for creating a "clear and incisive screen version" of the book, resulting in "a picture which is the finest on captured Norway yet and a powerful expression of faith in the enduring qualities of a people whose hearts are strong." He also praised "Irving Pichel's superlative direction and a generally excellent cast". However, Crowther also observed that "the intellectual nature of this picture—its very clear and dispassionate reasoning—drain it of much of the emotion that one expects in such a story at this time."^[2]

References[]

^ "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, 5 January 1944 p 54
^ ^a ^b Bosley Crowther (March 27, 1943). "'The Moon Is Down,' the Film Version of Steinbeck's Novel and Play, Starring Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Opens at Rivoli". The New York Times.

External links[]

The Moon Is Down at IMDb
The Moon Is Down at the American Film Institute Catalog
The Moon Is Down at the TCM Movie Database
The Moon Is Down at AllMovie

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[1] "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, 5 January 1944 p 54

[NYT-2] Bosley Crowther (March 27, 1943). "'The Moon Is Down,' the Film Version of Steinbeck's Novel and Play, Starring Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Opens at Rivoli". The New York Times.

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