Moonrise

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Moonrise

1948,

1h 30m,

Drama

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Watchlist

100%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In the tiny community of Woodsville, young Danny Hawkins is constantly tormented by his fellow townspeople because his father was put to death for killing another man. When he hopes to put his dark family history behind him and begin a relationship with warmhearted teacher Gilly Johnson, local bullies try to put a stop to the romance by jumping Danny. After accidentally killing one of his attackers, Danny must struggle to escape the same fate as his father.

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Apr 5, 2021

[Borzage's] doom-laden romanticism pervades the movie's visual style as well as its drama.

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Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

Jun 14, 2018

This is an overlooked gem from one of Hollywood's under-the-radar mavericks, and a tasty slice of small-town noir.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Nov 22, 2022

This is a place out of time and space, created entirely on studio sets and photographed with the floating cameras and poetic imagery of a silent movie, lush and claustrophobic and beautifully unreal...

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Aug 29, 2021

3/4

Moonrise earned a solitary Oscar nomination for Best Sound, but if any individual component should be recognized, it's the exceptional cinematography by John L. Russell.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Aug 25, 2020

3.5/5

Neither as lightweight as Borzage's prized melodramas nor as bizarre as some of his other obscure titles (Strange Cargo, for instance), Moonrise is morose, melodramatic gem from the most prolific era of film noir.

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Alex Lindstrom

PopMatters

Dec 28, 2018

10/10

Moonrise is a film... I should hope spurs this drive toward action, helping the viewer to experience the tremendous indignity of something like the death penalty (or any other abuse under the pretense of justice) by touring them through a tortured life.

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Theodore S

Feb 1, 2018

Not a bad black and white Oldie. But got bored towards the end

Abraham R

May 30, 2017

The first ten minutes of Frank Borzage's film noir are fascinating and, although the film doesn't keep up the pace, it is full of interesting ideas and camera shots.

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Abraham W

Jan 9, 2017

A fine example of the film noir, with Ethel Barrymore in the cast. The protagonist is tortured by the fate of his father, who was hanged for murder. YouTube has a good print of it.

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Frank Borzage

Director

Dane Clark

Danny Hawkins

Gail Russell

Gilly Johnson

Ethel Barrymore

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Synopsis

In the tiny community of Woodsville, young Danny Hawkins is constantly tormented by his fellow townspeople because his father was put to death for killing another man. When he hopes to put his dark family history behind him and begin a relationship with warmhearted teacher Gilly Johnson, local bullies try to put a stop to the romance by jumping Danny. After accidentally killing one of his attackers, Danny must struggle to escape the same fate as his father.

Director: Frank Borzage
Screenwriter: Charles Haas
Distributor: Republic Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2019
Runtime: 1h 30m

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