Jeanne Bowyer Difficult to know what to say, really, apart from "hmmm." I have a real weakness for classic films and have guzzled them with glee over the course of my life. I've also seen "Plan 9 from Outer Space." Now the following is of course, just my opinion. But in a nutshell, "Moonfleet" delivers swashbuckling adventure about as well as "Plan 9 from Outer Space" delivers cutting-edge science fiction. About five minutes into the film I began to assume it was a pantomime-style comedy and started looking out for the ugly sisters. I then wondered if someone from the National Lampoon world would suddenly make an entrance. I think I would have been a lot less confused if Chevy Chase had walked into that early scene instead of Stewart Granger. "National Lampoon's Moonfleet."Incidentally, Stewart Granger's arms spend most of the movie bent at right angles. It's enough to make a person want to rush back in time and onto the MGM set: chiropractor under one arm and elbow brace under the other.Spoiler alert (well, maybe....):There's a gunfight scene in the movie. Stewart Granger and his unconcerned female companion (dressed in purple) on the beach; he has a gun and his opposition — about 30 soldiers wearing ceremonial bearskins (in the middle of the day, versus one man, in Dorset, apparently) have, well, more firepower than he does. I think it takes them about ten minutes to dispatch "the misses." Granger on the other hand simply has to turn around with a resolute look, fire off a shot with a barrel-loaded flintlock pistol and *bam* — he's right on the money. That's not luck: he's either protected by God or deeply gifted. Go Granger. Added bonus: check out the "authentic" British vegetation. And keep your eye on what some of the extras get up to when they're in shot (rhubarb, rhubarb — stroke the horse, talk about gardening, rhubarb, rhubarb....).Anyway, I had to give the film three stars because, to be fair, I did laugh at it quite a bit.

The_Dying_Flutchman Somewhere Over the Ocean Blue One recent afternoon, as the heat crept up the sides of the verdant foothills, I chanced to watch the very last film of one, Skelton Knaggs. He of the ugliest of the liver damaged wing watchers. He passed on to the fields of Oberon before the film was released, but his visage lighted the battlements of it in fantabulous color and Cinemascope. He had no dialog, but was there to add what paltry finesse he could to the proceedings. It is a kind of Robert Louis Stevens-ish buck swashler with a beauteous score by Miklos Rozsa and a half hearted direction by Fritz Lang, who seemed to spend not too much time on it, but wanted to get in line for a ticket on a sea voyage homeward bound. It starred Stewart Granger whom I have always enjoyed because he was a leading man who did not care if his hair was turning gray. Avast me hardies, and give 'em lead!

telegonus This is a late Fritz Lang effort for MGM, an odd assignment for him in that it's a Stewart Granger costume picture, not the sort of project one would expect the director to have been hired for. The film turns out quite nicely. It's a fairly conventional story of smuggler's on the English coast, features a fine cast of veteran players, many of whom had appeared in pictures of this sort before.That the story is presented in large part through the eyes of a small boy lends it a measure of distinction. We see Granger's character much as the boy does, as a hero, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. Granger is excellent in the lead. Despite what appears to be a modest budget, this is a handsome film, in the grand manner. That it's a back-lot picture, thus not a real spectacle, is more than made up for by Lang's manner of dealing with his material. The movie feels like a fairy tale. The ending is unexpectedly moving, surprised me, and is still vivid in my memory.While not a masterpiece, Moonfleet should satisfy admirers of its director and costume picture fans as well.

Spikeopath "Two hundred years ago the great heath of Dorsetshire ran wild and bleak down to the sea. Here in the hidden caves and lonely villages, the smuggling bands plied their trades. And here, one October evening of the year 1757, a small boy came in search of a man whom he believed to be his friend"This is the opening salvo for the MGM adaptation of J. Meade Falkner's novel of the same name. Miklós Rózsa's luscious sweeping score then tones down to let us read and savour, and from here on in we are hooked into this booming colourful adventure. With the makers practically overhauling J. Meade Falkner's novel, it's perhaps unsurprising that fans of the novel have no time for this. Thus if you have read the book and not seen the film then perhaps you best avoid it? Likewise those who are in to swashbuckling as a preferred genre, do not be lulled into the belief that because Stewart Granger is the lead character of Jeremy Fox here, that this is Scaramouche 2, because it has plenty of swash but not enough buckle for those of that persuasion. You witless, gutless misbegotten gallows-bait!Filmed in Cinemascope and Eastman Color, Moonfleet is a hugely enjoyable adventure that encompasses smugglers, rapscallions, wonderfully costumed soldiers, and crucially, an engaging bond between a man and his newly adopted son. The sets and Oceanside location are excellent, and the costumes from Walter Plunkett benefit greatly from the "coulourscope" filming process, Robert H. Plank's photography sharp and a treat for the eyes. Story wise there are plot holes to thrust your épée or foils thru, and goofs that have no place in a production such as this, but if a keg of smuggled brandy and a search for a hidden diamond has you interested? Well this will deliver without a shadow of a doubt. George Sanders, Joan Greenwood and young Jon Whiteley (excellent) join Granger in delighting to the end of this enjoyable piece. Fritz Lang directs and fuses Gothic traits with bravado adventure leanings and the results are very easy on the eye, go on, have a look see. 8/10 Hurrah!