vincentlynch-moonoi The good news is about the most clever dialog I've seen in a film in a very long time. The bad news is that that dialog came from the play of the same name, and the film looks very much like a play with very limited sets...cheap looking sets at that. Add in that the print seen broadcast today has not survived well and...well, it isn't the easiest film to watch.The story is a bit interesting, although it may not sound so -- odd girl meets city architect at the Empire State Building. They fall in love. Then out of love...all in one 24 hour period. And then back in love. What's interesting about it is the very unusual girl played by Maggie McNamara. Very interesting character.To me, McNamara is the real star here. Unfortunately, though her early career began with great promise (as sort of a down-to-earth Audrey Hepburn), she dropped out of acting, ended up as a temp typist, and committed suicide at age 49.William Holden's role here as the love interest is good, though not remarkable. David Niven is interesting here...sort of competition in the love department, but not really. It's a bit of a subdued Niven, although Niven could give real bite to his acting...and does here. Also of interest to me is Tom Tully in a small role as the father of McNamara's competition; his next role was as the wizened skipper of the ship in "The Caine Mutiny".Do I recommend this film? If you like clever repartee, then yes. If you like a story with a plot that moves along with different scenery, then no.

MartinHafer This is a very surprising film to watch. After all, for 1953, it's amazingly frank about sex--a subject you just didn't talk about in films at that time due to the Production Code. However, somehow Otto Preminger got away with a very 'dirty' film--though by today's standards it's pretty tame.The film begins with William Holden trying to pick up a woman (Maggie McNamara). However, almost immediately it becomes obvious that this is a bizarre woman. She just isn't normal--and is very frank in discussing premarital sex with Holden, though she insists on retaining her virginity! In fact, it's one of the first films after the Production Code was enacted in 1934 to use the V-word---'virgin'! Holden takes her home--where it soon becomes apparent he is quite the playboy and has just broken up with another girl. Oddly, the girl's father (David Niven) drops in and stars making passes at McNamara and from then on, it's a contest to see which guy will get this girl by the end of the movie.Despite its blunt attitude about sex, the film is enjoyable and there is a quirky strangeness about McNamara's character that makes her likable. Not a great film by any standard, but enjoyable and an interesting film because of its moral compass...which is, apparently, a tad bent.

theowinthrop The problem about censorship is that inevitably it dates. D.H.Lawrence, James Joyce, Gustave Flaubert, Leo Tolstoi were all censored for "Lady Chatterly's Lover", "Ulysses", "Madame Bovary", and "The Kruezer Sonata" when they came out, but today these books seems very run-of-the-mill in terms of their steaminess. The same happens with movies. "The Moon Is Blue" is typical. The hubbub in 1953 was the use of the word "virgin" in the film. Maggie McNamara's seeming willingness to experiment with sex is another reason (although it turns out she is more talk than action). Nowadays this seems to be relatively nothing.Censorship also breeds publicity, and in show business most publicity is good for the sale of tickets to the public. "The Moon Is Blue" had good box office. So much for the efficacy of censorship.Despite some of the favorable comments, most people are bored watching this film now. It was not terrifically funny. Holden and Niven are chums who are rivals for McNamara. Their actions in competition over McNamara now seem witless.One final point. This film was the subject of a plot in an episode of the television series, "M.A.S.H." Hawkeye and B.J. hear about how the censors are against this film, and they have a chance (by trading favors) of seeing it. When they get the film at the 4077th they are both appalled at how unfunny and tame it is. Enough said.

Ralph Michael Stein Long before Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks discovered they loved each other atop the Empire State Building, William Holden and Maggie McNamara met on the observation tower of the venerable skyscraper in the film version of the hit Broadway play, "The Moon is Blue." One of the best and most sprightly comedies of the early fifties, Otto Preminger had a fight on his hands when the film went before an aghast Production Code board.The movie makes rather light of a young woman's commitment to chastity, suggests that seduction is an amusing and acceptable pastime for a single male and uses words like "pregnant" and "virgin" offhandedly. The lovely, talkative, self-assured Patty even demands to know the meaning of the charge, by her new boyfriend's barely ex-girlfriend, that she's a "professional virgin." Shocking stuff and approval was denied. Perhaps equally stunning to the Hollywood censors was Preminger's decision to release the film without approval, something he had the clout to do.As it turned out, audiences were able to deal with this explosive material. :) And almost fifty years later, when virtually nothing remains to be said or done on the silver screen, this film retains its charm, humor and attractiveness because a superb trio of actors - William Holden, Maggie McNamara and an irrepressible David Niven, who steals some of the scenes - gives a timeless quality to their sterling performances.The script hews pretty much to the original play with minimal set changes. The dialogue is witty and fast. Preminger knew he had created a gem of a romantic comedy and it's good entertainment today in a world where the values expressed by the characters seem as remote as the social customs of the Neandertals. I hadn't seen the film in decades - I rented it and I'm going to buy a copy. This is a true and timeless classic.By the way, don't skip the trailer that precedes the film. It's very funny.