Liliane Montevecchi

(On Cable TV, April 2022) I would really like to have better things to say about wannabe-swashbuckler Moonfleet. It is, after all, a late-career Fritz Lang film, one of the last he completed in Hollywood and one of the few to feature colour cinematography. It features the always-fun George Sanders, smugglers, gothic adventure and a kid protagonist that underlines how it’s supposed to be an adventure for the entire family. Unfortunately, the reality of the film is far less than its promise. Despite it supposed to be an adventure tale, there simply isn’t much fun to be found here. Moonfleet feels gloomy, moody, glum and cold at once, with very few of the elements coming together into an entertaining package. The studio-bound shooting looks unacceptably fake and limp, while the script doesn’t offer much in terms of strengths that would offset the lack of action. The cinematography is so sombre and monotone that the film might as well been shot in black-and-white. Sanders feels wasted in a dull role, although Liliane Montevecchi does earn a good look during her dancing sequence. It’s not enough to save the film, though – Moonfleet does feel like a singularly wasted set of opportunities, unable to make the most out of what it could have done. It’s a reminder that Lang’s talent did not extend to all genres of filmmaking – a terrific director for downbeat noir, not so much for more entertaining material.