by Alan K. Rode
University of New Mexico Press
Paperback ISBN: 9780826364692
March 2023
136 pages
“The film transplanted the dark urban environs of the city into the West’s iconography.... Akin to Chandleresque private detective or a returning WWII veteran trudging through the brick alleys and gilded neighborhoods of the apocryphal urban noir environment, Mitchum travels through a similarly alienating domain, where loyalties shift and things are assuredly not what they initially seem.” — Alan K. Rode
Robert Wise's Blood on the Moon (1948) has had a bit of a renaissance in recent years. It's come to be appreciated as a notable film of its era—one that strikes a perfect balance between its two genres: the Western and the Film Noir. Based on the novel by Luke Short, the film stars Robert Mitchum as Jim Garry, a gunslinger who is hired by his old buddy Tate (Robert Preston) to settle a dispute between Tate and a cattle rancher. Jim falls for the rancher's headstrong daughter Amy (Barbara Bel Geddes) and comes to realize that Tate is actually scheming to steal the rancher's cattle from under him. The story unfolds like a Film Noir detective story with a notable Western backdrop, a thrilling bar brawl and a climactic shoot-out.
In 2020 the Warner Archive Collection released a Blu-Ray edition of Blood on the Moon that garnered much excitement from the classic film community. In 2023 the film was screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival to a packed theater. Blood on the Moon was introduced by film historian Alan K. Rode who recently published a book solely about the movie.
Blood on the Moon by Alan K. Rode is part of the University of New Mexico Press' Reel West series in which each book focuses on one particular film from the Western genre. This slim volume on Blood on the Moon offers readers an opportunity to learn about the background of the film, the key players involved and its place in film history.
The book manages to be comprehensive without bogging down the text with superfluous information. The introduction examines the context and importance of the film. The following chapters details the pre-production, in-production and post-production life of Blood on the Moon while giving the reader background on the notable individuals involved. We learn about the author of the original novel, Luke Short, screenwriter Lillie Hayward, home studio RKO, director Robert Wise, cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, actors Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Phyllis Thaxter, Robert Preston, Walter Brennan and more.
Some interesting facts from the book:
- The title Blood on the Moon is a reference to a “hunter’s moon” which appears red or to a total lunar eclipse. It “has been considered a foreboding signal or a portent of doom.”
- One of the last movies green-lighted for RKO by Dore Schary before Howard Hughes took over.
- The movie rights to Luke Short's novel Gunman's Chance were bought by RKO. It wasn't developed until director Robert Wise and Theron Wrath came across several versions of the script in the story department and realized that it " a viable film property that had been mishandled by RKO.”
- "Preston and Mitchum were a simpatico team who worked well together and enjoyed playing practical jokes on Barbara Bel Geddes and Phyllis Thaxter.”
- “The leading actors were selected by Dore Schary, but Wise cast all the supporting players…”
- The film had a bigger budget than other Westerns produced by RKO. It still went over budget due to inhospitable weather.
Author Alan K. Rode's Reel West: Blood on the Moon is an informative and engaging read. This concise book gives the reader plenty to chew on without overloading them with too much research. I recommend this book only to readers who are familiar with the movie as you'll need knowledge of the plot and the key players in order to appreciate the information presented to you.
This is my second book review for this year's Classic Film Reading Challenge.
I purchased Blood on the Moon from Larry Edmund's Bookshop this past April. My copy is autographed by the author.
