Moontide (1942)

Interesting facts

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Moontide is a 1942 American romantic drama film with elements of a thriller. It was produced by Mark Hellinger and directed by Archie Mayo, who took over direction after the initial director Fritz Lang left the project early in the shooting schedule. The screenplay was written by John O'Hara and Nunnally Johnson (uncredited), based on the 1940 novel Moon Tide by Willard Robertson. The film features French star Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and Claude Rains.

Production

Moontide was meant to be a star-making vehicle for Gabin, who was celebrated in his home country, but obscure in the United States. The charismatic Gabin had been in a number of successful leading-man roles and had a hand in picking Robertson's story for adaptation to film. Willing to take a chance on him, Twentieth Century Fox bought the rights, despite the novel's themes of prostitution, rape, cannibalism and murder.

Soon after shooting began, director Fritz Lang left the project, rumored to be due to friction he had with Gabin regarding Marlene Dietrich, who had been involved with both men. It's not known which early footage is shot by Lang or replacement director Archie Mayo. There were problems regarding the film's location on San Pablo Bay, which had to be scrapped after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the west coast was declared a security zone.

Surrealist Salvador Dalí was hired to create the drunken montage at the top of the story but his sketches were deemed too bizarre, and the scene was shot with only some of his influence (most likely the close-up of the clock, the headless woman) intact.

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