BLOOD
ON THE MOON (1948)
Starring
Robert F**king Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Preston, Walter
Brennan, Phyllis Thaxter, Frank Faylen. Directed by Robert Wise. (88
min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Mr. Pawsđ¸
We
all need a little more Robert Mitchum in our lives. As classic tough
guys go, only McQueen and Bogart were cooler.
He’d
already been in dozens of movies prior to Blood on the Moon,
mostly in supporting roles and often billed as Bob Mitchum. As the
parts grew bigger, so did his name and once Out of the Past
was unleashed, he was bestowed the official title of Robert F**king
Mitchum, the unflappable man’s-man who kicked ass and melted
hearts, despite looking like an auto mechanic who always showed up
for work hungover.
As for Robert F**king Mitchum on a horse and brandishing a six iron...just hook that shit up to my veins.
He’s
in full Robert F**king Mitchum mode in Blood on the Moon as
Jim Garry, a hired gun
recruited by old buddy Tate Riling (Robert Preston), to help keep
local baron John Lufton (Tom Tully) from bringing his herd home,
which would supposedly affect local land owners. But Garry learns
Riling is actually planning to swindle Lufton: With nowhere to take his cattle, Riling will offer to buy it cheap, then resell it at
a higher price. After getting
to know the Lufton family – particularly Tom’s feisty daughter,
Amy (Barbara Bel Geddes) – Garry questions which
side he’s
on, especially once some of the local ranchers start dying.
 |
| "So...what's the F stand for, stranger?" |
It
isn’t a particularly original story, nor does it sound all that
interesting on paper. However, this is another movie where skillful
direction (by Robert Wise) and
fine performances keep it
crackling. I mostly knew
Preston from sunnier roles like The Music Man,
but he actually did a lot of westerns early-on and makes an effective
villain. Perpetual cowpoke
Walter Brennan is on-hand as a sympathetic rancher-turned-cohort out
to avenge his son’s death. However, the movie belongs to Robert
F**king Mitchum, who
Robert-F**king-Mitchums as only Robert F**king Mitchum can.
He’d
go on to bigger things, of course, redefining antiheroes and creating
a few of Hollywood’s greatest villains. But he had already become
Robert F**king Mitchum long before that, Blood on the Moon
being a great early example. Though the film itself may not be
considered a classic, his performance certainly is.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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