Blood on the Moon (1948)

Directed by Robert Wise; produced by Theron Warth

Jim Garry (Robert Mitchum) is a cowboy seemingly roaming through the rangelands, but in fact on his way to meet his old associate Tate Riling (Robert Preston), who has a deal for him. The deal is one not really to Garry’s liking: a complicated scheme to buy a huge herd of cattle at a discount price, then sell it at premium. The trouble is that the plan depends on starting a war between ranchers and homesteaders, a war that won’t be free of casualties for long.

Blood on the Moon is a superior western for all the right reasons. The actors are all well-cast and very good in their rôles. Mitchum had been putting in his hours as a supporting actor and minor leading man for years but the late 1940s saw his star start to ascend fast. His quiet demeanour and often unchanging expression are perfect for the lone-cowboy part, while Preston’s charm is put to as good use as a villain as it is when he’s a hero.

Mention must be made of Barbara Bel Geddes who, though never a big star, has the proper combination of innocence and tenacity to play the female lead here. Phyllis Thaxter, as Bel Geddes’s character’s sister, is also key to the plot, and does well.

The secondary characters, portrayed by, among others, Tom Tully, Walter Brennan and Charles McGraw (that gravelly-voiced player will keep you guessing whether he’s a good guy or not) make less of an impact, as their personalities are not as important as their deeds. A number of character-actors, soon to be better known in the western genre, such as Iron Eyes Cody and Harry Carey Jr, also contribute.

The story is better than that of many westerns which, despite a fondness for the genre, I must admit are usually of the simplest. Thanks to the villains’ scheme, and the moves made against it, the plot is a relatively complicated one; this is one of the reasons why Blood on the Moon has been called a ‘western film-noir’, and perhaps why Mitchum is so successful in it. The script itself, by Lillie Hayward, is also commendable. Hayward, who started writing in one form or another for movies in 1924, penned mostly minor works and eventually went to work principally for Disney, writing the original Shaggy Dog (1959). Blood on the Moon is probably her best work.

Robert Wise had been showing his skill as a director for a few years prior to Blood on the Moon, and he would go on to bigger budgets and greater acclaim. Nonetheless, this film demonstrates his talent behind the camera. There are a number of telling scenes, from the actionful (the fist-fight that demolishes the interior of a saloon is both exciting and realistic) to the small and quiet, that make for a good motion picture.

One of the better but inexplicably lesser known westerns, Blood on the Moon is an enjoyable film that bears watching more than once.