Blood on the Moon DVD, 1948

By taking on the fatalism of 1940s crime pictures, director Robert Wise created perhaps the finest western noir of them all, says Rick Burin.

The late ‘40s saw the creation of an all-new type of movie: the Western noir. Transplanting the fatalism and pessimism of the decade’s crime pictures to that most American of genres made for a host of cracking pictures, including Station West, Colorado Territory and Raoul Walsh’s Pursued, starring Robert Mitchum.
 
Mitchum, who once said he had two acting styles, 'with and without a horse', was back in the saddle the following year for perhaps the finest Western noir of them all, Blood on the Moon. Riding into town after a plea from an influential friend (Robert Preston), he’s drawn into a land dispute and forced to choose between the pal he owes and the girl he loves (Barbara Bel Geddes).
 
Director Robert Wise and virtuosic cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca, who Mitchum said 'lit by cigarettes' because 'the high-priced stars like Cary Grant got all the lights', create a vivid and authentic world, while the compelling narrative contains one of the toughest screen fights ever staged. The acting from Mitchum and Walter Brennan is just terrific.

Rick Burin on 19th August 2010
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