This celebrated ‘Noir Western’ is a classic Western immersed in the film noir netherworld of double crosses, government corruption, shabby barrooms, gun-toting goons, and romantic betrayals. The tale of a cowhand hired as muscle in a dispute between homesteaders and cattlemen is based on a story by Luke Short and influenced the genre to become darker and more psychological, with a powerful performance by Robert Mitchum.
75th Anniversary Screening
Introduced by Alan K. Rode, author of Blood on the Moon (Reel West series). Screening followed by book signing.
Directed by Robert Wise | Starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Preston
The What is a Western? Film Series explores the wide range of movies that can be considered Westerns, and the ways in which they shape our understanding of the American West. Each screening includes a guest lecturer who will introduce the film and explain its significance in the genre.
About Blood on the Moon:
Of the movies that writers and historians call “Noir Westerns,” none is more celebrated than 1948’s Blood on the Moon. The comingling of the Western genre and the noir style crystalized in this extraordinary film, in turn influencing Westerns in the 1950s to become darker and more psychological. Produced during the height of the post-World War II film noir movement, Blood on the Moon is a classic Western immersed in the film noir netherworld of double crosses, government corruption, shabby barrooms, gun-toting goons, and romantic betrayals. With this volume, biographer and noir expert Alan K. Rode brings the film to life for a new generation of readers and film lovers.
About Alan Rode:
Alan K. Rode is a charter director and the treasurer of the Film Noir Foundation, spearheading the preservation and restoration of America’s noir heritage. A documentarian and producer, he is also the author of Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film and Charles McGraw: Film Noir Tough Guy.