ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

MartinHafer Unlike many Europeans in the entertainment world who were displaced by the Nazis and came to America (such as Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder), Jean Gabin was handicapped as he was a leading man whose English was obviously poor. As for directors, the public would never know and with some other foreign actors, they were able to suppress their accents better. But, with his performance in "Moontide", you can see why the very talented Gabin made very few films during his exile from Nazi-occupied France. His English isn't terrible--but it isn't as good as an actor like, say, Charles Boyer. It's a shame, as his pre- and post-war films are often amazingly good.Bobo (Gabin) is a barge operator who likes to drink and fight--and you see him doing this when the film begins. After waking up from a binge, he rescues a woman, Anna, who is trying to kill herself (Ida Lupino) he takes it upon himself to be responsible for her--which is quite touching. However, the nasty character Tiny (Thomas Mitchell) is always nearby--because he's holding some secret about Bobo--and Bobo has to put up with Tiny--even though there isn't much to like about Tiny. And, when Bobo and Anna marry, Tiny is sure to let his malevolence boil over and tragedy ensues.This film is very much unlike a Hollywood film as far as the plot goes. It bears more similarity to some of Gabin's French-language films like "Port of Shadows" and "La Bête Humaine"--very dark films about madness and murder. So, while it's a bit like an early American example of film noir, it is more like a hybrid of this and the films than helped to make Gabin famous. Dark, brooding, very adult for the time and genuinely odd--this film is worth seeing--especially for its wonderful cinematography.By the way, who came up with the names for the characters in this film?! You've got Bobo, Tiny and Nutsy--an interesting assortment to say the least!Also, on the DVD is a documentary about the making of the film. It talks about the odd circumstances surrounding the film and its star. It turns out that the book on which the movie was based was MUCH more adult and never could have been brought to the screen at that time--though quite a bit of the book still made it to the film but was more implied than explicitly stated. It's well worth seeing.

jdeamara To me, this film seems more like a homage to Frank Borzage, especially his film from 1933, "Man's Castle," with Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. The two leading characters are the same as in the Borzage picture, as is the basic gloomy setting, which, through the development of the characters' love, turns luminous. In both, the lovers start out desperate and lost. They ultimately find meaning in a meaningless world only in each other. "Moontide" can be seen as "Man's Castle" done after the Code. The relationship between Gabin and Lupino is the same as the relationship between Tracy and Young in "Man's Castle," except special care has to be taken to emphasize the fact that Gabin and Lupino have not slept together, and are in fact getting married forthwith. For me, the homage to Borzage is what gives "Moontide" its charm. The film noir aspect of the film, by contrast, feels as if it was clumsily tacked on, almost as afterthought, and to me is to the film's detriment. Lupino is solid as always, and Gabin is good. He's sort of channeling Maurice Chevalier here, but without Chevalier's looks. Perhaps his looks, more akin to a supporting character, doomed his chances in America to become a leading star; that and the fact he was reportedly difficult to work with.

MarieGabrielle This film may not be a masterpiece when paralleled with other films by Fritz Lang, as well as other projects starring Jean Gabin, and also films in which Ida Lupino excels. ( "Road House", with Richard Widmark and Celeste Holm). As well as the wonderfully sinister "Ladies in Retirement", in my opinion one of Ms. Lupino's most brilliant performances. But give this film a chance, it has a few redeeming performances and interesting scenarios.Ida Lupino is believable as Anna, a down on her luck waitress who attempts suicide. Apparently in the 1940's police used to arrest suicides, rather than help them. Gabin helps Lupino out of the problem, and she helps him decorate his ramshackle cabin on the docks of San Pablo, California. They eventually marry.Claude Rains has a rather odd role as "Nutsy", a barfly and friend, and Tom Mitchell is "Tiny", the requisite villain.While the theme is a bit sketchy, the sets are interesting, if a bit improvised, and the film is an oddity worth seeing for Lupino. Of course, I may be a bit biased. 8/10.

edwagreen Rather routine story of a dock worker who finds love with a hash slinger. The dull, somber mood is reflective of the period shown here.Ida Lupino is excellent, as usual, because she plays the role that she was so well suited to play in films- the unhappy, vulnerable woman, who finds love and then tragedy.As the heavy, Thomas Mitchell shows some fine acting but he is not acting exactly like his drunken doctor in "Stagecoach" or Gerald O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind."As the man of the docks, Jean Gabin is appealing in the romantic lead. Problem with this film is that it's so obvious. Jerome Cowan is the unfaithful doctor who realizes his shortcomings and helps Lupino survive.