CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Irie212 Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed this movie, though not as much as I did in 1964 when I was a freshly minted teenager, and a devotee of Mary Stewart's novels about plucky young women in exotic adventures. Unfortunately, the best adjective to apply to the movie is perfunctory. Or maybe just plain sloppy. It's a formula chick flick, which is fine if it's done well, as plenty are. But Hayley Mills was still too juvenile at 17 to portray Nicky Ferris. She's a fledgling girl compared to the 23-year-old British stage actor Peter McEnery, who plays Mark Canford, her love interest. The film was shot on Crete, where the story is set (as was the novel, which is rather eviscerated in this screenplay). Crete is a striking island, though there is no particular attempt to showcase its scenic beauty. More footage is devoted to Greek cultural customs- - a wedding, a carnival. But this movie is all plot, which is rather a strange thing, because it's a sketchy plot yet it drives all the action. The dialog is mostly functional, with very few attempts at wit, let alone wisdom. Typical of Disney of this period, the sterling supporting cast is comprised of strong character actors, European actors, and Hollywood has-beens-- Eli Wallach as the bad guy, Irene Papas as his rightly censorious sister (far too little of that divine actress), Joan Greenwood as Hayley's aunt, John Le Meseurier as the British consul and the RADA actress Sheila Hancock as his wife, and the silent film siren Pola Negri in her final film role as a jewel-obsessed dowager with a yacht and a pet leopard.If the plot weren't so tedious, perhaps the sloppiness of the film wouldn't be so troublesome. But there is ample time for viewers to be disappointed by the needless continuity mistakes, three of which are positively risible:1) The hero, Mark, suffers a gunshot wound in his arm (deltoid muscle, I think) early on, but he proceeds through the rest of the film vigorously using both arms as if nothing is wrong, except for when he's being bandaged or when he offers an occasional wince to remind us why there's a red stain is on his shirt. 2) In one scene, we start after nightfall when Nicky's aunt returns to the hotel, frantic that her niece has been missing all day. But when we cut to find Nicky, who was tied up and trapped in a windmill by evil Eli earlier, it's still daylight. There's plenty of blue sky and sunlight to illuminate her as she screams at the sight of a rat, a scream that brings rescuers.3) The chase scene with a motorboat trying to catch up to a yacht is preposterous. Nicky is near the harbor when first sees the yacht, which seems to be serenely anchored. She steals the motorboat and sequence of shots, she's in hot pursuit, bouncing along the waves in the open sea, after a boat steaming full-speed-ahead.The whole plot is wrapped up in short order once the police arrive on the yacht, and the movie predictably ends with an allusion to a possible wedding for Nicky and Mark. The only grounds for this ending is adherence to Disney formula because, although the two of them were thrown together in the headlong action, there's no evidence of attraction between them, no heat, not even much warmth. Nor do they have chemistry, not even in the famous kiss which is over with in a hurry, even though "Hayley's first screen kiss!" was marketed like "Garbo laughs!" To mature eyes, Nicky is an intelligent but heedless teenager, while Mark is a mature young man on a mission to clear his name (he was accused of jewel theft). There's no romance here, or intimacy, only an anemic sort of courtship. I did enjoy the movie-- Crete, the actors- - but oh! how much better it might have been!

swhite1480 First thing. The Moon Spinners, despite the tag line on IMDb, is not set on a SMALL Greek island, but a rather large one, Crete. I watched this movie for the first time today, April 17th, 2006..43 years after it was released.I did so mainly because I first went to Crete in 1976, when it was quite undeveloped. So I was interested to see what it was like in 1964 - even more adorable.Sadly I've been back on business and it is now hideously over-developed. But the original beauty and primitiveness of Crete comes over in this film. The movie itself seems to lose its way - someone should have had a close look at the script. From the moment the alleged British consul played by John Le Mesurier makes an appearance the movie heads off into bizarre territory. Polo Negri as the much-married Greek millionaire looks like a man in drag, and the last 45 minutes leaves one both bewildered and yawning.But what are astonishing are the stunts. The young kid leaping onto the moving windmill sail, and spinning full circle on it; then actor McEnery, on the face of it, doing partially the same. (I'm assuming they used a stunt double for Hayley Mills). Even McEnery leaping from rock to dangerous rock. The motor-boat scenes look a bit hairy too, and I think there would be a lot more Health and Safety regulation now.(McEnery was already showing signs of what would become a considerable dramatic pedigree).But it was an enjoyable romp in parts, and early Sixties Crete looked marvellous and unspoilt.History buffs may recall that a savage battle was fought there in 1941 when German airborne forces wrested control of the island from British and New Zealand forces. (War cemeteries are present on the island to this day).Later Cretan partisans fought the German occupiers from the mountains. In 1976 one such partisan by then in his Seventies, proudly showed me a knife with Luftwaffe markings he'd taken after allegedly killing its Nazi owner.But small Crete is not. It's the largest of the many Greek islands. About 130 miles long at its longest point, I recall, and about 80 miles deep.Final note: As teenagers we were all in love with Hayley Mills - she seemed to epitomise the times, fresh-faced, innocent, naive. Reason enough to watch this and recapture the Zeitgeist of 1964.Stuart White

blwilson-2 I loved this movie. I first saw it when I was seven years old, so I developed my first crush on Haley Mills. I remember staring at a full moon and being transported to the Greek isles and holding hands with her and going on all sorts of adventures......sigh. and then there is The Truth About Spring and Search for the Castaways....a little boys heart was just a fluttering. Back to the Moon...I so wanted to be on that island to help her and her friend. I was all in knots during the wind mill adventure...wow for a seven year old that was very intense, especially for a country boy. I remember yelling at the movie screen when things got too intense, and I was very relieved when everything turned out OK. Yes the movie was very good and still would be good with another leading lady, but I am glad that Mr Disney found Haley Mills!

ph0hunter This movie is one of my favorites from the 1960's and I watch it again every once in a while. It's also one of my favorite Hayley Mills movies. The locations are beautiful, interesting and different. The story is a solid mystery with sympathetic characters, and Mills plays a feisty, strong young woman. The production values are a bit wanting, however, especially during the windmill scenes. There's delightful humor, also, especially in some unexpected sights. And Pola Negri gives a fine performance. I love this movie and recommend it for anyone who likes a good mystery or Hayley Mills or Crete.