Blood on the Moon

Released Nov 9, 1948

1h 28m

Western

List

83%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Down-and-out cowhand Jim Garry (Robert Mitchum) is asked by his old friend Tate Riling (Robert Preston) to help mediate a cattle dispute. When Garry arrives, however, it soon becomes clear that Riling has not been entirely forthright. Garry uncovers Riling's plot to dupe local rancher John Lufton (Tom Tully) out of a fortune. When Lufton's firecracker of a daughter, Amy (Barbara Bel Geddes), gets involved, Garry must choose between his old loyalties and what he knows to be right.

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John G

I think the audience rating is about right. You shouldn't expect too much of a western from this era.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This is on Criterion in the Western Noir collection. Well, it got the Noir so down in terms of dark and shadows and night that sometimes you can't tell what the hell is going on. Robert Montgomery rides his cleft chin into a hot mess of corruption involving cattlemen, homesteaders, a Reservation Agent, Indians, and of course, a steel- willed rifle-packin' woman. That lady and Mitchum have a rifle shootout in the beginning with a never-ending supply of bullets. Of course, they smooch up in the end. As one reviewer puts it, Mitchum plays a "morally ambiguous character" who double-crosses and triple-crosses until he's almost as confused as this viewer about it all. Along the way, Indians on the reservation collude with his arch-nemesis Riley to kill him for reasons - well, not clear for the Indian part of it, anyway. There's a cool fight where Mitchum inexplicably piles an upside down table on a very-much still alive Riley for reasons - well, again, not clear but it's cool anyway. The scene of Mitchum in a tree watching a cattle stampedw running underneath him on another screen is worth the price of admission.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

john c

Blood on the Moon is a beautifully shot western Film Noir. Robert Mitchum does an incredible job as Garry. Robert Preston is great as the heavy, Riling.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

ashley h

Blood on the Moon is a decent film. It is about an unemployed cowhand who hired by his dishonest friend Tate Riling as muscle in a dispute between homesteaders and cattleman John Lufton. Robert Mitchum and Robert Preston give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Robert Wise did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because action and adventure.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

one of the better 'psychological western" will make a perfect dbl feature with 'blood on the sun"

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A familiar feud storyline for the western genre but it's solid direction and a solid lead performance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Robert Wise

Director

Robert Mitchum

Jim Garry

Barbara Bel Geddes

Amy Lufton

Robert Preston

Tate Riling

Walter Brennan

Kris Barden

Phyllis Thaxter

Carol Lufton

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...hopelessly convoluted and devoid of interesting, attention-grabbing elements...

Rated: 1.5/4

Aug 14, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A good opening act and a great knockdown fight are pluses.

Rated: 2.5/4

May 16, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Mitchum manages to find a sense of moral ambiguity to his amoral gunslinger that elevates the film above your typical western B-movie.

Rated: 3/4

May 13, 2020

Full Review

Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

The film carries a striking psychological intensity...

Rated: 6/10

Dec 28, 2018

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Above average western.

Rated: B+

Sep 28, 2010

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 4/5

Oct 16, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Down-and-out cowhand Jim Garry (Robert Mitchum) is asked by his old friend Tate Riling (Robert Preston) to help mediate a cattle dispute. When Garry arrives, however, it soon becomes clear that Riling has not been entirely forthright. Garry uncovers Riling's plot to dupe local rancher John Lufton (Tom Tully) out of a fortune. When Lufton's firecracker of a daughter, Amy (Barbara Bel Geddes), gets involved, Garry must choose between his old loyalties and what he knows to be right.

Director: Robert Wise
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 9, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 28m

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