Two strengths of this movie are seen at a very early stage as it starts particularly strongly and also conveys a great deal of important information about the main character's history by using visual means. The opening montage is very effective as it sets the foundation for the story and also establishes the visual style of the piece. Appropriately, some impressive low key lighting is used which is totally compatible with the rather grim and troubling nature of the drama that follows.
Danny Hawkins (Dane Clark) is the son of a man who was hanged for murder and during his childhood had regularly been taunted and bullied by his contemporaries. Some years later, as a young man, Danny gets involved in a fight with one of his childhood tormentors called Jerry Sykes (Lloyd Bridges) and unintentionally kills him in self defence and dumps his body in a swamp. He doesn't realise that he's left his pocket knife behind at the scene of the fight and goes on to the local dance hall where he dances with Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell), a school teacher who's engaged to be married to Jerry.
Danny has a close friend, an older man called Mose Johnson (Rex Ingram) who like himself is an ex-railroad employee. Mose lives in a shack close to a swamp and keeps a number of dogs which he uses on hunts for raccoons. On one such hunt, the dogs find Jerry's body which is duly removed and taken to the coroner's office.
Danny and Gilly's growing relationship is noticed by the local sheriff Clem Otis (Allyn Joslyn) and when the couple are on a Ferris wheel ride at a fairground at the same time as Clem and his wife, Danny becomes overwhelmed with guilt, panics and jumps off the structure injuring himself in the process.
A little time later, when he sees that Billy Scripture (Henry Morgan) who's a mentally retarded deaf mute has found his knife, Danny again panics and attacks his friend and almost strangles him to death. He then starts to feel that time is running out and that he'll soon be arrested and so goes to his grandmother's home where some information that she provides leads him to re-evaluate many of the issues which had affected him so profoundly over the years.
"Moonrise" looks as if it was made on a modest budget and very successfully evokes the sense of confinement that can pervade life in a small community. The acting is of a consistently good standard and the screenplay is entertaining with lines such as "sometimes murder is like love, it takes two to commit". This remark is typical of some of the more sagacious and philosophical outpourings which emanate from both Clem and Mose. These two men are colourful characters whose style is well fitted to the rather laid back pace of the environment in which they live.
Danny is a genuinely tragic character who was unfairly stigmatised and abused because of something which was completely outside of his control. His torment and emotional turmoil ate away at him until he became convinced that he had "bad blood" in his veins and his outbursts of uncontrollable anger nearly led to Billy's death and also to three of his friends almost being killed in a car accident which he caused. Dane Clark portrayed the full range of his tortured character's emotions with great skill and authenticity in what was unquestionably, a very commendable performance.
Danny Hawkins (Dane Clark) is the son of a man who was hanged for murder and during his childhood had regularly been taunted and bullied by his contemporaries. Some years later, as a young man, Danny gets involved in a fight with one of his childhood tormentors called Jerry Sykes (Lloyd Bridges) and unintentionally kills him in self defence and dumps his body in a swamp. He doesn't realise that he's left his pocket knife behind at the scene of the fight and goes on to the local dance hall where he dances with Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell), a school teacher who's engaged to be married to Jerry.
Danny has a close friend, an older man called Mose Johnson (Rex Ingram) who like himself is an ex-railroad employee. Mose lives in a shack close to a swamp and keeps a number of dogs which he uses on hunts for raccoons. On one such hunt, the dogs find Jerry's body which is duly removed and taken to the coroner's office.
Danny and Gilly's growing relationship is noticed by the local sheriff Clem Otis (Allyn Joslyn) and when the couple are on a Ferris wheel ride at a fairground at the same time as Clem and his wife, Danny becomes overwhelmed with guilt, panics and jumps off the structure injuring himself in the process.
A little time later, when he sees that Billy Scripture (Henry Morgan) who's a mentally retarded deaf mute has found his knife, Danny again panics and attacks his friend and almost strangles him to death. He then starts to feel that time is running out and that he'll soon be arrested and so goes to his grandmother's home where some information that she provides leads him to re-evaluate many of the issues which had affected him so profoundly over the years.
"Moonrise" looks as if it was made on a modest budget and very successfully evokes the sense of confinement that can pervade life in a small community. The acting is of a consistently good standard and the screenplay is entertaining with lines such as "sometimes murder is like love, it takes two to commit". This remark is typical of some of the more sagacious and philosophical outpourings which emanate from both Clem and Mose. These two men are colourful characters whose style is well fitted to the rather laid back pace of the environment in which they live.
Danny is a genuinely tragic character who was unfairly stigmatised and abused because of something which was completely outside of his control. His torment and emotional turmoil ate away at him until he became convinced that he had "bad blood" in his veins and his outbursts of uncontrollable anger nearly led to Billy's death and also to three of his friends almost being killed in a car accident which he caused. Dane Clark portrayed the full range of his tortured character's emotions with great skill and authenticity in what was unquestionably, a very commendable performance.