The Moon Is Blue (1953)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Sylvia Fine (lyrics)
F. Hugh Herbert (play)

Release Date:

8 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Sensationally Funny -- Recommended for Adults.

Plot:

Two aging playboys are both after the same attractive young woman, but she fends them off by claiming that she plans to remain a virgin until her wedding night. Both men determine to find a way around her objections.

Plot Keywords:

Bathrobe | Fog | Punched In The Face | Whistling | Taxi Ride

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

William Holden	...	Donald Gresham
David Niven	...	David Slater
Maggie McNamara	...	Patty O'Neill
Tom Tully	...	Michael O'Neill
Dawn Addams	...	Cynthia Slater
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Television performer
Gregory Ratoff	...	Taxi Driver

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:PG (1988) | UK:X (1953) (cut) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Company:

Otto Preminger Films

Trivia:

This movie was used as a part of a plot line in the "The Moon is Not Blue" episode of "M*A*S*H." (The plot line focuses on Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicut trying to obtain a copy of the movie for the 4077th after hearing it has been banned in Boston. But when they get the film, they discover it is far less scandalous than the Boston ban implied. As Hawkeye says upon viewing the film, the reason a character in the movie says the word "virginal" is because "Everyone in the movie *was*!")

Quotes:

David Slater: Don't you find I have a certain weird charm?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Moon is Blue

An Evergreen Period Piece

Long before Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks discovered they loved each other atop the Empire State Building, William Holden and Maggie McNamara met on the observation tower of the venerable skyscraper in the film version of the hit Broadway play, "The Moon is Blue." One of the best and most sprightly comedies of the early fifties, Otto Preminger had a fight on his hands when the film went before an aghast Production Code board.

The movie makes rather light of a young woman's commitment to chastity, suggests that seduction is an amusing and acceptable pastime for a single male and uses words like "pregnant" and "virgin" offhandedly. The lovely, talkative, self-assured Patty even demands to know the meaning of the charge, by her new boyfriend's barely ex-girlfriend, that she's a "professional virgin." Shocking stuff and approval was denied. Perhaps equally stunning to the Hollywood censors was Preminger's decision to release the film without approval, something he had the clout to do.

As it turned out, audiences were able to deal with this explosive material. :) And almost fifty years later, when virtually nothing remains to be said or done on the silver screen, this film retains its charm, humor and attractiveness because a superb trio of actors - William Holden, Maggie McNamara and an irrepressible David Niven, who steals some of the scenes - gives a timeless quality to their sterling performances.

The script hews pretty much to the original play with minimal set changes. The dialogue is witty and fast. Preminger knew he had created a gem of a romantic comedy and it's good entertainment today in a world where the values expressed by the characters seem as remote as the social customs of the Neandertals. I hadn't seen the film in decades - I rented it and I'm going to buy a copy. This is a true and timeless classic.

By the way, don't skip the trailer that precedes the film. It's very funny.