Movies made during a war usually feel like time capsules. They’re often loud, preachy, and frankly, a bit cheesy when you watch them eighty years later. But The Moon is Down movie, released in 1943, hits different. It isn’t some high-octane action flick with exploding planes. It’s a claustrophobic, psychological drama about what happens when a small town gets occupied by an invading army.
Honestly, it’s kinda weird how few people talk about this film today. Directed by Irving Pichel and based on John Steinbeck’s novella, it was a massive deal during World War II. It didn't just entertain; it served as a manual for resistance.
The story is simple. An unnamed country (obviously Norway, though Steinbeck kept it vague) is invaded by a cold, efficient military force. The invaders expect the locals to just roll over because they have the bigger guns. They’re wrong.
The Controversy That Almost Killed The Moon is Down Movie
You’d think a movie based on a Steinbeck book about resisting Nazis would be a slam dunk for American audiences in 1943. It wasn't that easy. When the book first came out, critics absolutely trashed it. James Thurber and Clifton Fadiman were particularly loud about it. Their gripe? Steinbeck made the "invaders" look too human.
They wanted monsters. They wanted drooling, one-dimensional villains that were easy to hate. Instead, Steinbeck and the filmmakers gave us Colonel Lanser, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
Lanser is tired. He’s a veteran of World War I, and he knows exactly how this is going to end. He doesn't want to be there. He knows that occupying a town of free people is a mathematical impossibility in the long run. Critics at the time thought this "humanized" the enemy too much, which they considered dangerous for morale.
But looking at The Moon is Down movie now, that’s exactly what makes it brilliant. It shows that even "civilized" men will commit atrocities when they are part of a machine. It’s much scarier than a cartoon villain.
Why the Dialogue Feels So Real
The script was handled by Nunnally Johnson. He stayed incredibly loyal to Steinbeck’s prose. Because of that, the movie feels like a play. Most of the action happens indoors—in the Mayor’s office or the miners' cottages. This creates a pressure cooker environment.
You’ve got Mayor Orden, played by Henry Travers (who most people know as Clarence the angel from It’s a Wonderful Life). He isn't a superhero. He’s just a guy who likes his tea and his position in the town. When the invaders tell him to tell his people to behave, he refuses. Not because he’s a revolutionary, but because he literally cannot command free people to be slaves.
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"The people don't like to have others tell them what to do," he says. It’s so simple. It’s almost polite.
The sentence structure in the film mirrors this. Short, clipped exchanges between the soldiers are punctuated by long, philosophical monologues from the Mayor. It captures that specific dread of waiting for something bad to happen.
A Propaganda Tool That Actually Worked
While American critics were arguing about whether the movie was "too soft," people in occupied Europe were risking their lives to see it.
The book and the film were translated and smuggled into countries like Denmark, Norway, and even France. In these places, the message was clear: the occupier is always more afraid than the occupied.
The movie focuses heavily on the "slow play" of resistance. It’s about the "flies that conquer the flypaper." The invaders are the flies—they think they’ve landed on something they can control, but they’re actually stuck and dying slowly.
- The townspeople start by being "clumsy" at work.
- They "accidentally" break mining equipment.
- They stop speaking to the soldiers in the streets.
- The silence of the town becomes a psychological weapon.
Imagine being a soldier in a town where no one looks at you, no one speaks to you, and everyone is just waiting for the sun to go down so they can cut a telephone wire. That’s the atmosphere Pichel captures.
Production Details and 1940s Hollywood
Technically, the movie is a masterclass in low-key lighting. Cinematographer Arthur Miller (not the playwright!) won an Oscar for How Green Was My Valley, and you can see that same expertise here. The shadows in the mining shafts and the stark, snowy exteriors make the village feel isolated.
Fox spent about $300,000 on the rights to the story, which was a huge sum back then. They knew Steinbeck was a brand name.
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The cast is a "who’s who" of character actors from the era:
- Henry Travers: Bringing a quiet dignity to Mayor Orden.
- Cedric Hardwicke: Bringing a weary, cynical edge to the invading Colonel.
- Lee J. Cobb: Playing the town's resident traitor, George Corell.
- Margaret Wycherly: The Mayor’s wife, who provides the emotional backbone.
The film moves at a deliberate pace. It doesn't rush to the executions or the sabotage. It lets you sit in the discomfort of the occupation first.
How The Moon is Down Movie Differs From the Book
Movies usually add more action to keep people from falling asleep in the theater. The Moon is Down movie actually adds a bit more of the "resistance" than Steinbeck’s novella did.
In the book, the ending is more about the internal psychological state of the Mayor as he realizes he has to die. In the movie, we get a bit more visual payoff with the British dropping small sticks of dynamite by parachute to the villagers.
It’s a bit more "Hollywood," sure. But it works. It gives the audience a sense of hope that the book keeps more ambiguous.
One fascinating detail: the "enemy" is never explicitly called German. They don't wear swastikas. They wear generic gray uniforms. Steinbeck did this on purpose so the story would be universal. It’s about any group of people who think they can own another group.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
People often think the movie is a tragedy because the lead characters don't exactly ride off into the sunset. But that’s missing the point.
The ending is a victory.
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The Mayor goes to his death reciting Socrates. He’s showing the Colonel that while you can kill a person, you can’t kill the idea of democracy. It’s basically a middle finger to the invaders from beyond the grave.
The Colonel knows it, too. That’s the look on Hardwicke’s face in those final scenes. He knows he’s already lost.
Why You Should Care Today
We live in a world where movies are usually about individuals doing extraordinary things. The Moon is Down movie is about a community doing small, ordinary things that add up to something huge.
It’s about the power of saying "no."
If you’re a film student or just a history nerd, this is a must-watch. It bridges the gap between 1940s studio filmmaking and the more "gritty" realism that would come after the war.
It’s also a reminder that John Steinbeck wasn't just the "Dust Bowl guy." He was a writer who understood the mechanics of power and how fragile it actually is.
Actionable Insights for Viewers and Researchers
If you want to track down this film or learn more about its impact, here is what you need to do:
- Check Public Domain Archives: While Fox still holds certain rights, many wartime propaganda films are available through university archives or specialized streaming services like Criterion Channel or TCM.
- Compare the Versions: Read the 1942 novella first. It takes about two hours. Then watch the movie. Note how the "humanity" of the soldiers is portrayed differently in each.
- Research the "Sticks of Dynamite": Look up the actual British "Special Operations Executive" (SOE) files from WWII. They actually did drop small, disguised explosive kits to resistance fighters, just like in the movie.
- Look for the Play: Steinbeck also wrote a stage version. The script for the play is often easier to find in libraries than a physical DVD of the film.
- Examine the "Lanser" Archetype: Study how Cedric Hardwicke's performance influenced later portrayals of "tired" villains in cinema. You can see echoes of his performance in modern war films.
Understanding The Moon is Down movie requires looking past the black-and-white film stock. It’s a study in human psychology that remains disturbingly relevant whenever people find themselves under the thumb of authority.