Night Moves (1975)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writer:

Alan Sharp (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 1975 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

What private eye Harry Moseby doesn't know about the girl he's looking for... just might get him killed.

Plot:

Former footballer and present private detective Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case...

Plot Keywords:

Runaway | Private Detective | Murder | Actress | Missing Person

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Harry Moseby
Jennifer Warren	...	Paula
Susan Clark	...	Ellen Moseby
Ed Binns	...	Joey Ziegler (as Edward Binns)
Harris Yulin	...	Marty Heller
Kenneth Mars	...	Nick
Janet Ward	...	Arlene Iverson
James Woods	...	Quentin
Melanie Griffith	...	Delly Grastner
Anthony Costello	...	Marv Ellman
John Crawford	...	Tom Iverson
Ben Archibek	...	Charles
Dennis Dugan	...	Boy
C.J. Hincks	...	Girl
Max Gail	...	Stud (as Maxwell Gail Jr.)

Also Known As:

The Dark Tower (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (TV rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Sanibel Island, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Paula (Jennifer Warren) tells Harry (Gene Hackman) that the first boy who touched her breasts was named Billy Dannreuther, which is the name of Humphrey Bogart's character in Beat the Devil (1953).

Quotes:

Paula: Oh, that's a beauty.
Harry Moseby: Yeah, but he didn't see it. He played something else and he lost. He must have regretted it every day of his life. I know I would have. As a matter of fact I do regret it, and I wasn't even born yet.
Paula: That's no excuse.

Movie Connections:

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Finally a film that gets neo-noir right

This one has all the bells and whistles of the early detective films of the 40's and 50's. There's the classic disgraced self-loathing detective who seems destine to fail, more than one femme fatale, a sub-plot involving adultery, as well as an emphasis on exotic and seedy locations. Alan Sharp's screenplay is Oscar worthy. It intertwines commentary on society, relationships, intimacy, and aging that may have sound like a recipe for disaster for a director, however Arthur Penn turns it into a coherent story. Towards the end it gets a little more confusing but its intentionally crafted that way. This is in my opinion is the mark of a great film noir. When things make sense, but don't at the same time because your not sure about the where, how, and who but only the why. Gene Hackman is superb. I've always loved it when hes given the opportunity to take on a lead role. I only wish more people could see it.