Powell & Pressburger Season - 1957
Almost as though they were wishing to complete the circle, Powell & Pressburger returned to making wartime themed movies, having had great critical and commercial success with The Battle of the River Plate. Ill Met By Moonlight was there last movie working together, under a one off contract with the Rank Organisation. Difficulties over the script, with that contract with Rank itself, brought out tensions in their collaboration. Dissolving their Archers working partnership quite amicably. And so came to an end a golden era for British film making of over twenty years and as many films. They briefly reunited in 1966 and 1972 to make two films, but the magic in how they worked together had gone.
Powell had very little good to say about Ill Met By Moonlight, he didn't like the script, he didn't like the casting, he didn't even like his own direction. And for an Archers movie it is a little lack lustre, and tends to turn real life events into a bit of a cliched Boy's Own adventure yarn. The Cretan population become these overly jovial backslapping, heroic cheering eccentric peasant caricatures. Its based on a book by W Stanley Moss of wartime activities in Crete that he was part of. Patrick Leigh Fermer (Dirk Bogarde) is in charge of a daring plan to kidnap General Kreipe (Marius Goring ) and export him to Egypt. Quite why they need to do this I don't remember being fully explained.
Patrick Leigh Fermer was renowned for his charismatic leadership skills and courageousness. Whilst Bogarde is as always a captivating screen presence, there is an essential lack of rough physicality to him that means the part feels ill-fitting. Goring's portrayal of Kreipe has all the wily bosh cunning one might expect him to have, his acting dominating the screen every time he is given the opportunity. The easy naturalism of Bogarde's performance style when it meets Goring's more broadly sketched character is one example of how the film has an uneasy inconsistency of tone.
Powell, as ever makes great dramatic use of his setting, the spectacular panoramas of the mountainous landscape of Crete. Its a definite choice to film in black and white, not just an economic one. It lends a wartime period quality to it. As most of the action takes place under moonlight, black and white brings starker and more atmospheric qualities, which colour would only have distracted you from. The controversies and tensions surrounding this production appear to have unsettled the usual sure footed nature of their working ethos and method. Its not a bad film, but not great one either. I'm sure, if they'd had the choice they'd have wanted to go out on a slightly better film than this. Ill Met By Moonlight is very middling and uncharacteristic of a Powell and Pressburger movie.
CARROT REVIEW - 4/8
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