Moonrise

In this lush 1948 drama directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Frank Borzage, Dane Clark stars as a backwoods orphan (his father went to the gallows) who was bullied throughout childhood and emerged as an angry young man who is finally pushed into killing a tormenter (Lloyd Bridges) in a blind rage. Clark's hot-tempered Danny Hawkins is in love with local schoolteacher Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell), but his courtship is troubled by guilt, which spurs him to lash out, drawing the suspicion of the paternal sheriff. Set in a small southern town created entirely on studio sets, Borzage creates a film noir dreamworld ringed in perpetual mist, turning the crime story into the emotional odyssey of a psychologically tormented hero in this film that has more in common with the poetic realism of 1930s France than the hardboiled detectives or shadowy tales of corruption and compromise in American crime cinema. Claustrophobic, with beautifully poetic imagery, eerily expressionist flashbacks, and floating camera movement that gives it the texture of a silent movie in the sound era, this haunting film is a minor masterpiece. Bowing on DVD and Blu-ray with a 4k digital transfer from the original 35mm nitrate camera negative, Moonrise looks amazing. Extras include a conversation between film historian Peter Cowie and Borzage expert Hervé Dumont, and a leaflet featuring an essay by film critic Philip Kemp. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)