by Warner Home Video
Sales Rank: 7783
Price: $14.98
More famous as a controversy than a movie, <I>The Moon Is Blue</I> (1953) marked a turning point in the history of frankness in American film. Because producer-director Otto Preminger owned the rights to the hit Broadway play, he stubbornly refused to change the racy dialogue in the script. The offending words included such end-of-western-civilization-as-we-know-it terms as "virgin" and "pregnant." The Production Code withheld its seal, the Catholic Legion of Decency condemned it, and the picture made a bundle. Its subject matter is antiquated now, but the movie remains a cute and well-played example of pre-Neil Simon stage comedy. William Holden and the virgin Maggie McNamara meet atop the Empire State Building, later joining middle-aged roue David Niven for martinis and steaks in Holden's hep bachelor bad. Preminger's gift wasn't necessarily for comedy, but he steers things with his usual calm style, and lets Niven make the most of a tailor-made role. <I>--Robert Horton</I>
Viewer Reviews I saw this movie on TV about 10 years ago while channel surfing and loved it so much I could not get it out of my head. I had to buy a used VHS tape as there is no DVD available in US.
William Holden and David Niven are terrific but the best in the cast is Maggie McNamara and I wish she had done more movie work. The dialogue is witty and the story is charming.
With all the trash being put on DVD it is a shame that this little gem is not. It is also fairly hard to find the tape and it is not cheap but it is worth paying a higher price for.
Again, the biggest asset of this movie is Maggie McNamara and you will not get to see her in anything else of this caliber.
