Moontide

In Moontide, Ida Lupino is luminous as the distraught Anna, saved from suicide by pugilistic, hard-drinking longshoreman Bobo (Jean Gabin), possessed of his own haunted history. This darkly poetic proto-noir was the great Gabin’s American debut, but despite excellent performances, compelling production design, and masterful, Academy Award–nominated cinematography, the film was largely unappreciated at the time of its release. This recent restoration allows for a reevaluation of Moontide’s unique magic, part fairy tale and part thriller, channeling Hans Christian Andersen via Raymond Chandler and enveloped in ominous California fog.