"The Moon Is Down" is based on a John Steinbeck novel of the same name. The movie was produced in 1943, the novel was published in 1942. Steinbeck's novel was a bit more circumspect in its treatment of the subject. He never named the Germans as the occupiers or Norway as the occupied. It was simply a story of an occupation. Clearly, though, Steinbeck was referring to the German occupation of Norway, and the movie makes that clear. It seems to be set in a small town in Norway in the early days of the Nazi occupation, which would be 1940. Both novel and book were and should be seen as anti- Nazi propaganda pieces - the novel actually won an award presented after the War by the King of Norway. But it's interesting propaganda. This is no simple good vs. evil, black vs. white issue. The Germans are not portrayed as monsters (at least, not as monstrously as might have been expected at the time.) Instead, the various characters evolve as the story moves forward. In that sense, it's a very human movie. At its start, the townspeople are peaceful and even docile villagers, leading quiet and happy lives, most of them working in a local iron mine. But the Nazis want the iron, take over the town and force the workers to increase production, using various threats against their families as a weapon.
The Nazi commander - Col. Lanser - was played by Cedric Hardwicke. He did a good job with the role, and Lanser was not a stereotypical Nazi. He came across as thoughtful and cautious, wanting to co- operate with the townspeople more than dominate them and very aware of the potential perils of pushing things too far. He wants to work with the local mayor (Orden, played by Henry Travers), much to the chagrin of the local Quisling-type (Corell, played by E.J. Ballantine) who thinks that he should be immediately put in charge. The relationship between the three is fascinating. Lanser and Orden both come across as men of principle who are capable of having intelligent and respectful conversations, while Corell is more ruthless, and while he assumes that he should be in charge he's also surprised to discover that he is rejected by the villager. Among the lower ranking German officers Capt. Loft is much more what one expects in the portrayal of a Nazi, while Lt. Tonder is a more sympathetic character - a young man who seems to want to develop friendly relations with the locals (including one young woman in particular) and who explains that he doesn't want to be there, he just has no choice. What we watch is the gradually increasing German violence and the evolution of the townspeople into resistance fighters, aided by having the British drop them dynamite and chocolate, which leads to acts of sabotage.
The movie ultimately leads up to an order to have 10 leading men of the town executed unless the sabotage comes to an end. That leads to an interesting reflection on the differences between the Nazis and "free men," from Mayor Orden, who basically notes that if you killed ten German leaders the war would be over, but killing ten leaders of free men makes no difference, because others will just rise to take their place. It's a very effective ending. As the ten selected for execution stand in front of the gallows from which they are to be hanged there's suddenly a huge series of explosions from the surrounding buildings. The message is clearly - "we are not beaten." This was a very good movie with good performances all around, and I did appreciate the more nuanced portrayal of the various German characters. (8/10)
The Nazi commander - Col. Lanser - was played by Cedric Hardwicke. He did a good job with the role, and Lanser was not a stereotypical Nazi. He came across as thoughtful and cautious, wanting to co- operate with the townspeople more than dominate them and very aware of the potential perils of pushing things too far. He wants to work with the local mayor (Orden, played by Henry Travers), much to the chagrin of the local Quisling-type (Corell, played by E.J. Ballantine) who thinks that he should be immediately put in charge. The relationship between the three is fascinating. Lanser and Orden both come across as men of principle who are capable of having intelligent and respectful conversations, while Corell is more ruthless, and while he assumes that he should be in charge he's also surprised to discover that he is rejected by the villager. Among the lower ranking German officers Capt. Loft is much more what one expects in the portrayal of a Nazi, while Lt. Tonder is a more sympathetic character - a young man who seems to want to develop friendly relations with the locals (including one young woman in particular) and who explains that he doesn't want to be there, he just has no choice. What we watch is the gradually increasing German violence and the evolution of the townspeople into resistance fighters, aided by having the British drop them dynamite and chocolate, which leads to acts of sabotage.
The movie ultimately leads up to an order to have 10 leading men of the town executed unless the sabotage comes to an end. That leads to an interesting reflection on the differences between the Nazis and "free men," from Mayor Orden, who basically notes that if you killed ten German leaders the war would be over, but killing ten leaders of free men makes no difference, because others will just rise to take their place. It's a very effective ending. As the ten selected for execution stand in front of the gallows from which they are to be hanged there's suddenly a huge series of explosions from the surrounding buildings. The message is clearly - "we are not beaten." This was a very good movie with good performances all around, and I did appreciate the more nuanced portrayal of the various German characters. (8/10)