Night Moves (1975)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Arthur Penn

Writer:

Alan Sharp (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 1975 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

What private eye Harry Moseby doesn't know about the girl he's looking for... just might get him killed.

Plot:

Former footballer and present private detective Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case...

Plot Keywords:

Runaway | Private Detective | Murder | Actress | Missing Person

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	Harry Moseby
Jennifer Warren	...	Paula
Susan Clark	...	Ellen Moseby
Ed Binns	...	Joey Ziegler (as Edward Binns)
Harris Yulin	...	Marty Heller
Kenneth Mars	...	Nick
Janet Ward	...	Arlene Iverson
James Woods	...	Quentin
Melanie Griffith	...	Delly Grastner
Anthony Costello	...	Marv Ellman
John Crawford	...	Tom Iverson
Ben Archibek	...	Charles
Dennis Dugan	...	Boy
C.J. Hincks	...	Girl
Max Gail	...	Stud (as Maxwell Gail Jr.)

Also Known As:

The Dark Tower (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Australia:PG (TV rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Sanibel Island, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Paula (Jennifer Warren) tells Harry (Gene Hackman) that the first boy who touched her breasts was named Billy Dannreuther, which is the name of Humphrey Bogart's character in Beat the Devil (1953).

Quotes:

Ellen Moseby: [of a football game] Who's winning?
Harry Moseby: Nobody. One side is just losing slower than the other.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

Gene Hackman is the man

I'm not the biggest Gene Hackman fan out there, but I found this movie on Encore one night and I have to say it's probably the best film I've ever seen. I never really thought Hackman could really act before I saw this, but, man, does he take command of this picture. His best scene, I think, is the one where he and his wife are yelling at each other after he found out about her infidelity. The part where he yells "I don't want Nick's f-king job! And I don't want your job!" is really awesome. But all throughout the movie, it's nothing but a tour de force from Hackman. Not to take anything away from James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Hackman's wife in the film, or the Joey Ziegler guy, all of whom also act very well. But Hackman definitely carries the film. I also love the cool theme music (that synthesizer stuff) -- it fits the film perfectly. I also love how it took me about four viewings of this film to really figure it out. That's a hell of a lot better than stuff like "Armageddon" where there's nothing to think about at all. Today's movies really are terrible -- that's why I stick to older movies like those on Encore and AMC and sometimes Bravo (though they have commercials). All in all, "Night Moves" is one I highly recommend -- but just don't watch it if you're the kind of person who likes action and things exploding for two hours, it'll definitely turn you off. :0)