The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This must be both one of Jean Gabin's and Ida Lupino's best films, although Thomas Mitchell's acting also is better than ever, for once not entirely sympathetic but rather tragically pathetic, and even Claude Rains plays a very unusual part for his qualifications - he stands out as the most mysterious character in this off hand fishing village drama of California, where there is nothing else to do but to work and drink, and you are usually out of work. It's a very Frank Borzage kind of setting and intrigue, which makes it only the more precious for its marvellous direction - Fritz Lang was part of it, and not only Archie Mayo. Ida Lupino enters as a suicide and goes through a marvellous transformation during the course of worrying events, ending up in almost an accidental murder case. You never get to know how Pop Kelly really was murdered or by whom, since everybody involved in the probably accidental murder must have been more than just drunk, and nothing is ever proved, although Ida could be right in her final conclusions. The one who should know everything and probably does is Nutsy (Claude Rains), who keeps sympathetically quiet about it. But it is Jean Gabin's film above all, superbly seconded by Ida Lupino at her very best. The whole film is worth watching just for his entrance.

An American film starring Jean Gabin? Who's Jean Gabin? An amazing actor, that's who! But I had no idea prior to watching this. Apparently he was a huge star in France, he came to Hollywood for two films before entering World War II where he earned two medals fighting the Nazis for the Free French Forces. His two American films did not fare well at the box office but this one is quite a gem. The great Fritz Lang began filming and is uncredited as director for some scenes. The film was also nominated for Best Black & White Cinematography. Gabin is wonderful as is the female lead, Ida Lupino. Outstanding acting and a story so well directed! Absolutely recommended!7.2 / 10 stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener!

One of two American made films that Jean Gabin did in Hollywood while in exile from his beloved France is this item Moontide. It's not anywhere in the class of The Grand Illusion, Pepe LeMoko, or La Bete Humaine in fact it goes over into melodrama. Still it's a good showcase for his talent and appeal.Gabin is a happy go lucky sailor who is beached with his pal Thomas Mitchell in the small coast town of San Pablo in California. He's a nasty drunk however who can be provoked to violence and has been. Another waterfront denizen Arthur Aylesworth is killed and Gabin is tormented by the fact that he was on one big bender the night of the homicide and it could be him.But that doesn't stop him from saving the life of Ida Lupino who tries to drown herself because of her own relationship problems. These two fall for each other and they plan to settle in San Pablo and marry. And of course there's no room for Mitchell in the new setup.Which doesn't please Mitchell at all. He's basically a leech who's attached himself to Gabin and he doesn't want to give up his meal ticket. Claude Rains who is a droll waterfront philosopher calls him a pilot fish which is a fish that hangs around sharks and lives off the scraps they leave. Time for Mitchell to find another shark.Given that this is the Code era and that a major studio 20th Century Fox produced Moontide the rather obvious homosexual attachment of Mitchell to Gabin is hard to miss. Perhaps that is something that the original director Fritz Lang might have explored a bit more. In fact the film could have been a classic had Lang stayed with it.Still the cast acquit themselves well in Moontide and a film with Jean Gabin is always something special.

The characters in this movie were on the interesting side even though there were pretty much straight forward and didn't have much emotional depth. The relationship between the characters themselves made the characters somewhat interesting. For Claude Rains fans, it has been said that this is possibly the closest the Rains ever came to playing himself. So, it is interesting to see what he was moderately like.The drinking montage in the beginning of the film is interesting because it is very surreal...it sort of reminded me of that silent Salivor Dali film that was made.However, the film was very slow moving and the plot was not really either clever or in-depth. It was a very straight forward plot that you don't really find out what is driving the plot until the end. In the beginning it seems like just a lot of loose ends.Over all, I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing it if they really wanted to. After all, I even own a copy!