Main Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley, Cyril Cusack, Laurence Payne
Release Year: 1957
Country: UK
Run Time: 104 minutes
Plot
Eschewing the Shakespearean original title (it's a quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream), the British Ill Met by Moonlight was released stateside as Night Ambush. This superb Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger concoction is set during World War II on the island of Crete. Dirk Bogarde and David Oxley play Major Paddy Leigh Fermer and Captain Billy Stanley Moss, two British officers whose job it is to kidnap Nazi general Karl Kreipe (Marius Goring) and spirit him off to Cairo. The motive of this mission is to weaken German morale on Crete and to provide hope to the enslaved locals. With the help of a group of resistance fighters, Fermer and Moss manage to trap the general; now they must transport their captive back to their own lines, avoiding German patrols every inch of the way. Originally 104 minutes, Ill Met by Moonlight was cut to 93 minutes by its American distributor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
There's nothing really wrong with Ill Met by Moonlight, an adequate and acceptable war-and-intrigue yarn. Unfortunately, the talent associated with it leads one to expect a much better -- or at the very least, a much more inventive -- film than one gets. Director-writers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are unable to imbue Moonlight with any of the magic of Black Narcissus or Red Shoes. While the film is certainly attractive enough, it doesn't have the special visual flair that one normally associates with the two. Nor have the creators found richness in the characters or a distinctive manner of telling the engaging but rather routine story. Their stars turn in very fine performances, but even here there's a bit of a letdown. Dirk Bogarde does everything that's required of the part and pulls it off quite well, but there are few of those "Bogarde" moments that are so special and memorable. If David Oxley and especially Marius Goring come off somewhat better, it's perhaps because one doesn't have the expectations of them that one does of Bogarde. Despite its flaws, Ill Met by Moonlight is certainly enjoyable and agreeable, even if it is also disappointing. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Alexander Vetchinsky - Art Director, Sydney Streeter - Associate Producer, Charles Orme - First Assistant Director, Michael Powell - Director, Emeric Pressburger - Director, Arthur Stevens - Editor, Earl St. John - Executive Producer, Mikis Theodorakis - Composer (Music Score), Frederick Lewis - Musical Direction/Supervision, Paul Rabiger - Makeup, Austin Dempster - Camera Operator, Christopher G. Challis - Cinematographer, Jack Swinburne - Production Manager, Michael Powell - Producer, Emeric Pressburger - Producer, Bill Warrington - Special Effects, Archie Ludski - Sound/Sound Designer, Michael Powell - Screenwriter, Emeric Pressburger - Screenwriter, W. Stanley Moss - Book Author
Christopher Lee and David McCallum have small parts in the film, Lee as a German officer in the dentist scene, and McCallum, in his film debut, as a sailor on the ship that picks the group up. Lee's part was edited out in the 1959 re-release of the film.[1] There's also a "John Houseman" in the cast, but it appears that this is not the well-known actor, director and advertising icon John Houseman.[2]
