The Moon Is Blue (film)

A comedy of manners, the film centers on virtuous actress Patty O'Neill, who meets playboy architect Donald Gresham at the top of the Empire State Building and accepts his invitation to join him for drinks and dinner in his apartment. There she meets Donald's upstairs neighbors, his ex-fiancée Cynthia Slater and her father, roguish David Slater. Both men are determined to seduce the young woman, but they quickly discover that Patty is more interested in engaging in spirited discussions about the pressing moral and sexual issues of the day than in surrendering her virginity to either of them. After resisting their amorous advances throughout the night, Patty leaves. The next day she returns to the Empire State Building, where she finds Donald, who has missed her and worried all night about her. He declares his love for her and proposes marriage to her. ==Cast==

• William Holden as Donald Gresham • David Niven as David Slater • Maggie McNamara as Patty O'Neill • Tom Tully as Michael O'Neill, Patty's father • Dawn Addams as Cynthia Slater, David's daughter • Fortunio Bonanova as Television Performer • Gregory Ratoff as Taxi Driver : Hardy Krüger and Johanna Matz, the stars of the German version, appear as the young tourist couple waiting to use the coin-operated telescope at the top of the Empire State Building, cameo roles which Holden and McNamara play in the German version. ==Play==

Otto Preminger had staged the 1951 Broadway production of F. Hugh Herbert's play at Henry Miller's Theatre, with Barbara Bel Geddes, Donald Cook, and Barry Nelson in the lead roles. It had a successful run of 924 performances, from March 8, 1951 (almost the worst year on record for the Broadway stage, according to The Billboard) until May 30, 1953. A third, West Coast, touring company announced shows at the La Jolla Playhouse from July 1 through July 6, 1952, starring David Niven and Diana Lynn, and continuing on a tour scheduled to include Los Angeles (Biltmore), San Bernardino, San Francisco, and other cities joining the Chicago touring company. On July 8, 1952, producer/director Otto Preminger opened the West Coast production at the United Nations Theater in San Francisco for a three-month run, with David Niven as David Slater, Diana Lynn as Patty O'Neill, and Scott Brady as Donald Gresham in the lead roles. ==Production==

Preminger contracted with United Artists to finance and distribute a screen adaptation over which he would have complete control. Preminger cast David Niven over the objection of studio executives, who felt that the actor's career was in decline. He deferred his producer's and director's salaries in exchange for 75% of the film's profits. Maggie McNamara, who appeared as Patty O'Neill in the Chicago production of the play, and briefly in New York, received her first screen role and the film's last casting. It is estimated that deferred costs came to nearly $500,000 but in return United Artists gave the producers Herbert and Preminger 75% of the profits, 20% of which they gave to William Holden. == Motion Picture Production Code objections ==

Herbert's play was first submitted to the MPAA/PCA for approval by Paramount Pictures in 1951, with Samuel J. Briskin as producer. In a display of solidarity, United Artists heads Arthur B. Krim and Robert S. Benjamin amended their contract with Preminger and deleted the clause requiring him to deliver a film that would be granted a Production Code seal of approval. After ten days of rehearsals for each of his casts, Preminger began principal photography of both English- and German-language versions of the film on January 21, filming an English scene and then its German equivalent in quick succession. Preminger later stated he much preferred The Moon Is Blue to Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach because he felt that the psychology of the plot did not translate well. Filming was completed in twenty-four days and it previewed in Pasadena on April 8. Two days later, Breen notified Preminger the film would not be approved. Outraged at Breen's "unwarranted and unjustified attack" on "a harmless story", the director joined forces with United Artists executives to appeal the decision with the MPAA board of directors, who ruled against them. == Distribution ==

United Artists decided to release the film without the PCA seal of approval, the first major American film to do so, initially in major urban markets where they hoped its success would encourage exhibitors in rural areas to book the film. The film premiered for an "adults only" audience at the Woods Theatre in Chicago on June 22 and opened at the United Nations Theater in San Francisco on June 25. On June 30, Variety reported that three major nationwide theater chains were willing to exhibit the film, and it went into general release on July 8, and was in the top five box-office successes of that week. Theaters in many small towns in the United States restricted audiences to men or women separately. on October 24, 1955. the question here is neither one of great art nor even of particularly good taste. It is rather a question of whether American movies are continually to be hamstrung by rules that confine picture themes, picture morals, and picture language to what is deemed fit for children, or for childlike mentalities.— Saturday Review, 27 June 1953." ==Critical reception==

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times observed it "is not outstanding, either as a romance or as film. The wit of Mr. Herbert . . . is turned almost wholly on his freeness with the startling idea or phrase, as glibly tossed off (for the most part) by a young lady who appears a wide-eyed child. And Otto Preminger's lifting of the play from the stage to the screen is much too rigidly respectful of its conversational form. As a consequence, the movement is restricted and the talk is exceedingly long. At times, it gets awfully tedious, considering its limited range." Variety called it "an entertaining adult comedy", which "constantly reminds of its origin, being more a filmed play than a motion picture. But it's still entertaining theatre, whether behind the footlights or on celluloid." ''Harrison's Reports called it "vastly amusing adult entertainment", adding that "even though the material is spicy and has its delicate moments, it has been handled so adroitly that it is always amusing without ever becoming offensive." Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post'' called it "Flip, frolicsome fun", adding, "Otto Preminger's direction of Herbert's own screen play follows the stage action fairly closely, resulting in occasionally static splotches but the feel of flip sophistication is achieved." Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "this film is likely to induce a goodly share of laughter and have a special appeal to feminine audiences", but thought it "talks too much for complete satisfaction as a picture." The Chicago Tribune wrote that the film was "deftly constructed and moves along at a bright, brisk pace, peppered with some remarkably funny dialog, which sends audiences into such guffaws that some of the best lines are drowned in a sea of laughter." John McCarten of The New Yorker faulted the film for "all sorts of slowdowns ... to permit the principals to give out with their views on life, love and so on. However, as the photograph of a pleasant little comedy, the picture has some merit." The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "quite pleasant entertainment;" Time magazine also found the film to be pleasant. The Catholic Legion of Decency gave the movie a "C", "Condemned" rating, despite giving the original play a milder "B", "Unobjectionable for adults" rating. In 1992 the Pacific Film Archive called it "an innocuous sex comedy that talks about bedding down but never turns a sheet" and observed: "the furor surrounding the film leaves the impression that a full-scale orgy had occurred." In his review of the DVD release of the film, Tim Purtell of Entertainment Weekly called the film a "trifle" that "seems overly talky and slight". On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 46% rating based on nine reviews. ==Awards and nominations==

The Academy Film Archive preserved The Moon Is Blue in 2006. == In popular culture ==

In 1982, the film was the focus of the M*A*S*H episode, "The Moon Is Not Blue". Having heard of the film's controversy, Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt attempt to get a copy of the film shipped to the 4077th in Korea. But when they finally see the film, Hawkeye and B.J. are greatly disappointed as they expected sexually explicit content rather than a few mildly risqué comments. Hawkeye complains that he has never seen a cleaner movie in his life, and when Father Mulcahy points out that one of the characters did say "virgin", Hawkeye responds, "That's because everyone was!" Otto Preminger's brother Ingo Preminger was producer of the theatrical version of MASH. In reality, The Moon Is Blue was released nineteen days before the armistice for the Korean War was signed. == Further reading ==