Review of The Moon-Spinners (1964) by Edith N — 30 Jun 2007

First, allow me to give a brief birthday wish to Olivia de Havilland, 91 years old today and the last surviving star of [i]Gone with the Wind[/i]. (By quite a few years, in fact.) It's been nearly sixty years since, and she's still hanging in there. Though I do imagine she's awfully tired of talking about the thing.

At any rate. Today's second movie.

I first encountered [i]The Moon-Spinners[/i] on the Disney Channel when I was a child. (No, this isn't about to turn into yet another tirade against the current state of the Disney Channel; the last one didn't.) It's easily my favorite Halley Mills movie, and you must remember that I [i]like[/i] both [i]Pollyanna[/i] and the original [i]Parent Trap[/i]. I watched it pretty much every chance I got ever since.

And then, in high school, I acquired the book. (Aha! You've spotted the tirade! No; keep guessing.) I read it, too, and I loved it.

But indeed, as you've guessed, they weren't much of anything alike. I could give a point-by-point list of the major details, such as the amazing disappearing younger brother, but I shan't. I shall merely recommend that you acquire both yourself and compare them on you own.

Very seldom is there a movie so different from its source material that I love so much. This may be because of the decade between discovering the movie and discovering the book, but it may also be because they're both interesting stories. Walt Disney got Polish silent movie vamp Pola Negri out of retirement for this, her final film, and she's a hoot. She plays the mysterious woman, she of the shadowy past and the many husbands, but her primary task is to be bewildered by Halley Mills. Which is quite easy, frankly.

Yes, I like this movie. No. No tirade. Aren't you surprised?