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Blood on the Moon (1984) is a crime novel by James Ellroy. It is the first installment of the Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy. It was followed by Because the Night (1984) and Suicide Hill (1985). Although the novels are written in multiple perspectives and narrated omnisciently, the main character in all three is Lloyd Hopkins.

Plot summary[link]

The story begins in 1965 during the Watts Riots in Los Angeles, California. 23-year-old Lloyd Hopkins is still with the National Guard and is deployed to help handle the situation. It is during this riot that Hopkins kills his first man, a deranged armory sergeant who was hunting down and killing African Americans.

Eighteen years later Hopkins is now a sergeant with the LAPD and has the highest number of arrests of any officer in the department's history. He is considered a genius by many of his associates for his uncanny ability to make intuitive leaps of logic when tracking down criminals. Soon his abilities are put to the test when he investigates the brutal murder of a woman who was disemboweled in her apartment. Hopkins quickly deduces that the person responsible for this murder has in fact been killing women since the late 1960s, but has never been caught because he always changes his modus operandi.

A subplot of the novel involves Hopkins' relationship with his family. He adores his three daughters and deeply loves his wife, though he is chronically unfaithful to her. His wife loves Lloyd, but begins to realize that his habits are not healthy for their children, particularly his propensity for telling them about the cases that he has worked on.

Film adaptation[link]

• Blood on the Moon, the first Ellroy novel to be adapted to film, is the basis for the 1988 movie Cop, starring James Woods.

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Blood on the Moon (1948) is an RKO black-and-white "psychological" western directed by Robert Wise with cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca. The film, starring Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Preston has many film noir elements. It was shot in California and some of the more scenic shots at Red Rock Crossing, Sedona, Arizona. The picture is based on the novel Gunman's Chance by Luke Short.^[1]

Plot[link]

Drifter cowboy Jim Garry receives a job offer by mail from smooth-talking Tate Riling. Garry rides into an Indian reservation and finds himself in the middle of a feud between cattle ranchers and homesteaders. Garry doesn't realize that his new boss Riling is a criminal.

Riling intends to swindle naive landowners in an elaborate scheme involving a plan to make sure that cattle owner Lufton and his family don't get grazing land, thereby losing their stock.

At first aligning himself with Riling, Garry finally figures out that his so-called friend is up to no good. He switches loyalty to Lufton and his daughters, leading to a bloody showdown.

Cast[link]

• Robert Mitchum as Jim Garry
• Barbara Bel Geddes as Amy Lufton
• Robert Preston as Tate Riling
• Walter Brennan as Kris Barden
• Phyllis Thaxter as Carol Lufton
• Frank Faylen as Jake Pindalest
• Tom Tully as John Lufton
• Charles McGraw as Milo Sweet
• Clifton Young as Joe Shotten
• Tom Tyler as Frank Reardon
• George Cooper as Fred Barden
• Tom Keene as Ted Elser
• Bud Osborne as Cap Willis
• Zon Murray as Nels Titterton
• Robert Bray as Bart Daniels

Critical reception[link]

The New York Times gave the film a good review and lauded Robert Mitchum's acting and Lilly Hayward's screenplay:

...Blood on the Moon still stands out from run-of-the-range action dramas. The reason is obvious enough. This picture has a sound, sensible story to tell and, besides, it is well acted. Robert Mitchum carries the burden of the film and his acting is superior all the way...Lillie Hayward's screen play, taken from a novel by Luke Short, is solidly constructed and by not over-emphasizing Jim Garry's inherent honesty, she has permitted Mr. Mitchum to illuminate a character that is reasonable and most always interesting. The same can be said of the rancher's daughter, whom Miss Bel Geddes represents. Others who give worthy help include Walter Brennan, Mr. Preston, Phyllis Thaxter, Frank Faylen and Tom Tully. And a word should be said, too, for the direction by Robert Wise. A comparative newcomer to the directorial ranks, he has managed to keep the atmosphere of this leisurely paced film charged with impending violence.^[2]

The film was also reviewed favorably by Variety magazine:

Blood on the Moon is a terse, tightly-drawn western drama. There's none of the formula approach to its story telling. Picture captures the crisp style used by Luke Short in writing his western novels...Picture's pace has a false sense of leisureliness that points up several tough moments of action. There is a deadly knock-down and drag-out fist fight between Mitchum and Preston; a long chase across snow-covered mountains and the climax gun battle between Preston's henchmen and Mitchum, Brennan and Bel Geddes that are loaded with suspense wallop.^[3]

See also[link]

Film portal

• List of American films of 1948

References[link]

External links[link]

• Blood on the Moon at the Internet Movie Database.
• Blood on the Moon at AllRovi.
• Blood on the Moon at the TCM Movie Database.

Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, and two Grammy nominations. Desplat won his first Golden Globe for The Painted Veil in 2006, his first British Academy Film Award in 2011 and his first Grammy Award in 2012 for The King's Speech. Among various projects, Desplat has worked on a variety of Hollywood films including independent and commercial successes like The Queen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, New Moon, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2.

Early life[link]

Desplat was born in Paris to a French father and a Greek mother who met at the University of California, Berkeley.^[1] After their marriage, they moved back to France, where Alexandre was born. Alexandre is the younger brother of Vic Desplat. At the age of five, he began playing piano. He also became proficient on trumpet and flute. He studied with Claude Ballif, Iannis Xenakis in France and Jack Hayes in the U.S. Desplat's musical interests were wide, and he was also influenced by South American and African artists and teachers, among whom were Carlinhos Brown and Ray Lema. Desplat swiftly became skilled, both as a performer and a composer.

Career[link]

Desplat has composed extensively for French cinema, Hollywood, and incidental music for over 100 films including Lapse of Memory (1992), Family Express (1992), Regarde Les Hommes Tomber (1994), Les Péchés Mortels (1995), César-nominated Un Héros Très Discret (1996), Une Minute de Silence (1998), Sweet Revenge (1998), Le Château des Singes (1999), Home Sweet Home (2001), Reines d'un Jour (2001), the César-nominated Sur mes lèvres (2002), Rire et Châtiment (2003), Césars-Winning The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), The Queen (2006), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), The Ghost Writer (2010), Daniel Auteuil's remake of La Fille du Puisatier (2011), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

Desplat has composed individual songs that have been sung in films by such artists as Akhenaton, Kate Beckinsale, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Valérie Lemercier, Miosotis, and Catherine Ringer. He has also written music for the theatre, including pieces performed at the Comédie Française. Desplat has conducted performances of his music played by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Munich Symphony Orchestra. Desplat has also given Master Classes at La Sorbonne in Paris and the Royal College of Music in London.

In 2007, he composed the scores for Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass; Zach Helm's directorial debut Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium with American composer Aaron Zigman; and the Ang Lee movie Lust, Caution. Prior to these break-out works, he contributed scores for The Luzhin Defence, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Syriana, Birth, Hostage, Casanova, The Nest and The Painted Veil, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music, and the 2006 World Soundtrack Award. He won the 2007 BMI Film Music Award, 2007 World Soundtrack Award, 2007 European Film Award, and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for The Queen. He also won the Silver Berlin Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for Best Film Music in The Beat that My Heart Skipped. In 2008, Desplat received his second Oscar nomination for David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Desplat received his third Oscar nomination and a BAFTA nomination for Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2010, both of which were won by Michael Giacchino for Up.

Recently, Desplat has composed music for Largo Winch, based on the Belgian comic; Afterwards a French-Canadian psychological thriller film directed by Gilles Bourdos in English; Anne Fontaine's Coco avant Chanel based on the life of designer Coco Chanel; Robert Guédiguian's L'Armée du Crime; Cheri, reuniting him with director Stephen Frears, whom he collaborated with on The Queen; Un Prophète reuniting with director Jacques Audiard; Julie & Julia directed by Nora Ephron; Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson and based on the novel by Roald Dahl; New Moon, directed by Chris Weitz; Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer; Tamara Drewe; The Special Relationship; and The King's Speech which earned Desplat his fourth Oscar nomination.

In early 2011, Desplat began to write the music to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. He reunited with director David Yates, who offered Desplat the opportunity to score the second part after his work on the Part 1 soundtrack "enchanted everyone in the control room".^[2][3] Desplat's soundtrack sequel to the 2008 film Largo Winch was released in 2011 and was well received. Desplat's 2011 projects included The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick (which he actually recorded in early 2010), A Better Life, La Fille du Puisatier, Roman Polanski's Carnage, and George Clooney's The Ides of March.

Desplat started 2012 with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and will continue with scores for The Spider's House, the Florent Emilio Siri-directed biopic Cloclo, and Dreamworks Animation's Rise of the Guardians.

Filmography (English Language)[link]

• The Revengers' Comedies (1998)
• The Luzhin Defence (2000)
• Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
• Birth (2004)
• The Upside of Anger (2005)
• Hostage (2005)
• Casanova (2005)
• Syriana (2005)
• The Alibi (2006)
• Firewall (2006)
• The Queen (2006)
• The Painted Veil (2006)
• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
• The Golden Compass (2007)
• Afterwards (2008)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• Julie & Julia (2009)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
• The Ghost Writer (2010)
• The Special Relationship (2010)
• Tamara Drewe (2010)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
• The King's Speech (2010)
• The Tree of Life (2011)
• A Better Life (2011)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
• The Ides of March (2011)
• Carnage (2011)
• My Week with Marilyn - [Marilyn's Theme] (2011)
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2012)
• The Spider's House (2012)
• Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
• Renoir (2012)
• Rust and Bone (2012)
• Argo (2012)
• Rise of the Guardians (2012)
• The Emperor (2013 film) (2013)
• Zulu (2013)

Filmography (selected – other language(s))[link]

• Une autre femme [France (original title)]
• Tous les chagrins se ressemblent (2002) [French (original title)]
• Paroles d'étoiles (2002) [French (original title)]
• Rire et châtiment [France (original title)]
• Les baisers des autres (2003) [French (original title)]
• Le pacte du silence (2003) [French (original title)]
• Virus au paradis (2003) [French (original title)]
• Eager Bodies (2003) [Les corps impatients – France (original title)]
• Les beaux jours (2003) [French (original title)]
• A Sight for Sore Eyes (2003) [Inquiétudes – France (original title)]
• Le pays des enfants perdus (2004) [French (original title)]
• L'enquête Corse (2004) [French (original title)]
• À boire (2004)[French (original title)]
• Tu vas rire, mais je te quitte (2005) [French (original title)]
• The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) [De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté – France (original title)]
• Une aventure (2005)
• Lies & Alibis (2006) [The Alibi – Netherlands (original title)]
• The Valet (2006) [La doublure – France (original title)]
• Quand j'étais chanteur (2006) [French (original title)]
• Michou d'Auber (2007) [French (original title)]
• Ségo et Sarko sont dans un bateau... (2007) [French (original title)]
• L'Ennemi Intime (2007) – French (original title)
• Lust, Caution (2007) [Se, jie – Chinese (original title)]
• Largo Winch (2008)
• Coco Before Chanel (2009) [Coco avant Chanel – France (original title)]
• A Prophet (2009) [Un prophète – France (original title)]
• The Army of Crime (2009) [L'armée du crime – France (original title)]
• La Fille du Puisatier (2011)
• Largo Winch 2 (2011)
• Cloclo (2012)
• Reality (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

César Awards[link]

Academy Awards[link]

Golden Globes[link]

BAFTA[link]

Awards[link]

• 2005 Silver Berlin Bear for Best Film Music – The Beat That My Heart Skipped
• 2006 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music – The Painted Veil and The Queen
• 2007 BMI Film Music Award – The Queen
• 2007 European Film Award for Best Composer – The Queen
• 2007 Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Score – Lust, Caution
• 2007 World Soundtrack Award for Film Composer of the Year – The Queen and The Painted Veil
• 2008 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 BMI Film Music Award – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 World Soundtrack Award for Film Composer of the Year – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Coco Before Chanel, Largo Winch and Chéri
• 2010 Étoile d'Or for Best Music (Meilleure musique) – A Prophet, The Army of Crime, Afterwards, Coco Before Chanel and Chéri
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Drama Film – The King's Speech
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Film Composer of the Year
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film – The Ghost Writer
• 2011 Sammy Film Music Award for Best New Film Score – The King's Speech
• 2011 César Award for Best Music Written for a Film (Meilleure musique écrite pour un film) – The Ghost Writer
• 2011 World Soundtrack Award for Film Composer of the Year
• 2011 Étoile d'Or for Film Music Composer for The Ghost Writer
• 2011 San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Nominations[link]

• 2004 European Film Award for Best Composer – Girl with a Pearl Earring
• 2005 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score – Birth
• 2006 Étoile d'Or for Best Music (Meilleure musique) – The Beat That My Heart Skipped
• 2006 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score – The Queen
• 2007 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score – Lust, Caution
• 2008 Étoile d'Or for Best Music (Meilleure musique) – L'ennemi intime
• 2008 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2008 Critics Choice Award for Best Composer – Lust, Caution
• 2008 Asian Film Award for Best Composer – Lust, Caution
• 2008 World Soundtrack Award for Film Composer of the Year – The Golden Compass
• 2009 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 European Film Award for Best Composer – Coco Before Chanel
• 2009 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Score – Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)
• 2009 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Score – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 Critic Choice Award for Best Composer – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2009 Saturn Award for Best Music – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• 2010 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score – Fantastic Mr. Fox
• 2010 Satellite Award for Best Original Score – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Film Score of the Year – The King's Speech, The Ghost Writer
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
• 2010 IFMCA Award for Film Music Composition of the Year – Truth About Ruth from The Ghost Writer
• 2011 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Original Score-Feature Film- The Ides of March
• 2011 World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Film Score of the Year- The King's Speech
• 2011 Satellite Award for Best Original Score – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
• 2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Score - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• 2011 San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score - The Tree of Life (film)
• 2011 San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Score - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• 2011 IFMCA Award for Film Composer of the Year
• 2011 IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alexandre Desplat, official website (French) (English)
• Alexandre Desplat, fan website (French) (English)
• Alexandre Desplat at the Internet Movie Database