Taglines: Maybe he would find the girl… maybe he would find himself.
Night Moves movie storyline. In Los Angeles, the private detective and former athlete Harry Moseby is hired by the retired obscure Hollywood actress Arlene Iverson to find her 16-year-old missing daughter Delly Grastner. Harry discovers that the runaway girl has a promiscuous life and uses drugs, and he tracks down her last boyfriend Quentin, who works as a mechanic on the sets.
Meanwhile, Harry finds that his wife Ellen is cheating on him, and he has difficulties in handling the situation. Then he visits stuntman Marv Ellman and stunt coordinator Joey Ziegler and follows the new lead, heading to the Florida Keys, where Delly is living with her stepfather Tom Iverson. Harry is welcomed by Paula, who works with Tom on a boat and has an open relationship with him.
The reluctant Delly surprisingly agrees to return to Los Angeles with Harry to live with her mother. Harry and Ellen have a long conversation trying to solve their marriage problems. When Harry learns that Delly has died in a car crash, he suspects Quentin. But he soon finds that the initial missing person case is actually a complex smuggling operation of a valuable artifact.
Night Moves is a 1975 American neo-noir film directed by Arthur Penn. It stars Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Susan Clark, and features early career appearances by Melanie Griffith and James Woods. Supportng cast are Edward Binns, Harris Yulin, Kenneth Mars, Janet Ward, Anthony Costello, John Crawford, Dennis Dugan and Susan Barrister.
Hackman was nominated for the BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Harry Moseby, a private investigator. The film has been called “a seminal modern noir work from the 1970s”, which refers to its relationship with the film noir tradition of detective films. The original screenplay is by Scottish writer Alan Sharp.
Although Night Moves was not considered particularly successful at the time of its release, it has attracted viewers and significant critical attention following its videotape and DVD releases. In 2010, Manohla Dargis described it as “the great, despairing Night Moves (1975), with Gene Hackman as a private detective who ends up circling the abyss, a no-exit comment on the post-1968, post-Watergate times.”
Directed by: Arthur Penn Visits: 98
Starring: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Melanie Griffith, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin, Kenneth Mars, Janet Ward, James Woods, Anthony Costello, John Crawford, Dennis Dugan, Susan Barrister
Screenplay by: Alan Sharp
Production Design by: George Jenkins
Cinematography by: Bruce Surtees
Film Editing by: Dede Allen, Stephen A. Rotter
Set Decoration by: Ned Parsons
Music by: Michael Small
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 11, 1975 (New York City), July 2, 1975 (Los Angeles)