The Moon-Spinners (1964)

★ 5.8 1h 58m IMDb

Thriller Romance Mystery Family

Young English girl Nikky and her aunt arrive at the Moon-Spinners, a hotel on Crete, to a less than enthusiastic welcome. The coolness of the owner is only out-done by the surliness of her brother Stratos, recently back from London. But then there is nice English lad Mark to make friends with, at least until Stratos and his pal take a shot at him one night. When Nikky helps him hide she finds the Greeks are after her too.

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Cast

Hayley Mills as Nikky Ferris Age 80 · Marylebone, London, England, UK Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting c...

Eli Wallach as Stratos Died 2014 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA Eli Herschel Wallach (December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for B...

Peter McEnery as Mark Camford Age 86 · Walsall, West Midlands, England, UK Peter Robert McEnery (born 21 February 1940) is a retired English stage and film actor. McEnery was born in Walsall, Staffordshire, to Charles and Ada Mary (née Brinson) McEnery. He was educated at E...

Joan Greenwood as Aunt Frances Ferris Died 1987 · Chelsea, London, England, UK Joan Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 27 February 1987) was an English actress. Born in Chelsea, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, w...

Irene Papas as Sophia Died 2022 · Chiliomodi, Corinth, Greece Irene Papas (Greek: Ειρήνη Παππά, born Eirini Lelekou (Greek: Ειρήνη Λελέκου), 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning mo...

Pola Negri as Madame Habib Died 1987 · Lipno, Poland From Wikipedia Pola Negri (born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec, sometimes spelled Chalupec; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame during the sile...

Director James Neilson

Cast Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach, Peter McEnery, Joan Greenwood, Irene Papas, Pola Negri, John Le Mesurier, Sheila Hancock, Paul Stassino, André Morell

r96sk 7/10 Jul 22, 2020

Split feelings towards <em>'The Moon-Spinners'</em>, but overall I think it's fun enough.

I like the premise but didn't enjoy how it's done by the film, some of the key characters kinda pop out from nowhere to all of a sudden be big parts of the story. I do rate the feel of it all, it's shot well across some nice locations in Greece. The pacing is off though, the execution of the plot would've been better with a trim, quick run time.

Hayley Mills, in her penultimate Disney production, is a top actress no doubt, but her as Nikky doesn't really work - mostly due to how she's written, especially at the beginning where her and Frances (Joan Greenwood) come across pretty unlikeable - and I don't think it's intentional.

Eli Wallach (Stratos) and Peter McEnery (Mark) give the best performances, which is probably why I felt just about entertained by this as those two are integral together throughout. Satisfactory cast, just not greatly told by those behind the scenes.

This has cool moments and disappointing moments, to the point where it probably levels out to be classed as good.

Wuchak 7/10 Mar 25, 2021

_**Hayley Mills sleuthing on the island of Crete**_

An aunt and niece (Joan Greenwood & Hayley Mills) are traveling through remote areas of Crete whereupon they encounter the suspicious brother of the proprietress of an inhospitable coastal hotel (Eli Wallach). Intrigue ensues. Peter McEnery plays a young Brit the girl finds attractive while Pola Negri shows up in the last act.

"The Moon-Spinners" (1964) inserts Hayley Mills into an island adventure that works well because it’s relatively realistic, has superb locations/sets and a well-chosen cast (e.g. Wallach is perfect as the villain). It’s basically Hayley Mills meets “North by Northwest” (1959) and “The Day the Fish Came Out” (1967).

Hayley was 17 during shooting and blossoming into a winsome young woman.

The film runs 1 hour, 58 minutes, and was shot on Crete and Pinewood Studios, London.

GRADE: B+