"Alan K. Rode is just about the perfect writer for the Reel West series, with biographies of noir standout Charles McGraw and legendary director Michael Curtiz. Almost every sentence, especially in the beginning of Mr. Rode's book, is packed with the Hollywood history that bears upon Blood on the Moon. In such a short compass, we have it all: the development of Westerns, gangster pictures, and film noir as well as the writers, directors, technicians, and studio heads—in this case the loony Howard Hughes."—Carl Rollyson, the New York Sun

"A first-rate look at an undervalued movie that represents a noted Western author (Luke Short), a talented screenwriter (Lillie Hayward), a director who was just coming into his own (Robert Wise), and a star on the ascendence (Robert Mitchum). Alan K. Rode gives us the story behind the story onscreen."—Leonard Maltin, author of Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide