The Moon-Spinners is classic Disney-style fare from the mid-60s. It fits right in the groove with other Disney movies from that era like "That Darn Cat" and "The Love Bug". Keep in mind that this stylistic resemblance may be seen as an advantage or a serious flaw.
The story happens in Greece, on the island of Crete, though it's actually not very much about Greece or its culture. Of the seven major characters, only one is actually Greek. Two of the actors (notably Eli Wallach) play at being Hellenic while struggling through bad accents and mangled dialog. Culturally, the whole film is a profound embarrassment if you know anything about Greece. But of course, that wasn't the point of the project. Rather, it was a vehicle for Haley Mills. By this standard, she does good work presenting herself as a wacky cute girl who stumbles onto a scheme involving stolen jewels. The plot itself is needlessly confused, and characters say and do all sorts of things that make no practical sense except as stale devices to move the story along. The truly shining moments of the film come only near the end in scenes involving former silent-movie-legend Pola Negri in her final film role. At this point the movie thoroughly entertains and nearly makes up for the hour-plus of previous tedium. Unfortunately, even Eli Wallach fails to impress in this strained vehicle. If you're looking for a "good movie", one with a solid plot and uniformly good acting and directing, then pass on The Moon-Spinners. It's really quite unremarkable. But if you want to conjure warm memories of a classic-Disney childhood, and you want to see the last glimpse of the amazing Pola Negri, then definitely watch this film.
The story happens in Greece, on the island of Crete, though it's actually not very much about Greece or its culture. Of the seven major characters, only one is actually Greek. Two of the actors (notably Eli Wallach) play at being Hellenic while struggling through bad accents and mangled dialog. Culturally, the whole film is a profound embarrassment if you know anything about Greece. But of course, that wasn't the point of the project. Rather, it was a vehicle for Haley Mills. By this standard, she does good work presenting herself as a wacky cute girl who stumbles onto a scheme involving stolen jewels. The plot itself is needlessly confused, and characters say and do all sorts of things that make no practical sense except as stale devices to move the story along. The truly shining moments of the film come only near the end in scenes involving former silent-movie-legend Pola Negri in her final film role. At this point the movie thoroughly entertains and nearly makes up for the hour-plus of previous tedium. Unfortunately, even Eli Wallach fails to impress in this strained vehicle. If you're looking for a "good movie", one with a solid plot and uniformly good acting and directing, then pass on The Moon-Spinners. It's really quite unremarkable. But if you want to conjure warm memories of a classic-Disney childhood, and you want to see the last glimpse of the amazing Pola Negri, then definitely watch this film.