Melanie Griffith has been in a number of great films, such as Working Girl – and a few that weren’t so great, such as The Bonfire Of The Vanities – but she got her start working with the best in the business.night_moves-1975Night Moves is a terrific action film noir from 1975 – Gene Hackman plays private detective Harry Moseby, who gets hired by an aging Hollywood Actress  to find her stepdaughter. The stepdaughter is played by Melanie Griffith, in her first movie role.nightmovesgriffithMelanie makes quite a screen debut, as a spoiled rich girl who is VERY comfortable in front of Hackman.

Griffith was either 16 years old or a very young 17 when she appeared in Night Moves.night-moves-1975-22

She plays the role with a fresh innocence – but has a little bit of naughtiness as well.  She appears a few times topless in the movie, as she tries to seduce the Detective.

melanie-griffith-night-movesThis is Gene Hackman’s golden decade in film, beginning with The French Connection and The Conversation. He even found time to star in the box office smash The Poseidon Adventure!night-moves-1975

As Private Detective Moseby travels to Florida to find the missing girl, he begins to see a connection with the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.night-moves-1975-001-gene-hackman-with-gunAs with all great film noir, the story takes many twists and turns as the true motives of the cast become clear…the film is directed by Arthur Penn, who made Bonnie & Clyde – and has a great cast including the young Griffith and a young James Woods as well.james-woods08-melanie-griffith-as-delly-grastnerStill, it’s the alluring Griffith who ultimately anchors the film, the last innocent among a group involved in betrayal, revenge and murder.

Here is the trailer:

Bravo to Melanie Griffith for her stellar screen debut, which makes her my “Women Crush Wednesday!”