Steinbeck adapted The Moon Is Down for the stage in 1942. Directed by Chester Erskine, the original Broadway production opened April 7, 1942, at the Martin Beck Theatre. The cast featured Otto Kruger as Colonel Lanser, Ralph Morgan as Mayor Orden, and Whitford Kane as Dr. Winter.[2][3] Producer Oscar Serlin announced an earlier-than-anticipated closing, explaining that attendance had "withered under the repeated blasting of those critics who did not like the play." The film rights were sold for $300,000.[4]
King Haakon VII of Norway attended the opening of the London production of The Moon Is Down June 8, 1943, at Whitehall Theatre. The cast included Paul Scofield in the role of Alex Morden.[5]
The Moon Is Down was adapted for a 1943 film directed by Irving Pichel, starring Cedric Hardwicke as Colonel Lanser, Henry Travers as Mayor Orden, and Lee J. Cobb as Dr. Winter.[6]