The Night of the Hunter (1955)

In the entire history of American movies, The Night of the Hunter stands out as the rarest and most exotic of specimens. It is, to say the least, a masterpiece--and not just because it was the only movie directed by flamboyant actor Charles Laughton or the only produced solo screenplay by the legendary critic James Agee (who also cowrote The African Queen). The truth is, nobody has ever made anything approaching its phantasmagoric, overheated style in which German expressionism, religious hysteria, fairy-tale fantasy (of the Grimm-est variety), and stalker movie are brought together in a furious boil. Like a nightmarish premonition of stalker movies to come, Night of the Hunter tells the suspenseful tale of a demented preacher (Robert Mitchum, in a performance that prefigures his memorable villain in Cape Fear), who torments a boy and his little sister--even marries their mixed-up mother (Shelley Winters)--because he's certain the kids know where their late bank-robber father hid a stash of stolen money. So dramatic, primal, and unforgettable are its images--the preacher's shadow looming over the children in their bedroom, the magical boat ride down a river whose banks teem with fantastic wildlife, those tattoos of LOVE and HATE on the unholy man's knuckles, the golden locks of a drowned woman waving in the current along with the indigenous plant life in her watery grave--that they're still haunting audiences (and filmmakers) today. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com essential video

L-O-V-E / H-A-T-E Relationship...

Lillian Gish opens this movie w/ a warning to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. This sets the stage for the Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum from the equally classic Cape Fear), who roams the countryside searching for converts (aka: victims) to his special brand of fire-and-brimstone religion. This religion includes Powell's "listening to the voice of God", which will lead him to a town where he can prey upon the ignorant souls within. Enter Shelley Winters (Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, Poseiden Adventure) as the widow of an executed robber / killer (Peter Graves), who has hidden $10,000.00 somewhere on their property. Unfortunately, Powell shared a cell with dear hubby and tried without success to get him to reveal the location of the money. Now released, Powell sets out to find the place, marry the widow, and collect the fortune. Mitchum is supremely creepy as the reverend. He will make your skin crawl and your stomach flip! Set in a far more innocent / ignorant time, Powell is truly a wolf among sheep. The only one who is suspicious of him is Winters' son, who also (along w/ his little sister, Pearl) knows where dad hid the cash. Winters finally grows a brain and questions Powell. This all leads to murder, and a journey into the unknown for the kids, winding up at the home of the Lillian Gish character. The final good vs. evil confrontation is a lot of fun. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a movie that I can watch again and again. It is a masterpiece of childhood fears and eerie atmosphere. Director, Charles Laughton makes this a joy to watch, almost a dark version of Tom Sawyer, w/ it's down-river adventure. Highest recommendation... September 28, 2008

It's the night of the hunter...

The best kind of horror comes not from monsters or ghosts, but from other human beings. "Cape Fear," "Heavenly Creatures," and other such movies are brilliant examples of this.

But one of the most compelling examples is "Night of the Hunter," a haunting movie that slowly descends into an exquisitely-filmed, brilliantly-acted nightmare about a malign preacher and the two children who are trying to escape. Like an old fairy tale by a modern Grimm, it's full of terror, magic, beauty and darkness -- and Robert Mitchum's amazing, chilling performance.

Murderous preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is arrested for car theft, since the police don't know that his hatred of women has led him to repeated murder. He shares a prison cell with bank robber Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who stole ten thousand dollars. Powell tries to coax the location of the money from Harper, but the thief takes it to his grave. Only his son John (Billy Chapin) knows its location -- and he's sworn not to tell anyone.

Upon his release, Powell arrives in Harper's town, claiming that he wants to "bring this small comfort to [Ben's] loved ones." Everyone is taken in by his charitable, pious act, including his new wife -- Ben's gullible widow, Willa (Shelley Winters). When she vanishes (you can guess what happened), John and his little sister Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) must escape their evil stepfather -- even though he's determined to hunt them down and find the money.

When it was first released, "Night of the Hunter" flopped completely. Financially and critically. It's not very surprising -- the 1950s audiences weren't ready for the sinister, unconventional villains, rich symbolism, or the fact that an actor had dared to stray into a director's chair and spin a very unique movie. Fortunately, it lived on as a cult film, and is now rightly regarded as a classic.

It's especially sad that Laughton never directed again, because his sole directorial work is simply astonishing. It feels like a fairy tale, with Powell as the wicked witch, and the children as the protected innocents who are helped by a "fairy godmother." Laughton also loads it down with sexual and religious symbolism -- the LOVE and HATE tattoos, the switchblade, the eerie sacrifice scene all add a sense of weight and foreboding.

Best of all is the cinematography. Beauty and horror are inextricably tied together: the dead Willa with "her hair waving soft and lazy like meadow grass under flood water," or the little river animals watching the children escape under a starlit sky. But there are also moments of pure terror in the finest horror tradition, such as the preacher's shadow falling over the kids, or calling out as they're hiding, "I'm out of patience, children. I'm coming to find you now..."

Robert Mitchum played another evil stalker several years later in the superb "Cape Fear," but this performance is even better -- partly because it's somewhat insane as well as full of evil. His Powell is a seething mass of murderous fervour and sexual hatred -- his intense eyes are enough to give you goosebumps, and even the harmless scenes around the children are enough to creep you out.

He's also backed by some excellent performances -- Chapin is amazing as the little boy determined to obey his father and somehow stop Powell, yet is hampered by the preacher's charismatic hold over the adults. The kid really did well. Bruce and Winters turn in some solid performances, and veteran Lillian Gish has a good supporting role as the kindly Rachel.

As chilling and compelling as when it was first released, "Night of the Hunter" is a vibrant, primal experience, and nobody has quite come close to what it portrays. September 4, 2008

Great Classic

This is a tuly excellent classic movie. My entire family enjoyed it! Great dramatic performances from Robert Mitchum and Shelly Winters. I am so glad that movies like this are still in circulation , I just can't stomach much of what is on the silver screen today! This movie is a keeper! July 17, 2008

Night Of The Psychopathic Religious Fanatic

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is an excellent film. Set in depression era West Virginia it is based on an prize winning novel of the same name that was inspired by a real life murderer who lived in that area. The surreal beginning and the fluffy ending in a cozy cottage at Christmas seem like the stuff of fairy tales but in between all is pure nightmare.

Robert Mitchum is both chilling and spellbinding as a criminal/preacher who marries the gullible widow of an executed cellmate in hopes he can force her two young children to tell him where their dad hid the proceeds from his final bank robbery. Shelly Winters plays the doomed widow well and in a manner very reminiscent of her performance in A PLACE IN THE SUN. Silent screen beauty Lillian Gish has the third starring role as a brusque but saintly, elderly foster mother who ultimately becomes a savior. The two child actors playing John and Pearl do amazing jobs and have lots of screen time in which they prove they can do more than look scared. The rest of the cast of supporting actors all bring a certain creepy small town flavor to their assorted roles.

The movie is heavily laden with symbols some of which are a bit obvious but fit the overall style of the film. The story wavers a bit during a trial and mob scene late in the film but redeems itself again by the movie's fable like closing scene. Vocal music is used to good effect several times throughout the movie though I was not fond of the overdone instrumental music that seemed to be the murderous preacher's theme. This movie is genuinely unsettling despite the reassuring ending and should appeal to most fans of psychological horror. June 14, 2008

Love and Hate do battle

A family man steals money after a robbery and hides it with his kids without their mother knowing. He makes them promise not to tell. In jail he reveals to a self appointed evangelical Minster Powell (Robert Mitchum) that he still has the loot before he is hanged. The Minister marries into the family after wooing the widow to try to get the kids to reveal the whereabouts of the money. He even resorts to murder. Eventually the kids escape and he chases after them for a final showdown in the home of an elderly foster carer.

The Night of the Hunter is basically a vehicle to watch Robert Mitchum play a very scary psycho. There is a classic scene where Powell wrestles with his own hands to tell a biblical story of the struggle between love and hate. Watching the widow deteriorate while at his command is also shocking. Overall this is powerful storytelling through and through and Mitchum turns into one the darkest of characters ever to loom upon the silver screen. June 9, 2008

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