Movie Loner

Occasionally, I’ll use this forum to discuss an older film that younger audiences might not be familiar with. Night of the Hunter is perfect for this site because it was overlooked by critics and ignored by moviegoers when it was released. Today it’s regarded as one of the most gorgeous examples of black and white cinematography put to film.

Robert Mitchum plays Harry Powell, a menacing criminal who gets pinched for stealing a car. While in jail, he meets Ben Harper, a man condemned to die. In their conversations, Harry learns Harper stole $10,000 and stashed it away. Harper is executed before he can tell Harry the money’s whereabouts. Once released, Harry travels to Harper’s home town, the hamlet of Cresap’s Landing in search of the stolen cash.

He arrives in town pretending to be a Preacher and immediately begins pursuing Harper’s widow, Willa (Shelley Winters). He seduces her with bible thumping sermons until she agrees to marry him. Once married, he refuses to touch her, claiming sex is a sin. When he’s not browbeating Willa, he interrogates her children, John and Pearl, who both know where the money is hidden. Frustrated by his lot, Harry resorts to murder. The children escape down river in a boat. Singing hymns, astride his horse, the Preacher follows. His evil shadow never far behind.

Charles Laughton, famous for acting in movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed Night of the Hunter. Due to its poor reception in 1955 Laughton would never direct again. What a waste. This film is visually stunning. Its images are like moving paintings. In my opinion, it looks better than Citizen Cane.

Then there is Mitchum’s creepy portrayal of the Preacher. He’s my favorite screen villain of all time. Forget Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter. This guy seduces widows, menaces children, and tattoos ‘love’ and ‘hate’ on his knuckles. If that doesn’t define “bad guy”, I don’t know what does. Please watch Night of the Hunter and tell me what you think. It has always had a spot on my Top 10 list.