top of page

The Night of the Hunter (1955) ft. Ryan Luis Rodriguez

  • Writer: Thomas Duncan
    Thomas Duncan
  • 6 days ago
  • 6 min read

Guest:


Cast:

  • Charles Laughton, Director

  • James Agee, Writer

  • Stanley Cortez, Cinematography

  • Walter Schumann, Music

  • Robert Mitchum as "Preacher" Harry Powell

  • Shelley Winters as Willa Harper

  • Lillian Gish as Rachel Cooper

  • Billy Chapin as John Harper

  • Sally Jane Bruce as Pearl Harper

  • James Gleason as Uncle "Birdie" Steptoe

  • Evelyn Varden as Icey Spoon

  • Don Beddoe as Walt Spoon

  • Peter Graves as Ben Harper


Background:

  • The Night of the Hunter was released on July 26, 1955. (70th Anniversary)

  • The screenplay by James Agee was based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Davis Grubb.

  • The novel and film draw on the true story of Harry Powers, who was hanged in 1932 for the murder of two widows and three children in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

  • Contemporaneous critics and audiences did not take well to the film at the time, and Director Charles Laughton took it so personally that he never directed another film.

  • However, after decades of reexamination, the film has emerged from an initial cult following to be a highly celebrated and influential film.

  • The film's lyrical and expressionistic style, borrowing techniques from silent film, sets it apart from other Hollywood films of the 1940s and 1950s, and it has influenced such later directors as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Robert Altman, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese the Coen brothers, and Guillermo del Toro.

  • French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma selected The Night of the Hunter in 2008 as the second-best film of all time, behind Citizen Kane.

  • In 2008, it was ranked as the 71st greatest movie of all time by Empire magazine in its issue of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.

  • In 2012, Sight and Sound magazine's decennial "Greatest Films of All Time" poll ranked it as the 63rd greatest film ever made; in 2022, the same poll put it at No. 25.

  • It has been recognized by the AFI on the following lists:

    • AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 34

    • AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains – Preacher Harry Powell - Villain No. 29

  • The Night of the Hunter was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1992.

  • The Night of the Hunter currently holds a 93% among critics on RT, a 97 score on Metacritic, and a 4.3/5 on Letterboxd.


What is this movie about?/Elevator Pitch: False prophets, wolves in sheep's clothing. Greed/evil vs. bravery.


Plot Summary: The Night of the Hunter is a suspenseful drama about a dangerous man (Robert Mitchum) posing as a preacher. Set during the Great Depression, the story follows Harry Powell, a charismatic and unsettling figure who travels the countryside, claiming to be a man of God. In reality, he's a con artist and killer.


When Harry hears about a man who hid $10,000 from a bank robbery, he marries the man’s widow (Shelly Winters) to try to find the money. However, the only people who know its location are her two young children, John and Pearl. As Harry becomes increasingly violent and threatening, the kids flee down the river to escape him.


They find safety with a kind woman named Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) who protects lost and abandoned children. Ultimately, Rachel stands up to Harry and helps bring him to justice.


The movie mixes horror, mystery, and beautiful black-and-white visuals. It’s a story about good versus evil—and how bravery can come from even the smallest and quietest people.


Did You Know:

  • The sequence with Powell riding a horse in the distance was actually a dwarf on a pony. It was filmed in false perspective.

  • Later on in life, Robert Mitchum, who was usually indifferent to such matters, said that Charles Laughton was his favorite director and indicated that this was his favorite of the movies in which he had acted.

  • Producer Paul Gregory and Charles Laughton presented key members of the crew, like cinematographer Stanley Cortez, each with a 1% interest in the film. This was given to them on top of their salaries and is something that is never done. Gregory and Laughton said it was not done to encourage the artists, but to reward them for their artistry. This was done over the objections of United Artists.

  • While the poor critical reviews are often cited as the reason Charles Laughton never directed another feature, Laughton himself said that he much preferred directing in the theatre. There, you could constantly change and amend the production--adding lines, changing lighting and sets--but with film once it was done it could never be changed.

  • Charles Laughton reportedly worked well with the boy playing John, but did not get along with the girl playing Pearl and shouted at her on occasion. As Laughton had the camera continue to roll after the scenes were finished, the camera often caught her reacting to him. Some of these out-takes were used in the final editing process as reaction shots to the Preacher's character.

  • Robert Mitchum was very eager for the part of the preacher. When he auditioned, a moment that particularly impressed Charles Laughton was when he described the character as "a diabolical shit" Mitchum promptly answered, "Present!"


Best Performance: Charles Laughton (Director)/Robert Mitchum (Powell)/Stanley Cortez (Cinematographer)

Best Secondary Performance: Charles Laughton (Director)/Stanley Cortez (Cinematographer)/Lillian Gish (Rachel)

Most Charismatic Award: Billy Chapin (John)/Robert Mitchum (Powell)

Best Scene:

  • Ben Harper's Arrest

  • Powell's Arrival

  • Wedding Night

  • Willa's Demise

  • In the Basement

  • Rachel to the Rescue

  • The Night of the Hunter

Favorite Scene: In the Basement/Rachel to the Rescue/Burlesque

Most Indelible Moment: Right Hand-Left Hand/The Night of the Hunter


In Memorium:

  • Tom Troupe, 97, American actor (Kelly's Heroes, My Own Private Idaho, The Devil's Brigade, Star Trek, Cheers)

  • Charles Augins, 81, American choreographer (Red Dwarf, Labyrinth, Five Guys Named Moe) and dancer.

  • Harry Standjofski, 66, Canadian actor (Assassin's Creed, Barney's Version, Young Robin Hood).

  • Alan Bergman, 99, American songwriter ("The Way We Were", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers"), Oscar winner (1968 - The Thomas Crown Affair, 1974 - The Way We Were, 1984 - Yentl).

  • Eileen Fulton, 91, American actress (As the World Turns, Nero Wolfe, Our Private World)

  • Rene Kirby, 70, American actor (appearances in Shallow Hal and Stuck on You)

  • Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 54, American actor (The Cosby Show, Major Crimes, Suits, The Resident)

  • Ozzy Osbourne, 76, English singer/songwriter, reality TV actor, "Godfather of Heavy Metal" (Black Sabbath - songs: Paranoid, War Pigs, Sabotage, Iron Man, Crazy Train; solo songs - Mama, I'm Coming Home, No More Tears), inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006, then for a second time as a solo artist in 2024.


Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Rev. Harry Powell: [when he notices John staring at the words "love" and "hate" tattooed across his knuckles] Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. Now watch, and I'll show you the story of life. Those fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warring and a-tugging, one agin t'other. Now watch 'em! Old brother left hand, left hand he's a fighting, and it looks like love's a goner. But wait a minute! Hot dog, love's a winning! Yessirree! It's love that's won, and old left hand hate is down for the count!


Rev. Harry Powell: Salvation is a last-minute business, boy.


Rachel Cooper: It's a hard world for little things.


Rachel Cooper: You know, when you're little, you have more endurance than God is ever to grant you again. Children are man at his strongest. They abide.


Rev. Harry Powell: [singing] Leaning... leaning... safe and secure from all alarms. Leaning... leaning... leaning on the everlasting arms.


Rachel Cooper: I'm a strong tree with branches for many birds. I'm good for something in this world, and I know it too.


Rachel Cooper: They abide, and they endure.


Ben Harper: What religion do you profess, preacher?

Rev. Harry Powell: The religion the Almighty and me worked out betwixt us.


Rachel Cooper: A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits, ye shall know them.


Icey Spoon: When you've been married to a man for forty years you know all that don't amount to a hill of beans. I've been married to Walt that long and I swear in all that time I just lie there thinkin' about my canning.


Ben Harper: I robbed that bank 'cause I got tired of seein' children roamin' the woodlands without food, children roamin' the highways in this here Depression, children sleepin' in old abandoned car bodies and junk heaps. And I promised myself that I'd never see the day when my younguns had want.


Rev. Harry Powell: Not that you mind the killings! There's plenty of killings in your book, Lord...


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 6.5

Impact/Significance: 2

Novelty: 8

Classic-ness: 9.33

Rewatchability: 8.33

Audience Score: 8.6 (82% Google, 90% RT)

Total: 42.76 projected


Remaining Questions:

  • Is Powell lynched?

  • What happens to the money?

  • Why did John react that way to Powell's arrest?

Comments

© 2023 by Ronny Duncan Studio Network Proudly created with ERDM

bottom of page