Review The Night of the Hunter (1955)
- Thread starter The Seeker
- Start date
ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
An excellent - if slightly bizarre - film. The style employed by Charles Laughton is odd, but at times mesmerizing. It's little wonder that in 1992, it was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. An enjoyable film that I am personally quite fond of.
The Seeker
Member: Rank 6
For those that haven't seen it, I found the complete movie on YouTube!
Elliot Thomas
Member: Rank 3
Beautifully-made Depression-era allegory on innocence vs evil, one of the great masterpieces of American film (despite being largely dismissed by critics on its initial release). Mitchum delivers a frightening portrayal of smooth talking but villainous itinerant preacher Reverend Harry Powell who’s determined to find a stash of hidden loot, the whereabouts of which is only known by his on-the-run stepchildren whom he’s determined to catch and kill. Winters is their unfortunate mother (whose fate is captured in a memorable under-water shot) and Gish is serene as the wise old matron who helps them out.
With its stark, expressionistic imagery, this hypnotic work switches from light to dark in what seems like the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, actor-turned-director Laughton would never helm another film after the initial hate and rejection this classic got. Its legacy, however, lives on.
With its stark, expressionistic imagery, this hypnotic work switches from light to dark in what seems like the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, actor-turned-director Laughton would never helm another film after the initial hate and rejection this classic got. Its legacy, however, lives on.
The Seeker
Member: Rank 6
It's a shame. What other gems might he have directed if this had been an initial success?
Elliot Thomas
Member: Rank 3
I know, right?! I'd never have thought that Charles Laughton was thin-skinned or insecure. They (critics) really did a job on him with that film. A similar thing happened to Michael Powell after he made PEEPING TOM. Now it's rightly considered a classic. It's mad how opinion of films can shift through the passing of time.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.