The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Someone I have a deep respect for recently talked about this movie, and, since I've been on a Film Noir kick lately, I figured I'd use the opportunity to revisit this one. Charles Laughton's film is not perfect. I suspect that it might even have taken away from the beauty of the movie if it was perfect. Like all Noir it leans toward melodrama, and like all Noir the acting can often seem overdone. But the cinematography in this film more than makes up for any flaws that might exist. In that sense it is perfect Film Noir. There is a dreamlike quality that seems to echo early German Expressionist film, in which the world that you're looking at doesn't quite seem real and you're left you with the feeling that you're in a kind of beautiful nightmare. There are images of children floating down the river on a skiff that has elements of Huckleberry Finn, yet with a more ghostlike surreal quality. We see Robert Mitchum's villainous preacher cast in impossible shadow as he rides a stolen horse and sings the same old hymn over and over again. That same hymn and that same impossible shadow laid over top of a clear image is used later on when Mitchum sits singing in the front yard of house while the protective old woman with a shotgun in her lap, played by Lillian Gish, rocks back and forth and sings along with the man she is in silent battle with. Images like these, or like that of Shelly Winters' body, with flowing hair in perfect sync with the surrounding seaweed, seen almost angel like at the bottom of the river are what make this movie a masterpiece. Yes, as I said, there are flaws. There are places where the film seems a little silly. But the overall effect is hauntingly beautiful and Night of the Hunter is a darkly wondrous painting that, if you haven't seen, you absolutely should see. You won't forget Night of the Hunter. You can't forget Night of the Hunter. That may not be the only thing to mark a great film. But it definitely should be one of them. And I think that makes Night of the Hunter more than worthy of the title of Film Noir Masterpiece.

Judging from the most recent IMDb user reviews, this is a film that evokes very strong reactions, both positive and negative, with very few in between.The film's success is the result of a combination of Mr. Laughton's brilliant direction, Stanley Cortez's remarkable cinematography, and some great acting by Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, and many of the supporting cast members, including James Gleason in a very unusual role and Evelyn Varden as the very disagreeable, meddlesome Icey Spoon. No subtlety lies in that name. As far as child actors go, Billy Chapin was decent and even Sally Jane Bruce wasn't as bad as I have seen, and, through the years, I have witnessed the worst of child acting ever imaginable.Mitchum's villain here is very different from the menacing scoundrel, Max Cady, he portrayed in the original "Cape Fear" (1962). The deranged, false minister, Harry Powell, is depicted deliberately as an incompetent buffoon rather than the cool, calculating Cady. I'll never understand the many negative views of Mitchum as an actor. I recently saw him in "The Enemy Below", and was once again impressed by his performance. If I allowed the personal lives of actors to influence my views of their professional abilities, I would probably stop watching movies altogether.There are many unique, artistic touches by both the director and the cinematographer that should be mentioned, including the beautiful shots of the natural world which directly contradict the ugliness, evil and ignorance that often thrives in the "civilized" human world of this film, the repeated use of dark shadows that ominously warn of Powell's impending presence even before he appears, and the haunting children's rhymes that are embedded within the distinct and even idiosyncratic music of Walter Schumann. As in the case of "Inherit the Wind", this film does not attack true faith but rather the corruption and subversion of it. In this instance, the intense hatred, brutality, and perversion festering within Powell are starkly contrasted against the kindness, unselfishness, and internal fortitude of Rachel Cooper (Gish) with the innocence of impressionable children caught in between as they are forced to grapple with the two opposing forces of their unpredictable world. As Henry Drummond prevails at the end of "Inherit the Wind" with his quiet but genuine faith unconcealed to the public eye and held deep within, Rachel is the one who "endures" at the end here, so all is well in the universe. Charles Laughton once described this film, unfortunately his one and only work as a director, as "a nightmarish sort of Mother Goose tale." I couldn't possibly describe this extraordinary cinematic adventure any better.

Cinematography is great. Music is good and serves to heighten the suspense in the right places. Pacing and direction are decent. However, except for the little girl and Mrs Cooper (most of the time), the acting is generally terrible and quite tacky. Dialogue is so cheesy, sometimes it felt like I was watching a spoof.Overall, it felt more like a stage play. I don't regret watching it but no way it deserves the 8/10 rating it's currently on.

There are many things that makes The Night of the Hunter so iconic. The film is an almost childishly innocent tale about a preacher of a faith of his own making (Robert Mitchum, note perfect). This preacher is a man who not only talks to God, but thinks God talks back, giving him permission to court, marry, and murder lonely widows to obtain their fortunes to build a church grand enough for the preacher to adequately worship God in. At the same time as the preacher is arrested for an innocuous offence, Ben Harper, a man tired of always being down and out, robs a bank and gives the money to his children to hide before he is arrested and taken away to be hanged. Harper and the preacher's lives intersect briefly in jail, but it's enough time for the preacher to catch wind of Harper's hidden fortune, and when he gets out of jail he comes a knockin' fully intent on getting Harper's ill-gotten money by any means necessary. There is honestly nothing not to enjoy about the film. The showiest performance of all is Robert Mitchum, but every actor in this is good, grasping the fairy tale tone of the plot. Charles Laughton's direction is impeccable, the cinematography, the lighting, the shots, everything will take your breath away with its stark vicious beauty. And the score is haunting and exotic, adding to the frighting atmosphere. I've seen this movie many times and each time been completely seduced by the film. One of the greatest.