Amazingly, I discovered this movie only by accident. I was in my public library and just happened to go by the CD on display, and it caught my eye. I'd never heard of it, but it looked interesting so I tried it, and was blown away.
I now consider it the greatest horror movie ever made.
It was the only movie ever directed by famous actor Peter Laughton. It was not a success at the box office, breaking Laughton's heart, and so nobody ever again put up the money for him to make a film.
It was shown on TV however, and gradually found an audience although, as mentioned, not me - until now.
Part of the movie's brilliance is that it's incredibly original, but this is not so immediately obvious as to put off viewers accustomed to the average film.
It's based on a novel by the same name by Davis Grubb. Laughton remains true to the novel, though reshaping the material to condense it for the movie. Much of the dialogue is taken directly out of the book.
Plus, Laughton finds ways to both focus and cinematicly amplify the themes of the novel. However, the key sequence of the children in the skiff going down river is far more than what's in the novel.
Robert Mitchum is terrific as Preacher, the man with HATE tattooed on the fingers of one hand and LOVE on the fingers of the other -- no, that didn't start with Eddy in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The demonstration at the burlesque house as to the true nature of Preacher's sexuality is dramatized in one startly instant.
Ben Harper is the father of a boy and a girl, and wife to Willa Harper. The story is set off when he drives back home from robbing the local bank, killing two people in the process. Knowing the police are after him, he hides the $10,000 in his daughter Pearl's doll, and makes her and son John swear not to tell anybody.
Then Ben is put in the same jail cell as Preacher (caught for stealing a car, not the numerous murders of women he's committed), and Preacher becomes obsessed with getting that $10,000.
When he's released after Ben's hanging, he heads on down to meet the new widow Willa and find the money.
The movie is brutal in how it depicts the tendency of females to love a man who hates them and fears sexuality. He makes Icey Spoon excited. He makes Willa Harper turn religious. Pearl loves him "lots and lots" even after he's tried to murder her. And Ruby wants to run off with him even after learning the truth.
As Rachel Cooper points out, "Women is such fools."
The only female who doesn't fall under his influence is Rachel Cooper, played by silent screen star Lillian Gish. She's the only one who sees through him almost from the beginning. And she's the one who finally brings him down, so he can't prey on any more widows.
The one weakness I can see in the movie is that John's confusion while staying with Rachel is not well explained. We see it, but don't quite understand it. At least, I didn't. It's more explained in the novel.
In the film, seeing him manage to see through Preacher when nobody else does, then struggle to keep the secret of the money and then manage to get himself and Pearl away from Preacher before they're killed, I got used to him being on top of the situation, for a ten year old boy. So I didn't get his change of mind after leaving his skiff.
And in the film, I didn't get why John wanted the princess of Egypt to find two kings in the bull rushes, instead of one (Moses).
Night of the Hunter is not a movie to take lightly. Don't try to watch it while you're distracted. Or with someone who doesn't appreciate powerful, unusual movies.
I now consider it the greatest horror movie ever made.
It was the only movie ever directed by famous actor Peter Laughton. It was not a success at the box office, breaking Laughton's heart, and so nobody ever again put up the money for him to make a film.
It was shown on TV however, and gradually found an audience although, as mentioned, not me - until now.
Part of the movie's brilliance is that it's incredibly original, but this is not so immediately obvious as to put off viewers accustomed to the average film.
It's based on a novel by the same name by Davis Grubb. Laughton remains true to the novel, though reshaping the material to condense it for the movie. Much of the dialogue is taken directly out of the book.
Plus, Laughton finds ways to both focus and cinematicly amplify the themes of the novel. However, the key sequence of the children in the skiff going down river is far more than what's in the novel.
Robert Mitchum is terrific as Preacher, the man with HATE tattooed on the fingers of one hand and LOVE on the fingers of the other -- no, that didn't start with Eddy in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The demonstration at the burlesque house as to the true nature of Preacher's sexuality is dramatized in one startly instant.
Ben Harper is the father of a boy and a girl, and wife to Willa Harper. The story is set off when he drives back home from robbing the local bank, killing two people in the process. Knowing the police are after him, he hides the $10,000 in his daughter Pearl's doll, and makes her and son John swear not to tell anybody.
Then Ben is put in the same jail cell as Preacher (caught for stealing a car, not the numerous murders of women he's committed), and Preacher becomes obsessed with getting that $10,000.
When he's released after Ben's hanging, he heads on down to meet the new widow Willa and find the money.
The movie is brutal in how it depicts the tendency of females to love a man who hates them and fears sexuality. He makes Icey Spoon excited. He makes Willa Harper turn religious. Pearl loves him "lots and lots" even after he's tried to murder her. And Ruby wants to run off with him even after learning the truth.
As Rachel Cooper points out, "Women is such fools."
The only female who doesn't fall under his influence is Rachel Cooper, played by silent screen star Lillian Gish. She's the only one who sees through him almost from the beginning. And she's the one who finally brings him down, so he can't prey on any more widows.
The one weakness I can see in the movie is that John's confusion while staying with Rachel is not well explained. We see it, but don't quite understand it. At least, I didn't. It's more explained in the novel.
In the film, seeing him manage to see through Preacher when nobody else does, then struggle to keep the secret of the money and then manage to get himself and Pearl away from Preacher before they're killed, I got used to him being on top of the situation, for a ten year old boy. So I didn't get his change of mind after leaving his skiff.
And in the film, I didn't get why John wanted the princess of Egypt to find two kings in the bull rushes, instead of one (Moses).
Night of the Hunter is not a movie to take lightly. Don't try to watch it while you're distracted. Or with someone who doesn't appreciate powerful, unusual movies.
