The Night Of The Hunter (DVD)

(film only review) A group of children playing hide-and-seek on a farm find a dead woman lying in a barn. A preacher, Rev. Harry Powell, (Robert Mitchum) is driving along country roads, singing hymns and talking to God. “There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin' things, lacy things, things with curly hair.“ And then, “God, I‘m tired, there are too many of them, I can‘t kill the world.“ A man, Ben Harper, (Peter Graves) comes running to his house clutching 10.000 $ in his hand, he‘s just robbed a bank, killed two people and must hide the money before the police come. He stuffs it into his daughter‘s doll and makes the children ...  Read the complete review

It's almost impossible to describe the all-embracing weirdness of Charles Laughton's only film as director. Ostensibly a crime film, with Robert Mitchum as a psychopathic preacher / killer hearing from cellmate Peter Graves about some buried loot, and getting out to marry his widow (Shelly Winters) and menace his kids until he finds out where the money is, it has a weird, dreamlike texture, with straight images of nature and light versus the almost supernatural evil represented by Mitchum. All the performances, from the kids, Dorothy Gish as the angelic old lady, and Winters as the doomed wife are excellent, but they're in the shadow of Mitchum, in ...  Read the complete review

'The Night Of The Hunter' was made in 1955 and is always highly regarded whenever I look at polls of the greatest ever films etc, so I decided to see what I thought of it. To my mind it absolutely deserves its reputation as a film classic with wonderfully eerie black and white photography and a stunning central performance from Robert Mitchum. Mitchum plays Harry Powell a self appointed preacher. He is only a preacher in respect of the clothes he wears and passages from the Bible he quotes. He is far from what he seems. The audience is given suspicion early on, by the way his character behaves and acts, that this is no ordinary preacher. He drives his car and ...  Read the complete review

Starring: Robert Mitchum as 'Reverend' Harry Powell Shelley Winters as Willa Harper Peter Graves as Ben Harper Lilian Gish as Rachel Cooper Billy Chapin as John Harper Sally Jane Bruce as Pearl Harper This is simply one of the very greatest films ever made - no review can ever do it justice so I don't know why I'm even trying, but I want so much to encourage you to seek out this highly unusual and absorbing classic movie. The only movie directed by the acclaimed actor Charles Laughton, it is a pity that he didn't direct more - this 1955 film is a masterpiece of psychological suspense with a very 'Film Noir'-ish ...  Read the complete review

Sadly, this was Charles Laughton's only film as a director - its box office failings shattered his confidence, leaving him with no desire to direct ever again. It is often considered the greatest film by someone who only directed a single film, and rightly so, with the possible exception of Jean Vigo. The Night of the Hunter is one of the most mystical and suspenseful films ever produced by Hollywood. This depression era film follows a false preacher, Harry Powell (played by the great Robert Mitchum), as he attempts to steal money from two children whose father was arrested and left a bag full of cash for the boy to take resposibility and keep hold of until ...  Read the complete review