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Night of the Hunter, The (re-release)
Universal acclaim
Based on 6 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 9 votes
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
James Agee
Davis Grubb (novel)
Directed by: Charles Laughton
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 26, 2001
DVD: May 1, 2001
Running Time: 93 minutes, B/W
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, and Peter Graves
In this re-release of 1955's eerie meditation on good and evil, a demented preacher (Mitchum) relentlessly torments two small children in the Depression-era Bible Belt in order to get at their dead father's stolen fortune.
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
This is the only film Laughton ever directed, and he packed it with a mixture of eerie chills, ingenious suspense, and absurdist humor. It's a genuine classic.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Laughton understood Agee's proximity to Grimm vaudeville, and fashioned the most intensely expressionistic movie of its day.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
Part fairy tale and part bogeyman thriller -- a juicy allegory of evil, greed and innocence, told with an eerie visual poetry.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
One of the greatest of all American films, but has never received the attention it deserves because of its lack of the proper trappings. Many "great movies'' are by great directors, but Laughton directed only this one film, which was a critical and commercial failure long overshadowed by his acting career.
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not Credited)
This start for Gregory as producer and Laughton as director is rich in promise but the completed product, bewitching at times, loses sustained drive via too many offbeat touches that have a misty effect.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Tim H gave it a10:
A living storybook.Pat C. gave it a10:
Awesome lone directorial effort by the great Laughton.
Edmond W. gave it an 8:
This is a very odd, mannered film which takes highly-stylized stage-like settings and turns them into an eerie montage of a sinister but familiar upcountry banality moved by the singular obsession of a mad preacher man searching for his stepchildren - who have their murdered mother's money hidden in a doll. Mitchum is superb and looney. A moody film with unexpected riches.
Jesse L. gave it an 8:
Mitchum's performance is excellent, although the rest of the cast is a bit mediocre. The river boat night sequence, however, is absolutely beautiful!!!
Mike M. gave it a 7:
It would rate as a classic thriller but for the schmaltzy final 15 minutes.
Judd S. gave it a 10:
Quite simply the scariest movie I have ever seen. There are movies that are designed to give you nightmares, and then there are movies that are the nightmares themselves. This movie is the nighmare.
