The Night of the Hunter (re-release)

Name: The Night of the Hunter (re-release)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Film-Noir
Released: October 26, 2001
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 99
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters

2001

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 129 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 129 Ratings

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The Night Of The Hunter

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Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: October 26, 2001 | Approved

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters

Summary: In this re-release of 1955's eerie meditation on good and evil, a demented preacher (Robert Mitchum) relentlessly torments two small children in the Depression-era Bible Belt in order to get at their dead father's stolen fortune.

Director: Charles Laughton and Robert Mitchum and Terry Sanders

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Film-Noir

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 93 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Dave Kehr

An enduring masterpiece--dark, deep, beautiful, aglow. Read full review

100

Empire Adam Smith

Ignored for a long time, this film is now impossible to ignore. Mitchum is magnetic. Read full review

100

Time Out London Tom Huddleston

It’s the most haunted and dreamlike of all American films, a gothic backwoods ramble with the Devil at its heels. Read full review

100

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

100

Michael Atkinson

Laughton understood Agee's proximity to Grimm vaudeville, and fashioned the most intensely expressionistic movie of its day. Read full review

100

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

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

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User Reviews

ryancarroll88

Aug 27, 2010

One of those movies that if I had seen as a child it would have terrified me to no end, and having seen it now, it just sits eerily in the back of my mind. It is truly a perfect thriller.

6 of 7 users found this helpful61

JLuis_001

Oct 18, 2017

I started to watch the new Netflix show Mindhunter on monday, I'm on episode 2 and I was talking with some guys on Facebook about serial killers and thrillers about them, I love the genre, it's one of my all-time favorites. Someone mentioned this film and while I've heard about it before, II started to watch the new Netflix show Mindhunter on monday, I'm on episode 2 and I was talking with some guys on Facebook about serial killers and thrillers about them, I love the genre, it's one of my all-time favorites. Someone mentioned this film and while I've heard about it before, I never actually got the chance to watch it.
It has nothing to do with the show but the film is the adaptation of a novel inspired on a real-life serial killer.

And how is the film? it's incredible, it's so good, the story, the way in which was filmed, the noir style, the narrative, the performaces, especially Robert Mitchum, who's at the same time charming and a bastard, this film is really, really good.
Also something interesting is that while the film it's actually really old somehow it looks older, that doesn't mean it looks bad at all is just that the style doesn't fit to the style of other films I've seen from the 50's.

The Night of the Hunter it's a bleak film, I've heard some consider it a horror film and maybe it fits the category in some way but it's more a dramatic and suspenful experiencie than a horror one. Anyway, I really loved it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

cutnshoot

Apr 9, 2011

It is too bad that Chas never got to direct again. This is one of America's great films.....told as a fairytale "once upon a time" style. I saw it on late night T.V. in the 60's and have seen it many time since, (big time screen and T.V.) and it never gets old. One of Mitchum's best andIt is too bad that Chas never got to direct again. This is one of America's great films.....told as a fairytale "once upon a time" style. I saw it on late night T.V. in the 60's and have seen it many time since, (big time screen and T.V.) and it never gets old. One of Mitchum's best and unusual turns. There is nothing mediocre about this film at all. Doesn't get any better than this!… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

cameronmorewood

Dec 20, 2012

Robert Mitchum gives a blistering and bone-chilling performance as a psychotic preacher, but the twist of the film as a whole, is that the movie isn't even about him. It's about two children, forever plagued by the sins of the father.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Mar 22, 2017

They say that Satan knows the Bible just as well as God, for he uses its words to trick believers and people of the world into following a path of destruction. By knowing the words of the Bible, Lucifer can easily trick people into thinking his voice is that of God and that his words areThey say that Satan knows the Bible just as well as God, for he uses its words to trick believers and people of the world into following a path of destruction. By knowing the words of the Bible, Lucifer can easily trick people into thinking his voice is that of God and that his words are godly ones. Unfortunately, far too many people fall for this trickery and are led astray. It is in this world that a film such as The Night of the Hunter is born. One where a Preacher is the antagonist and with good reason. He is a cruel and evil man whose only goal is to find money stashed away by a bank robber on death row. He uses his position as a Preacher to find favor with the townsfolk and the man's widow. All that is standing in his way is a couple of kids sworn to secrecy by their father.

Moving in the shadows to try and woo their mother and the townsfolk, Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is a truly brutal man. Arrested at the beginning of the film for being in possession of a stolen car, he is a wolf in sheep's clothing, sent to lead the righteous off the right path. He talks the talk and shows everybody he knows the Bible, but behind closed doors, he is ruthless. From murder to theft, this is not your father's Reverend. Instead, he is a manipulative and evil man that is deftly portrayed by Robert Mitchum. In my recent forays into older classics, I have become well acquainted with Mitchum and it is hard to see him playing so against type because, inherently, I want to root for him. Mitchum is a terrific actor and The Night of the Hunter really stands as a testament as to why that is the case. He chills the room by simply entering it and his dark figure seems to tower over all of those in his presence. He simply radiates evil and makes the perfect guy for this role as a false prophet. By casting Mitchum, it makes the audience immediately comfortable with Harry Powell, just as the townsfolk are considering his status as a preacher. However, we quickly see Mitchum's brilliance as he turns on a dime between God fearing preacher and the ruthlessly greedy soul he hides within.

As a tale of religion, the film is incredibly strong. On one hand, we have the wolf in sheep's clothing and on the other, we have Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gash). A woman of faith, she takes in both John (Billy Chapin) and Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) - the children who Harry Powell tries to trick into giving him the location of their father's money - as well as other children. Though rejected by her own son, Rachel takes in children rejected by their parents or who are orphans and gives them a loving home. Reading often from the Bible and instilling a fear of God in her children, she stands as a beacon of light in the film and the true embodiment of faith. In the Bible it states, as Harry Powell quotes from Matthew 10:34, "Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Rachel, though bringing peace and happiness to this children, is defensive. When she catches wind of Harry's presence and finds out he is not John's father, she immediately defends her home and her children with a gun. Reasoning that this is a harsh world for small ones, she puts herself in harms way to defend the children in her charge against a brutal enemy. In its entirety, the Night of the Hunter is a deeply spiritual affair. It boils down to a man of evil fighting a woman of purity. He is the equivalent of a Holy War on Earth between the left hand of hate and the right hand of love and turns out exactly as illustrated by Harry Powell throughout the film with love conquering hatred.

Its tale of morality is not just limited to the main characters either, as even the Hangman (Paul Bryar) suffers greatly from his job. In hanging the children's father Ben Harper (Peter Graves), he once more finds himself grappling with the weight of his job and being unsure of its justification. A man who's job it is to kill people for the state may just be a job, but what is its impact on his salvation? Though working in the coal mines would likely kill him, he constantly expresses his regret over his job and wishes he had stuck with coal mining. It is a compelling debate and one that the film introduces with grace alongside its main story that raises a lot of questions. Is it better to die young and leave your family to fend for themselves or is it better to be the man in charge of hanging convicted criminals with blood on your hands? The answer is certainly not one that anybody would have a quality answer for.

As a film noir, director Charles Laughton heavily uses shadows, silhouettes, and lighting to create incredible cinematography. The highlight of the bunch being a shot of Harry Powell riding along the horizon on his horse. Silhouetted by the moon, the two young children can see him from a distance and can hear him singing. With the moment filled with tension due to its ominous presence, the film demonstrates how a simple… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Compi24

May 28, 2015

Charles Laughton employs some badass imagery in his only directorial effort "The Night Of The Hunter," a fitting love letter to German Expressionism and Aesop's fables on good and evil.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

carldamnit

Nov 18, 2018

I'm giving it a 0 because it had beautiful shots but all the conspiracy theories about why it wasn't a success in its day bother me, it's not a good movie.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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