The Night of the Hunter (film)
The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American thriller film directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish.After Powell refuses to consummate their marriage, Willa deludes herself that he married her to redeem her soul and begins preaching alongside him in tent revivals.Powell murders Willa and ties her body to a Model T that he sinks in the river, then claims that she left her family for a life of sin when Walter and Icey question her abrupt disappearance.They use their father's small johnboat to flee down the river and find sanctuary with Rachel Cooper, a tough woman who looks after stray children.[16][9] Agee's original script ended with a shot of children's faces floating among the stars, an idea that was eventually moved to the opening of the film.[28] In the end Laughton chose Shelley Winters because he felt she had a vulnerable quality and was more of a serious actor than a movie star; she committed to the role only two weeks before filming began.[42] According to Lillian Gish, Laughton was very unsure of himself on set as this was his first time directing a film, and when someone would give him a suggestion he would start talking about fears that his whole vision was wrong.[50] Laughton drew on the harsh, angular look of German expressionist films of the 1920s, which is especially noticeable in the art direction by Hilyard Brown.[55] The underwater scene showing Willa's dead body was shot in a studio using a mannequin with a custom mask to make it look like Winters.[9] The film's score, composed and arranged by Walter Schumann in close association with Laughton, features a combination of nostalgic and expressionistic orchestral passages.[57] A recurring musical device involves the preacher making his presence known by singing the traditional hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms"."[58] The Night of the Hunter premiered on July 26, 1955, in Des Moines, Iowa, a special event to raise money for the YMCA in Gregory's hometown, which included a parade and a broadcast on The Tonight Show.[9] According to Paul Gregory, "absolutely no money was spent on promotion...United Artists didn't have the muscle, desire, or intelligence to handle the picture."[64] He originally had the idea to tour the film "road show style", stopping at certain cities that were familiar with Laughton's plays, but he could not convince the studio.[66] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film "a weird and intriguing endeavor", adding: "unfortunately the story and the thesis presented by Mr. Grubb had to be carried through by Mr. Laughton to a finish—and it is here that he goes wrong.For the evolution of the melodrama, after the threatened, frightened children flee home, angles off into that allegorical contrast of the forces of Evil and Good."[67] Gene Arneel of Variety summarized: "The relentless terror of Davis Grubb's novel got away from Paul Gregory and Charles Laughton in their translation of Night of the Hunter.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."[70] The Legion of Decency gave the film a B because it degraded marriage, and the Protestant Motion Picture Council rated it "objectionable", saying that any religious person would be offended by it.Many films of the mid-1950s, even the good ones, seem somewhat dated now, but by setting his story in an invented movie world outside conventional realism, Laughton gave it a timelessness...The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring Robert Mitchum's formidable performance as a child-hunting preacher, The Night of the Hunter is a disturbing look at good and evil.American Film Institute recognition Mark Callaghan, the lead singer for the Australian band The Riptides, parodied Mitchum's character in the music video for the 1982 track, Hearts And Flowers.In the 1989 Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing, the character Radio Raheem wears brass knuckles saying "love" and "hate" on each hand and gives a speech that is an almost verbatim copy of Powell's.[83] The Coen brothers have referenced The Night of the Hunter in several of their own films, including The Big Lebowski ("the Dude abides", an echo of Rachel's closing line "They abide, and they endure") and True Grit (the visual style of Rooster's night ride with Mattie is similar to that of John and Pearl's river journey, and the score uses the music from Leaning on the Everlasting Arms).In Emerald Fennell's 2020 film Promising Young Woman a clip from The Night of the Hunter is playing in a scene where the protagonist's parents are watching TV on the couch.Peter Doherty, who co-wrote the song, said to the NME: “We got the title from Charles Laughton’s directorial debut Night Of The Hunter starring Robert Mitchum as a preacher with ‘LOVE’ and ‘HATE’ tattooed on his knuckles”.
Charles LaughtonJames AgeeThe Night of the HunterDavis GrubbPaul GregoryRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishJames GleasonEvelyn VardenPeter GravesDon BeddoeGloria CastilloBilly ChapinSally Jane BruceStanley CortezWalter SchumannUnited Artiststhriller filmnovel of the same namePreacher Harry Powellserial killerHarry PowersClarksburg, West Virginiaexpressionisticsilent filmHollywood filmsRainer Werner FassbinderRobert AltmanSpike LeeMartin ScorseseCoen brothersGuillermo del Torogreatest films ever madeNational Film RegistryCahiers du CinémaCitizen KaneOhio RiverWest VirginiaGreat DepressionMoundsville Penitentiarytent revivalsModel Tjohnboatlynch mob"Preacher" Harry PowellPaul BryarIrving AllenBurgess MeredithThe Man on the Eiffel TowerBroadwayHarold MatsonMother GoosestoryboardProduction Code Administrationsilent filmsThe Birth of a NationIntoleranceThe Four Horsemen of the ApocalypsetalkiesGary CooperJohn CarradineLaurence OlivierAgnes MooreheadGrace KellyBetty GrableElsa LanchesterJane DarwellLouise FazendaD.W. Griffithkey lightRepublic StudiosRowland V. LeeSan Fernando ValleycutawaycompositingTerry SandersA Time Out of WarBrechtian actingThe Magnificent AmbersonsBlack TuesdayKodak Tri-Xsecond unitIris shotGerman expressionist filmslittle personminiature horsenostalgicorchestralKitty WhiteLeaning on the Everlasting ArmsRCA VictorDes Moines, IowaThe Tonight ShowLos Angeles Herald-ExpressAmerican Institute of Graphic ArtsRoman Catholic Diocese of CheyenneBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesVarietyHarrison's ReportsLegion of DecencyMemphis, TennesseeLloyd Binfordcult filmRoger EbertDave Kehr100 Scariest Movie MomentsEmpireSight and SoundLibrary of CongressRotten Tomatoesweighted averageMetacriticAmerican Film InstituteAFI's 100 Years...100 ThrillsAFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & VillainsThe RiptidesDo the Right ThingRadio Raheembrass knucklesThe Big LebowskiTrue Grit"Fall" of the television series Better Call SaulJimmy McGillEmerald Fennell