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A true original, Laughton's only film as director has deservedly gained a huge cult following over the years. Mitchums chilling performance as the psychotic Pentecostal preacher Harry Powell, with 'love' tattooed across the knuckles of one hand and 'hate' across the other, is one of his very finest.

Arriving in a small southern town on the trail of some money, Powell befriends the vulnerable widow of the two young children who hold the key to the moneys whereabouts. As the preacher's murderous intentions become clear, the children flee to seek refuge with kindly Lillian Gish.

The stunning expressionist imagery in the film harks back to early German cinema, whilst James Agee's poetic dialogue plays upon the metaphorical battle between good and evil. Laughton creates a dark, brooding atmosphere, and the lyrical beauty of such sequences as the childrens nocturnal escape by boat, or the watery demise of the touchingly naive, doomed Shelley Winters, are amongst the most memorable in American cinema.

 

CJ on 24th August 1999
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Night of the Hunter contains one of the most compelling portrayals of religious mania in all cinema. Mitchum’s deranged preacher was a defining moment for the actor a... more >

Night of the Hunter contains one of the most compelling portrayals of religious mania in all cinema. Mitchum’s deranged preacher was a defining moment for the actor and anticipates Scorsese’s Cape Fear. Sometimes charming, occasionally funny, always darker than a Southern night, this is a genuine treat. < less

View all 12 of RA’s reviews