nickenchuggets Review of The Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

"It's a hard world for little things"

[9/10 · 17 October 2023]

There are many films I still remember as classics even though I last watched them very long ago. Upon rewatching Night of the Hunter, it's easy to say it feels just as thrilling and creepy as it did when I first saw it. While not a horror movie, it makes sense to consider it as one seeing as how the antagonist is so brilliantly portrayed as a genuine psychopath. The story in this takes place in West Virginia during the Depression. Two kids, John and Pearl (Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce respectively) are approached by their criminal father Ben (who has just committed a robbery) and told never to tell anyone where he hid the money he stole. Immediately after, he is cuffed and taken away to be hanged. Before his execution, his cellmate is a preacher named Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) who tries his hardest to get Ben to give up his secret, but the secret dies with him. Powell was in jail for stealing a car. When he gets out, he goes to Ben's town and catches everyone's attention because he appears to be an honest man of God at first glance, and he also acts the part. Ben's widow, Willa is soon the target of his affection, and she and Powell soon marry. Pearl is naive and doesn't seem to mind, but John's instinct tells him this guy is not to be trusted and he'll never replace his real father. Powell guilt trips Willa into going to religious gatherings with him, believing her only purpose in the eyes of the Lord is to take care of John and Pearl. One night, she comes home late and Powell is caught red handed threatening Pearl about the missing money. Powell realizes Willa is now a liability and must be silenced. He stabs her to death in her bed and sinks an old car into a lake with her corpse in it. Powell comes across John and Pearl and threatens to kill John if he doesn't say where the money is. Pearl finally confesses it's in her doll, which is the truth, but before Powell can do anything, John causes shelves to collapse on his head in the basement. They barely manage to get away by using a small boat to paddle to safety up a river. John and his sister eventually arrive at a house owned by Rachel (Lillian Gish), an affectionate but stern elderly woman who takes care of orphans. Powell manages to find Rachel's house and tries to persuade her that he is the father of John and Pearl, but she isn't fooled and sticks a shotgun in his face. He promises he'll be back. Once night falls, Powell returns and threatens Rachel to give up the kids, so she shoots him. He limps into the barn where he is later apprehended. During his arrest, John is reminded of the pain his father went through while being handcuffed, so he gives up the money to Powell. In court, John can't bring himself to say Powell is guilty, but he will still be executed sometime soon. Back at Rachel's house, John, Pearl and the other children open Christmas gifts. With this legendary movie, Charles Laughton shows that he wasn't just a top of the line actor, but a nearly perfect director too. Sadly, in one of the most baffling anecdotes I can think of off the top of my head, the initial reaction to Night of the Hunter was quite bad. Because of this, Laughton never again directed an actual film. Sometimes, I really do have no faith in humanity. Thank god public opinion has shifted in favor of this film, because there are so many different reasons to praise it. Being a noir, it has a lot of dark shadows and reminds me a lot of Grapes of Wrath. The fact they both take place in the 30s I feel is no coincidence. The music is quite disturbing and really contributes a lot to the moments where Powell is trying to chase after the kids. No matter how slow he moves he always seems to catch up with them. Speaking of whom, Robert Mitchum puts on one of the most defining performances of his whole career here. He's still in a noir, so it's not out of place for him, but even when playing a southerner he does so extremely well. He's one of the most downright evil characters in a noir just because he's perfectly willing to kill children to get what he wants. Silent film legend Lillian Gish also portrays a woman who is determined to stand up for what she thinks is right and does so with much tenacity. It is odd seeing her in a non-silent movie though. The movie is made more convincing by the fact that the main characters are two small children who haven't done anything wrong. It's not their fault their father was a criminal, but because of his choices, they enter a nightmare. In my view, Mitchum's performance makes this movie what it is, but there are tons of other reasons why I consider Night of the Hunter one of my favorite noirs.