The Night of the Hunter (1955)

 ●  English ● 1 hr 32 mins

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It's the Great Depression. In the process of robbing a bank of $10,000, the robbery because he is unable to provide for his family, Ben Harper kills two people. Before he is captured, he is able to convince his adolescent son John and his infant daughter, Pearl not to tell anyone, including their mother Willa, who Ben believes is too idealistic, of where he hid the money, namely in Pearl's favorite toy, a doll that she carries everywhere with her. Ben, who is captured, tried and convicted, is sentenced to death. But before he is executed, Ben is in the state penitentiary with a cell mate, a man by the name of Harry Powell, a self-professed man of the cloth, who is really a con man and murderer, he who swindles lonely women, primarily rich widows, of their money before he kills them. The authorities are unaware of these crimes, Harry who is incarcerated on a thirty day sentence for car theft. Harry does whatever he can, unsuccessfully, to find out the location of the $10,000 from Ben. But after Ben's execution, Harry decides that Willa will be his next mark, he figuring that someone in the family knowing where the money is. Despite vowing not to get remarried, Willa ends up being easy prey for Harry's outward evangelicalism, as she is a pious woman who feels she needs to atone for her sins which led to Ben doing what he did, especially as Harry presents himself as the preacher who worked at the prison and provided salvation to Ben before his death. But Harry also quickly figures that John and Pearl know where the money is. Conversely, John doesn't trust Harry, John who first tries not to show to Harry that he indeed does know where the money is, and then second constantly reminds a more trusting Pearl of their promise to their now deceased father. With Willa devoted to her new husband, John and Pearl may need some other adult assistance in evading Harry's veiled threats, an adult who not only can see the honesty and goodness in children but who can also see a true wolf in sheep's clothing like Harry. Will John succeed in learning the secret of where the money is hidden from the children? How will Willa's marriage with John turn out? What price with the children have to pay for protecting their valuable secret?
See Storyline (May Contain Spoilers)

Cast: Lillian Gish, Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters

Crew: Charles Laughton (Director), Robert Mitchum (Director), Stanislaus Krantz (Director of Photography), Walter Schumann (Music Director)

Rating: A (India)

Genres: Crime, Thriller

Release Dates: 24 Nov 1955 (India)

Tagline: The Hands Of ROBERT MITCHUM in "The Night of the Hunter"

Did you know? Reportedly it was Robert Mitchum himself who thought of the shot of hanging upside down in his bunk. Charles Laughton liked the idea, and it was shot that way. Read More
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as Rachel Cooper
as Reverend Harry Powell
as Willa Harper
as John Harper
as Walt Spoon
as Icey Spoon
as Ruby
as Birdie Steptoe
as Ben Harper
as Pearl Harper

Direction

Production

Producer
Production Company

Writers

Camera and Electrical

Director of Photography

Music

Music Director

Art

Art Director

Editorial

Editor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
The Hands Of ROBERT MITCHUM in "The Night of the Hunter"
The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE!
Goofs:
Revealing Mistakes
A wire is clearly visible on the owl scene before it catches the rabbit.

Errors in Geography
In the scene where the turtle that John says could be made into soup is actually a desert tortoise, not found in West Virginia/Kentucky.

Crew/Equipment Visible
During children are asleep in boat drifting down river, right after closeup of fox jumping out of a tree, cable pulling the boat is clearly visible in water.

Continuity
On the riverside scene when Willa and Harry are talking, Willa's hands and purse are resting on the edge of her knees. In the next shot, however, her hands and purse are in her lap.

Continuity
In the scene where Harry says good morning to Ruby and Mrs. Cooper, he holds the hat about his chest. In the subsequent shot he is lifting the hat from about his knees.

Character Error
In the scene where Harry tells the children about their "fine dinner, with fried chicken..." the chicken on the table is a whole, baked chicken.

Audio/Video Mismatch
While Willa Harper is lying in bed talking to Harry her mouth movements are out of sync with the dialogue.
Trivia:
Originally the script was called for Willa's hair to cover the slit in her throat in the underwater scene, but Laughton chose to film it as Uncle Birdie saw it.

Shelley Winters last line "Bless us all," delivered before her throat is cut which was deleted in the final film.

The Swedish title spoils the film, meaning where the money is hidden.

In the Spanish version, the translators changed the name of the girl from Pearl to May, perhaps for the difficult pronunciation in Spanish.

The iris shot used in the film was the first one in American live-action films since cinematographer Stanley Cortez used one in "The Magnificent Ambersons."

Laughton's first choice for the two adult leads were Gary Cooper and Betty Grable, but both turned the roles down.

Reportedly it was Robert Mitchum himself who thought of the shot of hanging upside down in his bunk. Charles Laughton liked the idea, and it was shot that way.

Emmett Lynn was originally cast and filmed as Birdie Steptoe, but director Laughton replaced him with James Gleason and reshot all of Lynn's scenes.

A scene depicting the townsfolk going into the Spoon store after watching a movie is the only complete scene that was actually shot and later completely discarded.

Charles Laughton originally offered the role of Harry Powell to Gary Cooper, who turned it down as being possibly detrimental to his career.

Dutch-born American serial killer Harry Powers (nee Herman Drenth) was the inspiration for the Preacher.

The sequence purportedly showing the preacher riding a horse in the distance was filmed in false perspective and was actually a midget astride a pony.