With The Night of the Hunter from 1955, Charles Laughton, best known as an actor, delivered his only directorial work. And what a. Here a shady preacher hides behind the ethos of his profession.
The Milestone in film history You can rent it from Amazon and other providers for a small additional charge.
Stream on Amazon: That’s what the legendary thriller The Night of the Hunter is about
The traveling preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) comes across some hot information in prison: his cellmate Ben Harper (Peter Graves) stole $10,000 in a robbery and hid the loot with his family. Powell was briefly in prison for a car theft and then tracks down Ben Harper’s widow, Willa (Shelley Winters). He pretends to love her to get the money.
As a traveling preacher, Powell has a decisive advantage. Because he is supposedly a “man of God”, he can quickly blend into the traditional village community. Who would distrust a preacher in the 1930s? Added Robert Mitchum’s persuasive charmwho fits the role of the shady preacher like a glove. That’s just one of the reasons that makes this film a stroke of genius.
The Night of the Hunter is a thriller masterpiece of its time
Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, the main character, Harry Powell, is also an incredibly political one. In a time of great poverty, the preacher kills himself for money. And similar to the politics of this time, he uses his cunning to achieve his goals. He lies without remorse, solely for money and power. Today’s US politics once again make this film an astonishingly timely work.
This time reference is the reason which is why the film has to be black and white. In color, The Night of the Hunter would never be such a masterpiece. When the cunning preacher Powell is just a black silhouette on the horizon in the distance and sings his song, the black and white optics underline the eerie effect immensely. This can be seen very clearly in this scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PyNL2ahKwc
Like few films, The Night of the Hunter manages to bring together beauty and cruelty. Despite its age, the film is exciting, really scary and still beautiful. The black and white look is the only thing that makes it look old. Technically it is miles ahead of its time.
*The links to the Amazon offer are so-called affiliate links. If you purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.