The Night of the Hunter

Grade: A+

The Night of the Hunter is truly a one-of-a-kind underrated masterpiece: a horror film, a coming-of-age fantasy and an experiment in expressionism all rolled into one. A few more notes on The Night of the Hunter.

Directing:

English actor Charles Laughton only directed one film, and just like Orson Welles did with Citizen Kane, Laughton was free to make up the rules as he went along, unrestrained by the preordained conventions of what to do and what not to do. As a result, The Night of the Hunter is an artful oddity in Hollywood history: a story about children on the run from a serial killer, all wrapped up in shadowy cinematography inspired by M, Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. It’s a shame that the film was such a critical and commercial disappointment, as Laughton certainly had the potential to become an all-time great director yet was unfortunately turned off by his film’s initial negative reception. Every frame is a photographic work of art.

Acting:

The psychopathic Preacher Harry Powell is one of Robert Mitchum’s finest roles, and his imposing presence is echoed by Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh in the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men: a charismatic embodiment of pure evil. He haunts every scene whether he is in it or not, which lends credence to the frantic and hysterical actions of the supporting cast (including Shelley Winters and child actors Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce). However, Mitchum meets his match when he faces a surrogate nanny/guardian angel played by silent film icon Lillian Gish, who represents an ultimate force of good in a dark cruel world.

Writing:

The Night of the Hunter is filled with tension and suspense but derives most of its power from the beautiful visuals. Laughton was heavily influenced by silent films, so it’s no surprise that several of the greatest scenes are wordless (primarily the surreal voyage down the Ohio River at twilight). Rarely is a film about a serial killer so eerily calming.

Music:

Walter Schumann’s orchestral score adds to the action without being distracting, but the most memorable musical passages are the haunting songs sung by the characters, such as the Preacher’s menacing hymns or young Pearl Harper’s nightmarish lullaby “Pretty Fly” (which bears some similarities to Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy”). These musical interludes are just another example of why The Night of the Hunter is such a unique masterpiece.

Ending (SPOILERS):

In the final 15-minutes-or-so of the film, Rachel Cooper (played by Gish) becomes the main character, which makes for an anticlimax that sees the Preacher caught by the law and the children living happily ever after in their new home. Despite the somewhat jarring change in tone, the ending is satisfying for the prevailing of good over evil, which seriously seemed in doubt throughout much of the journey.

“Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand left-hand?” – Preacher Harry Powell

**Why The Night of the Hunter gets an A+**:

It’s closest cinematic parallels are M and Citizen Kane, which should give you an idea of the high quality that The Night of the Hunter provides. But it’s so much more than that: Laughton’s semi-surreal thriller is one of the most singular films ever made, featuring disparate influences and genre mash-ups that have never been attempted since.

“The Night of the Hunter” (1955)