The Night of the Hunter (1955)

It’s Sunday, you know what that means. The A-to-Z challenge continues on this week with the letter “N”. Let’s get right to it with The Night of the Hunter (1955).

Title: The Night of the Hunter

Director: Charles Laughton

Released: July 27, 1955

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

Available to stream on: Prime Video

IMDb synopsis: A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid the $10,000 he’d stolen in a robbery.

The Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is arrested for driving a stolen vehicle. His punishment is a thirty-day sentence at Moundsville Penitentiary. His cell mate in Moundsville is Ben Harper (Peter Graves) who, during the course of a robbery, murdered two people and is sentenced to death by hanging.

Before Ben’s arrest, we see him racing up the road to his home. He hurries to his children John (Billy Chapin) and Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) and makes them promise never to reveal where he hid the $10,000 that he stole. Despite Powell’s best efforts to get Ben to reveal the whereabouts of the money, Ben Harper takes the secret to his grave as his death sentence is carried out.

After his thirty-day sentence is up, Harry Powell decides that he needs to get his hands on that $10,000. What better way to find the money than become the new beau of the recently widowed Willa Harper (Shelley Winters). So, Harry rides into town preaching his way into the hearts of the townspeople. Willa, though hesitant at first, eventually falls for Harry and the two decide to get married. When Harry refuses to consummate the marriage, Willa takes it as a sign and starts joining him in his preaching.

While Pearl seems indifferent to the idea, John is not very keen on the idea of this guy who shared a cell with his father now replacing his father at home. John is able to sniff out that something isn’t right, especially with Harry constantly asking him where his father buried the money. Keeping his promise, John refuses to reveal where the money is. To her credit, Pearl has also stayed tightlipped.

Still looking for answers, Harry becomes more aggressive with his questioning of the children. While threatening John, John slips and admits that he knows where the money is while keeping the location a secret. Using a divide and conquer technique, Harry now turns to Pearl and threatens her to give up the location of the money. What he doesn’t realize though is that Willa is outside and hears the threat through an open window.

Finding himself in a bit of a mess now, Harry decides to murder Willa, tie her body to a Model T, and sink the car in the middle of the river. When the townspeople start asking about Willa’s disappearance, Harry tells them she ran off to live a life of sin. And who’s to question to the word of a preacher? Well, one person who would is old friend of the Harper family Birdie, called Uncle Birdie by John and Pearl. While out fishing he discovers Willa’s body although he decides to not say anything in fear of being blamed for her death.

Finally, his threats have worked, and Harry knows that the money is hidden inside Pearl’s doll. However, the children have managed to escape the home and his grasp. They rush to the river and hop in their father’s old dingy and set off down the river.

Do the children escape? Does Harry catch up to them? What happens to the money? Will Uncle Birdie come forward about finding Willa’s body? All valid questions, but in the spirit of not spoiling everything, it’s on you to find out how things end.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first, Robert Mitchum plays the role of Harry Powell to perfection. Trying to picture anyone else in that role and delivering the same performance is a difficult task. The Love and Hate tattoos on his knuckles serving as a reminder of the battle of good and evil we see throughout the film. With Harry specifically, we have the “good” side being the charming preacher and we have the “evil” side of Harry as the murderous con man, murdering the widows that God tells him to. The way he flips the switch between good and evil helps cement the tension that is present throughout.

All throughout we feel like we’re right there in this bleak and rundown town that is filled with what feels like your stereotypical image of what the residents of Smalltown, USA might be. We can feel that times are tough, but everyone tries to keep their spirits up. But once Harry shows up, there’s an uneasy feeling that is present in each scene and manages to grow as the film progresses. What I found interesting is that while the town and all the characters almost seem like something out of a dark fairy tale, it all works and seems believable at the same time. It wasn’t over the top enough to take you out of the story but instead drew you in and captivated you.

The biggest downside has nothing to do with the movie itself. It’s that we didn’t get to see Charles Laughton direct any other films. I would have loved to have seen where he went from here, especially with how he wove horror and humor into this crime fueled drama.

The Night of the Hunter (1955) was an enjoyable watch that grows on you the more you think about it afterwards. If you have not already seen it, I’d highly recommend you do so.

So, you’ve heard my thoughts, now it’s your turn. Have you seen The Night of the Hunter (1955)? If so, let me hear your thoughts in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Next up will be the letter “O”. Do you have a suggestion for what the review should be? You have until Wednesday afternoon to get those suggestions in! I will reveal what the movie will be and where you can stream it Wednesday evening.