Billy Chapin, Don Beddoe, Evelyn Varden

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

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92% liked it

16,711 ratings

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98% liked it

41 critics

PG, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Charles Laughton

Release Date: January 1, 1955

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DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001

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Stats: 1,373 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,373)


  • November 11, 2009
    A real classic of American cinema, The night of the Hunter is as beautiful as it is menacing and still to this day has some of the best visual scenes and compositions ever recorded. Brilliant!
  • June 30, 2009
    Heard about this for years before I got to see it. One of the few films that lives up to its reputation for me. Part crime drama, part fairy tale, part nightmare, two children are threatened by a preacher/serial killer who wants the ill-gotten money their father left with them be...( read more)fore his arrest and subsequent execution.Robert Mitchum will chill your spine as he charms the townsfolk while tormenting and pursuing these children as a predator would track prey. Even if the performances weren't good (and they are), the visuals alone -- Shelley Winters's body floating amongst the weeds in a lake, the children's boat floating on the river at night -- would spellbind you. Charles Laughton's only directorial effort. Poor reviews (WTF!?!?!) turned him against directing again. It makes one pine for what could have been had this been better received.
  • June 28, 2009
    This may be one of the most overlooked and under appreciated classics of all time. A box office flop when first released, this film was simply too far ahead of its own era.

    Told in a manner that is part film noir and part Gothic horror, the story steadily becomes more nightmari...( read more)sh and less anchored in reality as it progresses. Sets, over the course of the film, become more stage than screen (some of the backdrops are obviously one-dimensional). They're often silhouetted with unnatural back lighting, adding to the overall ominous feel of the picture. Other scenes, most notably Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) at the bottom of the lake, are shot with an awareness of cinematography that is nothing short of brilliance.



    Robert Mitchum is suburb as the villainous Harry Powell, rivaling his equally evil but dimensionally different character in Cape Fear. The Night of the Hunter ranks among my all-time top 100 films and should not be missed.
  • April 19, 2009
    it would have been interesting to see how laughtons career behind the camera would have turned out had he made more than this one film. the cinematography was clearly the films strength, and the moments of tension were built very effectively to create a noir that at moments felt...( read more) more like gothic horror than classic noir. a great film.
  • November 4, 2008
    A really good film with fantastic imagery and a tour-de-force performance by Robert Mitchum make this a classic. But it also has one of the worst endings ever with sugary-sweet sentimentality severely marring a tanscendant film-noir
  • November 16, 2009
    Clássico brilhante, com várias cenas memoráveis, ótimas atuações e bela trilha sonora. Mas o ponto forte é a fotografia expressionista maravilhosa e as composições de cena e enquadramentos que são obras de arte. O filme lembra aquelas histórias assustadoras que as avós contam ao...( read more)s netos, tem um clima de sonho e pesadelo, de conto de fadas ao estilo João e Maria, com um vilão assustador em grande interpretação de Robert Mitchum. A ótima Lillian Gish torna o filme mais interessante ainda na parte final, mas é justamente na parte final que o filme fica doce demais e perde um pouco do impacto. Mesmo assim, um belíssimo suspense.
  • November 3, 2009
    Being a fan of classic American cinema as well as film noir, I have come across this title often over the years and have heard nothing but overwhelming praise. It is often hailed as a "classic" and "ahead of its time." I really haven't found a single serious reviewer who has anyt...( read more)hing bad to say about the film. Thus, I viewed it with extremely high hopes.

    I have to say that it did deliver in certain areas, but it didn't knock my socks off. The style and cinematography are tremendous and Robert Mitchum's performance is eerie and unforgettable, but a pretty weak ending and a bit of over-acting keeps me from labelling it as one of the best films of all time. Robert Mitchum's character, "Reverend" Harry Powell is up there with some of the most terrifying figures in cinema history, but I still prefer Mitchum's acting in such classics as "Out of the Past," "Pursued," and "Cape Fear."

    The film is masterfully shot and features a number of unforgettable black and white images; which says a lot for first (and only) time director, Charles Laughton. He wastes no time in moving the story along and creating suspense at every turn. The plot revolves around Powell's pursuit of $10,000 of stolen money that he finds out about from his death row prison cell mate. He quickly moves in on the man's victimized family by marrying the widow, and torments her and her children with his creepy religious morals and threatening behavior. His attention turns to the two small children who know a secret about the money and he attempts to control them.

    The film is stock full of biblical parables and draws upon religious imagery throughout. The tattoos of the words "love" and "hate" across Powell's knuckles are a particular point of interest and add another memorable cinematic moment.

    The film is quite difficult to classify and does have a bit of a timeless feel to it. I would call it a suspense/psychological thriller much more than a film noir. Regardless of how you classify it, I would agree that it is worth a viewing. All and all it is a nice little relatively forgotten film. Not epiphany material, but full of inspiring moments.
  • October 24, 2009
    Photobucket

    John and Pearl witness their father's arr...( read more)est after he robbed and killed two men. He is sentenced to be hanged, but before he is he meets Harry Powell. A serial killer and fake prophet posing as a preacher. When Harry discovers that this man hid some money, Harry devises a plan.

    John and Pearl are taken out of school by their mother due to the taunting of the other kids because of their father's sin of killing two people. When Harry strolls into town to get to know John and Pearl's mother and be apart of their lives it's made clear to John that Harry is only their to search for the money. Harry knows that the two children know where the money is and he's willing to do anything to get them to give it to him. Even kill the both of them.

    Mitchum is truly creepy in this beautifully shot black and white flick.
  • September 20, 2009
    A contender for the greatest horror movie ever. It is certainly among that rating, as well as one of the best shot noirs.

    89/100
  • September 17, 2009
    WEB. Una película con mucho estilo y suspenso, pero que deja un poco la sensación de ser poco menos que la suma de sus partes, unas más efectivas que otras. Personalmente, la entrada de Lillian Gish ayuda mucho al impacto final. / A movie with much style and suspense, but which l...( read more)eaves a certain feeling of being not much more than the sum of its parts, some more effective than others. Personally, Lillian Gish's entrance helps to heighten the overall impact.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

One of the most frightening of movies. full review

View more The Night of the Hunter reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • XxXsiteforrentXxX
    January 24, 2007
    We watched this at school, and it was so funny everyone was taking the mick outta the little girl, pearl, personally i think she was the scariest! Good film, freaky plot, kinda bad ending. but scared me which is very easy to do !!

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The Night of the Hunter Trivia


  • What words does Robert Mitchum have tattooed on the fingers of both hands in Night of the Hunter?  Answer »
  • Which famous actor directed 'The Night of the Hunter'?  Answer »
  • Which of these is NOT a John Capenter movie?  Answer »
  • In what movie or movies does a character bear the word "love" on one hand and the word "hate" on the other?  Answer »

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