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.
DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001
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Stats: 1,362 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (1,362)
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June 30, 2009Heard 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)
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June 28, 2009This 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) -
April 19, 2009it 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)
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November 4, 2008A 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
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October 24, 2008It, or rather I, started out a little rusty, but then it went full speed!! Once I got acquainted with the characters and the style it sucked me in. I'm not really sure why, but somehow it made me think of Tim Burton, I think it was the slightly dreamy, nightmarishly atmosphere it...( read more)
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November 3, 2009Being 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)
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September 20, 2009A 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, 2009WEB. 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)
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September 5, 2009A fabulous example of a nightmare brought to life on film. The amazing art direction and cinematography create some memorably creepy images. Robert Mitchum?s Harry Powell is one of the all time great villains of the cinema.
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August 28, 2009Gorgeous, thrilling script, plus a quite interesting set of performances. Mesmerizing, this will be a night hard to forget.
Critic Reviews
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Comments
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January 24, 2007We 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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