The author of this review could hardly remember a single instant when he experienced surprise while watching a film. Being pleasantly surprised by a movie had almost become a distant memory, especially after watching the quality of contemporary Hollywood films decline. So, when one of those pleasant surprises actually happened, it was in the form of an old Hollywood classic, one of those lesser-known films from the past. When I began watching The Night of the Hunter, a 1955 film noir directed by Charles Laughton, for the first time, I didn't know that I would be blown away by it.
The Night of the Hunter is based on the novel by Davis Grubb. The screenplay was written by James Agee (and re-written by Laughton). The plot is set in Depression-era rural America and begins with the introduction of Harry Powell (played by Robert Mitchum), a vicious serial killer who preys on lonely widows and earns their trust by pretending to be a preacher. Briefly imprisoned for car theft, he shares a cell with Ben Harper (played by Peter Graves), a man sentenced to death for robbery and murder. Since Harper had stashed $10,000 of his loot, Powell is determined to find it. Upon his release from prison, he visits Harper's widow Willa (played by Shelley Winters) and uses his conman's skills to earn her trust and even marry her. His plan has one problem – Willa doesn't know where the money is, but her children – 10-year-old John (played by Billy Chapin) and his little sister Pearl (played by Sally Jane Bruce) – do. John is immediately suspicious of his stepfather's true nature, so the psychopathic killer starts intimidating the boy in order to get his hands on the money.
There are many surprises in The Night of the Hunter. The first one is its director. Charles Laughton is best known as one of the best character actors of classic Hollywood. The Night of the Hunter was his directorial debut (and, sadly, his last work behind the camera), but the film looks more like the work of a great and much more experienced filmmaker. Laughton's lack of experience was perhaps one of the advantages for this film. The Night of the Hunter, with its impressive black-and-white photography by Stanley Cortez, looks completely atypical for 1950s Hollywood. Many scenes – both exterior and interior – look purposely theatrical, creating memorable images and setting the tone of the film. One of the best examples is the distant image of Harry Powell on a horse – his shadowy, menacing figure that sticks out from the evening horizon is one of the most frightening incarnations of evil in the history of cinema.
The Night of the Hunter might surprise today's audience by its content as well as its form. Apart from a genre mix quite unusual for its time – film noir, horror, and children's fairy tale – modern viewers would probably scratch their heads at the filmmaker's courage in treating some subjects that were taboo in the 1950s. The most recognisable is sexuality, especially female sexuality. Not one, but two female characters in the film explicitly desire sex, while a third openly discusses it. Another 1950s taboo is broken by portraying darker sides of Christianity, especially in seemingly idealised rural America where people are supposed to be more faithful to traditional values than in big cities. The film's main villain justifies his horrendous crimes by comparing them with killings in the Bible. Good Christian folk try to live up to their religious ideals and in the process allow the evil man to seduce them. A woman finds religion as an ersatz for her own repressed sexuality. Finally, even the most angelic character in the film, Rachel Cooper, brilliantly played by silent movie legend Lillian Gish, lives up to her Christian ideals at the expense of her own family. In one of the most poignant scenes, both she and the villain play the same song, thus suggesting that the lines between Good and Evil are much more blurred and that Christian charity and murderous insanity might be two sides of the same coin.
Another taboo in The Night of the Hunter is broken with the use of children as protagonists in an extremely adult tale. The film deals with violence and depravity that lurk beneath the facade of "normal" people, yet Laughton, unlike most directors before and after him, doesn't shy away from showing the dangers that await the most helpless and most innocent. Children are victims in this film. They are hungry, dirty, and without parents. Some become prey of sexual predators and some, like John and his sister, must face someone who wants to deprive them of their lives. Because of this, The Night of the Hunter is a very disturbing film, and it is quite easy to imagine why it wasn't popular among audiences.
Yet, there are other, more prosaic reasons why The Night of the Hunter, despite being a surprisingly good film, can't be called a masterpiece. Child actors Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce are playing their roles badly, and their lack of experience and talent is in huge contrast with their older colleagues. Robert Mitchum plays one of the most memorable roles of his career. His Harry Powell is one of the most terrifying and effective villains of all time. This is mostly because his serial killer is closer to the psychopaths that exist in real life – pathetic losers that prey on the weak to compensate for their own sexual, intellectual, and social inadequacies. Shelley Winters is also extremely effective as a sex-starved housewife, and whoever sees this film couldn't fail to notice some striking similarities with her later and better-known role in Kubrick's Lolita. Lillian Gish is also memorable as a tough but loving matriarch, and James Gleason is also good in his role of a well-natured but flawed old man.
The acting, no matter how good, can't compensate for another weakness – the ending. The plot resolution seems rushed; one scene is too melodramatic and represents another example of Billy Chapin's bad acting. Yet the general impression of The Night of the Hunter is more than positive. A couple of glitches at the finishing line might be an unpleasant surprise, but the movie as a whole is a much more pleasant surprise for all those who don't shy away from obscure black-and-white classics.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 11th 2002)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/3112-the-night-of-the-hunter?language=en-US
Critic: AAA