Charles Laughton only made one film as a director and the lukewarm reception it received on its release in 1955 caused him to swear he’d never make another. The well-known British character actor kept to his word and died seven years later, with The Night of the Hunter the only directorial work on his filmography. It’s hard to think of another director who made such an impact with their first, let alone only, film. The film has such a distinctive and unique visual and storytelling approach that even if you’ve never seen it you’re bound to be aware of its influence.
It’s odd that there was a Brit at the helm because this is a quintessentially American film. More specifically it’s a quintessentially Southern film. The term Southern Gothic’ is a fairly recent invention to describe stories with a melodramatically macabre bent that take place in the Southern states of the US and are infused with that part of the worlds’ distinctive sensibilities. More recent examples include Sam Raimi’s The Gift and HBO’s True Bloodm but The Night of the Hunter may be the first and finest cinematic example.
Despite the fact that it deals with very real and plausible horrorsm Laughton and screenwriter James Agee (adapting Davis Grubb’s novel) tell their story in a dreamy and occasionally surreal fashion. The fact that the horrifying events are mostly seen from the perspective of two children, John (Billy Chapin) and Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce), means that Laughton allows the events to unfold like a nightmare fairytale while still exploring extremely adult themes like misogyny and the abuse of power.
The two children are the offspring of condemned thief and murderer Ben Harper (Peter Graves) and before he’s taken down by the law he stashes the $10,000 he’s stolen in Pearl’s beloved dolly. Before he’s sent to the gallows he confesses this fact to his cellmate. Unfortunately for everyone involved his cellmate is one of cinema’s most memorable and truly terrifying monsters. Robert Mitchum’s Reverend Harry Powell is outwardly jovial but inwardly twisted with a ravenous hatred of women. The self-proclaimed Preacher believes that God has tasked him with getting rid of all women that men may find tempting. But he’s also a petty criminal looking to make a quick buck.
In order to get his hands on the cash Powell sets about seducing the children’s naive mother Willa (Shelley Winters) into marriage and the kids are eventually forced to go on the run pursued by Powell in an extended and terrifying game of hide-and-seek. Laughton utterly succeeds in making us see the man as the terrified children do as the big bad wolf out to eat them. You genuinely feel their terror whenever he appears with his distinctive silhouette and his trademark cry of “chil-dren!
Laughton was truly breaking new ground with a lot of his visual flourishes. When the children try to escape downriver on a rowboat he films the ride as a series of vignettes with different animals in the foreground making it feel like we’re turning the pages of a dark storybook. Then there’s the wistful slow motion shot of a corpse sitting in a car underwater. This sequence sums up the whole film in how it manages to be ethereally beautiful even while it gives you nightmares.
As disturbing as The Night of the Hunter is it’s also shot through with a vein of very black humour. Powell himself, while a truly menacing figure, is also a funny character with his pompous piousness and flowery (and very quotable) dialogue. “Open this door you spawn of the devil’s own strumpet is a favourite of mine that I am constantly trying to work into everyday conversation.
So, all-in-all it’s a dark, funny, twisted and beautiful masterpiece. Stanley Cortez’s vividly monochrome cinematography looks magnificent in HD and there are some great extras included on the Blu-Ray. There’s an epic if a little staid documentary on the making of the film with some priceless footage of Charles Laughton discussing the themes and a 1984 interview with Cortez.
Overall Verdict: A genuinely unique and untouchable work of genius. There are three types of people in the world: those who love The Night of the Hunter, those who haven’t seen The Night of the Hunter and those who have no taste.
Special Features:
Charles Laughton Directs The Night of the Hunter two hour documentary about the making of The Night of the Hunter
Vintage interview with cinematographer Stanley Cortez
Original theatrical trailer
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon