The Night of the Hunter
Charles Laughton
1930s Ohio. Ben Harper has been hanged for killing two men during a hold-up undertaken to save his family. Before dying he tells his young children the secret of where he has hidden the stolen $10,000. A fanatical preacher, who heard about this story in prison, goes to the widow and eventually marries her, intent on finding out the information. He soon becomes very threatening to the family...
With : Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, Shelley Winters
Screenplay : Charles Laughton, James Agee
Image : Stanley Cortez
Editing : Robert Golden
Music : Walter Schumann
Screenplay : Charles Laughton, James Agee
Image : Stanley Cortez
Editing : Robert Golden
Music : Walter Schumann
Production : Paul Gregory
Distribution: Carlotta Films
Distribution: Carlotta Films
The Night of the Hunter is the only film directed by British actor Charles Laughton. It is both lyrical and realistic, but this cult film, which was a resounding failure when it was released, is reminiscent of German expressionism, and is marked by an outstanding performance from Robert Mitchum, who is very disturbing his role as a criminal with tattoos that have gone down in cinema history. This great classic illustrates "the end of innocence (a farewell to the world before the distinction of good and evil), the experience of a disenchantment, of an ever-bygone age, that only the love of cinema, its stories told in shadowy images, can gloomily reheat" (Charles Tesson).