The Night of the Hunter main backdrop
The Night of the Hunter main poster

The Night of the Hunter

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7.9/10 • 1.7K

1955-07-271h 33m

CrimeDramaThriller

It’s a hard world for little things.

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

Directors
Charles Laughton
Editors
Robert Golden

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Robert Mitchum

    Robert Mitchum

    Preacher Harry Powell

  2. Billy Chapin

    Billy Chapin

    John Harper

  3. Sally Jane Bruce

    Sally Jane Bruce

    Pearl Harper

  4. Shelley Winters

    Shelley Winters

    Willa Harper

  5. Lillian Gish

    Lillian Gish

    Rachel Cooper

  6. James Gleason

    James Gleason

    Uncle Birdie Steptoe

  7. Evelyn Varden

    Evelyn Varden

    Icey Spoon

  8. Don Beddoe

    Don Beddoe

    Walt Spoon

  9. Peter Graves

    Peter Graves

    Ben Harper

Reviews3

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daniel white Avatar

daniel white

Mar 22, 2016

The only film directed by the great English actor Charles Laughton, "The Night of the Hunter" is a brilliant allegory about the battle between good and evil. The film failed upon its release but is now considered a classic. Robert Mitchum has never been better as the malevolent "preacher" who marries the hapless Shelley Winters. Mitchum had been in prison with Winters husband and knows there is money to be had from a robbery the deceased husband committed, but where is it? Though Shelley falls under Mitchum"s twisted religious zeal, her children a little boy and girl instinctively know this man is bad, bad, bad. Spoiler alert: Shelley Comes to a watery end and the children must flee from Mitchum who has discovered the money is hidden in little Pearl's doll. After an arduous journey mainly by boat (the Ohio river?) John and Pearl come to rest in the saintly arms of the magnificent Lillian Gish. But Mitchum is relentless in his pursuit and that is when the eternal battle between good and evil is fought one more time. I will not reveal which side prevails but let's just say for an old broad Lillian is a formidable opponent. A film I saw as a young boy it left an impression on me that was powerful. A deeply disturbing yet uplifting movie "Night of the Hunter" is not to be missed. This is Gummshoe signing off with two fists up for "Night of the Hunter."

Media

  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster
  • The Night of the Hunter poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$795,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
prisonrobberybased on novel or bookpsychopathwidowboatfanaticcountmoneyfilm noirmurderreligionblack and whitetheftpreachergothicdollhymnchildren on the runex-conexpressionismcriterionstashed cashsouthern gothicsecretbluebeard