One of cinema’s great travesties is that Charles Laughton only directed one official film. So poorly received, both critically and commercially, was The Night of the Hunter that Laughton never helmed another film again. Whilst many works of art go unappreciated in their creator’s lifetime it still begs the question: why were people in 1955 such fucking idiots?

To miss this film’s brilliance is difficult to comprehend. Laughton has created one of the great American films of the ‘50s, a decade positively bursting with classics. It is hard to pigeonhole (and may well be the reason for its poor reception upon release) because whilst it is a noir thriller it feels more like a twisted bedtime story. It blends the…

The Night of the Hunter is a classic Gothic fairytale: an evil being charms an unsuspecting parent, while only the children are aware that things are not what they seem. It was only while watching the film, enthralled but also deeply unsettled, that I fully realized just how insidiously terrifying the stories of our childhoods are. It's probably not the kind of entertainment that children should be absorbing, but there you are.

When Reverend Powell arrives in town, singing a hymn in his deep, carrying voice, he immediately charms everybody but the children he wants to steal ten thousand dollars from. Little John and Pearl have been burdened with an enormous secret: to keep this vast amount of money safe…

Noir-November Challenge! Movie #32

Astounding on so many different levels I cannot begin to comprehend how an audience or critic could be immune to its haunting beauty! The cinematography (lighting, shadows, noteworthy angles) is nothing less than a fine work of art to be revered by generation after generation of cinephiles around the world!

A nightmarish vision that gave birth to one of the most vile, most foul villains in cinema history Reverend Harry Powell! Wicked good fun ensued as Robert Mitchum seemed to relish the deviltry required for this role! Which resulted in one of his most glorious, most dark, most unforgettable performances of his entire career!

The creep factor was off the charts! The hackles on the back…

Sometimes you give the classics your best shot and they end up letting you down. Who knows the real reason why? Perhaps because they've played such a huge role in our collective popular consciousness that they almost can't help but be disappointing in one way or another once you do finally get around to watching them. To be bestowed with the title of "one of the greatest film's ever made" is both an honor and a burden because now you have to find a way to live up to those lofty expectations. Making matters worse is the fact that the ticking clock will never be on your side. What may have seemed revolutionary in 1955 could very well be considered…

OUTSTANDING FILM

Now talk about an interesting case scenario. I turned off this film with undecided opinions. Either it was a true masterpiece and a standard for Hollywood, or it was a cliche film that has no terms of suspense whatsoever. Realizing what I felt during the film was gripping suspense and fear, this is a definite masterpiece and an unbelievable film made by Charles Laughton.

Robert Mitchum plays a serial killer whose disguised himself as a "false prophet", if you will. A reverend who seems like an all-around nice guy starts to take matters into his own hands and steal $10,000 that he heard about from his prison mate. Thus, he has to attack his prison mate's family, including…

Coming at you with another ooky spooky review, this time for the Charles Laughton directed film The Night of the Hunter. I bought this whilst blu ray hunting with my pal Billy and I never usually blind buy but I really wanted to see this.

The film follows Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a reverend turned serial killer who befriends Ben Harper (Peter Graves) in jail in order to discover where he hid a stash of money that he stole. After he is released (and Ben has been hung for his crimes), Powell locates the Ben's family, brainwashes his widow into marrying him and constantly interrogates the children into telling him where the loot is.

The first thing I want to…