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…

A superb film by actor and one-time director Charles Laughton, famous for such films as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mutiny on the Bounty. Robert Mitchum is chilling as wandering preacher Reverend Harry Powell, who despite his seemingly pleasant outward persona, is actually a cold-blooded serial killer who has been bouncing around the Depression Era United States marrying women and then murdering them.

When he is jailed for stealing a car, Powell shares a cell with convicted robber/murderer Ben Harper, and believes he has hit proverbial paydirt when Harper happens to mention the money from the robbery that he hid prior to being arrested. After wooing Harper's wife after the former is hanged, he sets about trying to pry…

"The Night of the Hunter" es un cuento de hadas infantil terrorífico. Es una de esas películas que se puede analizar escena por escena y siempre vas a encontrar algo nuevo. Cuenta con unas lecturas y simbolismos inabarcables. Tiene un lenguaje cinematográfico glorioso, de alto impacto a nivel visual y de una belleza inigualable. Cada plano es una obra de arte y, no sólo es lindo porque si, sino que también narra a través de esto.
Charles Laughton nos da una de los mejores películas de la historia. Es perfecta por donde se la mire. Cada descisión está excelentemente ejecutada. Es incomprensible que haya filmado una sola película, y qué obra maestra.
Otro de los puntos altos es la actuación…

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I’d known for a few years now that The Night of the Hunter is a critically acclaimed film, so while I was intrigued to watch it I was also slightly apprehensive too as I often am when I watch a film that is highly praised just in case I am at odds with most people. Having now finally watched the film I can say that I don’t understand why this film is lauded over by people and consider a masterpiece. There was nothing special about it, none of the performances stood out (in fact some of the acting isn’t great at all), some odd stylistic choices…