Review of The Night of the Hunter (1955) by Leighton T — 14 Nov 2010

"You know, when you're little, you have more endurance than God is ever to grant you again. Children are man at his strongest. They abide. They abide, and they endure.".

An extraordinary film, the only film to be directed by Charles Laughton as the reception it received was so hostile that it put him off ever directing again. It's an incredible shame as he would surely have gone on to make some wonderful stuff if this film is any guide - it is the confident, assured work of a man with a total understanding of the medium. The photography, influenced by German Expressionism, is magnificent in its composition: eerie shadows combine with a soundtrack of crickets chirruping and toads croaking to create a super-tense atmosphere; the scene where the children's boat drifts down the river as they attempt to escape from Reverend Harry Powell is possibly the most starkly beautiful scene I have seen in any film. Robert Mitchum gives a career-best performance as Powell the unhinged psychopathic preacher but credit must go to Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce as John and Pearl, the unfortunate children harbouring the $10,000 that Powell pursues - they're simply amazing. Lillian Gish is also brilliant as the old lady who offers the children their true salvation. After such a sinister, unsettling and at times genuinely scary film, the ending is delightfully heart-warming.