Review of The Night of the Hunter (1955) by Al M — 09 Sep 2010

Beautifully filmed, twisted, suspenseful...the adjectives to describe The Night of the Hunter could go on infinitely but above all else I will say that it is a classic of the thriller genre that demonstrates the true depth of beauty that the cinematographic image can achieve.

At times, the film's actors give it a somewhat cheesy vibe, but these moments are completely overshadowed by Charles Laughton's ability to sculpt some of the most powerful, unforgettable, and beautiful images in film history.

Oddly enough, The Night of the Hunter features Shelley Winters in the role of a mother that in many ways parallels her role as Dolores's mother in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. Similar to Lolita, Shelley Winters plays a widow who meets a man who apparently loves her because he wants something from her offspring.

In the case of Lolita, it is young Dolores Haze's preadolescent body, but, in The Night of the Hunter, it is the children's knowledge about the whereabouts of the money their father had stolen before he died.

And, of course, Robert Mitchum's role as the fake preacher/stepfather serves as the focal point of the film, for Mitchum delivers a truly devious performance as a man with Love and Hate tattooed on his hands who also appropriately sings "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" while committing heinous acts.

But even Mitchum's powerful performance would not elevate the film so high without the masterful shots that compose it, which are almost impossible to describe in words as they blend real settings with sound stages, natural beauty with the horror of mankind, a fairy tale aesthetic with the brutal artistry of a thriller or horror film.

In summation, The Night of the Hunter has its faults (mostly due to some cheesy acting and writing), but it overcomes these in its powerfully sublime depiction of absolute evil versus pure innocence.