Powell is a peripatetic preacher, con artist and serial killer. He wanders around the Ohio River, seducing wealthy widows and then murdering them for their money. He has LOVE and HATE tattooed onto his knuckles to show people when he is preaching, the struggle between good and bad in the world. After meeting Ben Harper, a man on Death Row for double murder, while he was in prison for GTA, he heads to look for Harper's widow. He ingratiates himself into the family, but the young son is suspicious. Powell is trying to find the $10,000 that Harper got during a robbery. When he finds out Harper's widow knows he is after her money, he kills her and pursues the two children who do know where the money is. His insane greed finally leads to him getting his comeuppance and he is sentenced to death. Robert Mitchum gives a tour de force performance as Harry Powell making him one of cinema's ultimate and much copied movie psycho. Mitchum manages to create a man who is utterly more terrifying than most psycho monsters such as Jason in Friday 13th. His depravity is atonishing.