Charles Laughton's first and only film, Night of the Hunter is truly one of a kind. It features Robert Mitchum doing sinister - in the form of the Reverend Harry Powell - as only Robert Mitchum could. He is a contradiction in terms as you can see from the LOVE/HATE tattoos on his knuckles. Possessed by religious zeal, he styles himself as a preacher but his real schtick is to ingratiate himself into the lives of vulnerable divorced or widowed women, killing them and then running off with their money. He enters the lives of the Harper family. The father of the family was hanged in prison for a double murder. As Harper's cellmate, Harry knows that he has told his two children where the ill gotten money is. He seeks out Harper's vulnerable wife Willa and marries her constantly badgering the two kids - John and Pearl - as to where the money is. John is a plucky kid who hates Harry and consistently refuses to divulge the information. Harry soon slits Willa's throat and disposes of her body. He finds out where the money is by threatening John. The children go down river with the money and Harry in hot pursuit. The children are taken in by Rachel Cooper - a tough old woman who looks after children. When Harry arrives there is a stand off and the film comes down to a battle betwixt good and evil. Night of the Hunter was neither a commercial or critical success when it was released, but it is now regarded as a classic piece of cinema with many cult followers. Robert Mitchum has been praised for his role as the Reverend Harry Powell in which he is a religious zealot and uses his faith to condone the evil acts he perpetrates. Mitchum has to convey both Powell's religious fervour and his evil streak at the same time. Powell is definitely an iconoclastic baddie in the realms of cinema. I normally find child actors annoying, but Billy Chapin as John does an excellent job of standing up to Powell. He totally sees through Harry's veil of self righteous religion but refuses to let himself be intimidated. The film was made in black and white to emulate the style of the German expressionists, with weird camera angles, stylised dialogue, strange shadows and an atmosphere of surrealism. This was to heighten the menace of Harry Powell, the kindness of Rachel Cooper and the terror of the children. It is a pity Laughton never directed anything else in his career because Night of the Hunter is a genuinely original and haunting.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
