3. Night Of The Hunter (1955) Reverend Harry Powell
In 1930s West Virginia, Ben Harper is sentenced to death for his part in a robbery in which two people died. He stashed the money and told his son John were the money was hidden. Ben also has a younger daughter called Pearl. He is sharing a cell with the Reverend Harry Powell, a serial killer and self appointed minister. Any attempt to find where the money is on Powell's behalf are futile. Scumbag Powell leaves jail and woos Harper's wife Willa, thinking he can get the children to tell him where the money is. He questions the kids about the money obsessively. Willa overhears him doing this and confronts Powell, only to have her throat cut. Willa's body is dumped in the river and Powell ascertains the money's whereabouts from Pearl after threatening John. The two kids manage to get to the money in time and sail down the river with Powell in pursuit. They stay with Rachel Cooper - a lady who takes in lost children and isn't one bit fooled by Powell's sanctimonious demeanour. She keeps Powell entertained by singing hymns with him whilst carrying a shotgun. Powell is arrested and jailed for Willa's murder. Mitchum's portrayal of Powell rates as one of Cinema's all time greatest portrayals of a scumbag. Mitchum is absolutely magnetic and totally believable as the psychopathic preacher Harry Powell. He personifies evil and when he goes out after the children, it is malevolent and terrifying. This is one the best bad guys ever seen on film - complex in his morality - a preacher but a killer, using religion for his own twisted agenda to murder women and take their money. An interesting and memorable scumbag whose LOVE and HATE knuckles will be burnt upon your consciousness.