'The Night of The Hunter' (1955) Film Noir Thriller: Robt. Mitchum, Charles Laughton

[appalachiablue]

- NYT, Critic's Pick. Dark classic, the only film Charles Laughton ever directed. Robert Mitchum in a landmark portrayal as a twisted psychopath serial killer and preacher pursuing of two young children. Based on the true story of murderer Harry Powers and set in rural, Depression- era West Virginia, it is one of the greatest films of all time. Lillian Gish, Shelly Winters are also in the cast. *A remake of the film is in the works.
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(Wiki) The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American thriller film directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, and Lillian Gish. The screenplay by James Agee was based on the 1953 novel of the same title by Davis Grubb. The plot focuses on a corrupt minister-turned-serial killer who attempts to charm an unsuspecting widow and steal $10,000 hidden by her executed husband.

The novel and film draw on the true story of Harry Powers, who was hanged in 1932 for the murder of two widows and three children in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The film's lyrical and expressionistic style with its leaning on the silent era sets it apart from other Hollywood films of the 1940s and 1950s, and it has influenced later directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Robert Altman. Selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1992, it is now considered one of the greatest films of all time...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_of_the_Hunter_(film)

[Ocelot II]

1. I saw that movie on late-night tv when I was about 12

and it scared the bejeebers out of me.

[2naSalit]

5. Same here.

I never forgot it. I think I read In Cold Blood around the same time. Scary stories.

[emmaverybo]

2. Loved this. Found it terribly scary, sinister, ominous as a kid, but then watched at the Castro

theater, a communal experience. They knew the lines and found every moment, but especially the animals/fantasia sequence hilarious. Still think Mitchum was great in it.

[appalachiablue]

6. Excell. actor, Mitchum was also scary in Cape Fear.

[emmaverybo]

7. Yes! Huge guy, too. Tall and shoulders forever. Quite imposing. Thanks for sharing this.

[marble falls]

3. Saw that movie in the late 50's. Scared the bejeebers out of me. About the same time, ...

... Vincent Price and Fall of the House of Usher actually had me on the floor and under my chair.

[2naSalit]

4. I saw that movie...

When I was quite young and it left me with a creepy feeling for a lot of years afterward.