The Night of the Hunter
Directed by	Charles Laughton
Produced by	Paul Gregory
Written by	Davis Grubb (novel) James Agee & Charles Laughton
Starring	Robert Mitchum Shelley Winters Lillian Gish
Cinematography	Stanley Cortez
Distributed by	United Artists
Released	September 29, 1955
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Night of the Hunter is a 1953 novel by American author, Davis Grubb. The book was a national bestseller and was voted a finalist for the 1955 National Book Award. Image File history File links This is a DVD cover. ... Charles Laughton as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Charles Laughton (July 1, 1899 - December 15, 1962) was a British-born American stage and film actor of partial Irish Catholic extraction. ... Davis Grubb (July 23, 1919 - July of 1980) was an American novelist and short story writer. ... James Agee (November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was a United States novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. ... Charles Laughton as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Charles Laughton (July 1, 1899 - December 15, 1962) was a British-born American stage and film actor of partial Irish Catholic extraction. ... Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an accomplished American film actor and singer. ... Winters in Cry of the City (1948) Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an Academy Award winning American actress. ... Lillian Gish Lillian Diana de Guiche (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993), was an Oscar-nominated American actress, better known as Lillian Gish. ... Stanley Cortez (1908-1997) was a cinemataographer. ... The current United Artists logo. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 1955 (MCMLV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: 1952 in literature, other events of 1953, 1954 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Davis Grubb (July 23, 1919 - July of 1980) was an American novelist and short story writer. ... A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... The National Book Awards is the most important literary prize in the United States, presented annually for the best books by living U.S. citizens published in the U.S. The awards have been presented since 1950 in at least one category, and is presently awarded in each of four...

In 1955 a motion picture in the film noir style was made from the novel. It was adapted for the screen by James Agee and Charles Laughton. Laughton would also direct the film that has since been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The film has had a tremendous influence on directors such as Jean Renoir, Terrence Malick and the Coen Brothers and can be seen in the lyrical and naturalistic style. // Events November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... James Agee (November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was a United States novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. ... Charles Laughton as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Charles Laughton (July 1, 1899 - December 15, 1962) was a British-born American stage and film actor of partial Irish Catholic extraction. ... Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (September 15, 1894 – February 12, 1979), born in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris, France was a film director. ... Terrence Malick (born November 30, 1943, Waco, Texas) is an enigmatic American film director, screenwriter, and producer. ... Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers in the film business, are United States directors best known for their quirky comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona; the brothers write their own scripts and alternate top billing for the screenplay. ...

Primary cast

• Robert Mitchum  : Harry Powell
• Shelley Winters  : Willa Harper
• Lillian Gish  : Rachel Cooper
• James Gleason  : Birdie Steptoe
• Evelyn Varden  : Icey Spoon
• Peter Graves  : Ben Harper
• Don Beddoe  : Walt Spoon
• Billy Chapin  : John Harper
• Sally Jane Bruce  : Pearl Harper
• Gloria Castillo  : Ruby

Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an accomplished American film actor and singer. ... Winters in Cry of the City (1948) Shelley Winters (August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an Academy Award winning American actress. ... Lillian Gish Lillian Diana de Guiche (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993), was an Oscar-nominated American actress, better known as Lillian Gish. ... James Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) is an actor. ... Peter Graves (born March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota as Peter Aurness) is an American actor best known for his starring role in the television series Mission: Impossible from 1966 to 1973. ... Beddoe as Charles McGraws partner in The Narrow Margin Don Beddoe (July 1, 1903 - January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. ...

Plot overview

The film is set in West Virginia, along the Ohio River; the era is never explicitly stated, but seems to be during the Great Depression. Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 41st 62,809 km² 210 km 385 km 0. ... Ohio River viewed from Liberty Hill in Ripley, Ohio. ... Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age twenty-nine, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ...

Mitchum portrays Harry Powell—one of his hands tattooed with "LOVE" on its knuckles, the other tattooed "HATE"—who shares a prison cell with Ben Harper (Graves). Harper is sentenced to hang for his part in a robbery, but hid the money from the robbery, and trusted his children John (Chapin) and Pearl (Bruce)—about ten and five years old, respectively—with the money's location. Reverend Harry Powell as portrayed by Robert Mitchum. ... A tattoo is a design or marking made by the insertion of a pigment into punctures or cuts in the skin. ... Suicide by hanging. ...

Night of the Hunter lobby card

Upon his release from prison, Powell masquerades as a preacher. He woos and marries Harper's widow, Willa (Winters) in order to obtain the robbery money, and eventually kills her. A famed scene shows the dead Willa, seated in a Model T at the bottom of a river. Image File history File links The Night of the Hunter movie poster with Robert Mitchum This is a copyrighted poster. ... Image File history File links The Night of the Hunter movie poster with Robert Mitchum This is a copyrighted poster. ... Preacher is a colloquial term for a clergyman, in particular a local priest, pastor or Minister; one who preaches. ... The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ... 1908 Ford Model T advertisement The Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver) was an automobile produced by Henry Fords Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1928. ...

The children, especially John, distrust and resist Powell. After their mother's death, they escape and find sanctuary with Rachel Cooper (Gish). Powell eventually finds them, however, and succeeds in learning the money's location from Pearl after threatening John. Just as he is about to escape, he is arrested by the police, whom Rachel had called. He is then tried for multiple murders and executed.

Response

Upon its release, Night of the Hunter was not a success with either audiences or critics. This response is probably a reason that the film was the only one Laughton ever directed.

Laughton drew heavily on the harsh, angular look of 1920s expressionist films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and some sequences are very dreamlike. It has been suggested that Roaring Twenties be merged into this article or section. ... Expressionism in filmmaking developed in Germany (especially Berlin) during the 1920s. ... Dr. Caligari, Caligari, and Doctor Caligari all redirect here. ... Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes: The Dream, 1883 A girl sleeps in her bed, before reaching REM sleep. ...

Stanley Cortez' striking cinematography has been noted and imitated, and Mitchum's chilling and sinister performance has been especially praised. Stanley Cortez (1908-1997) was a cinemataographer. ... Cinematography literally means writing in the movement, from the French word cinéma, shortened from cinématographe, the term was coined in the 1890s by the Lumiere brothers, who invented the trade. ...

Despite its initial lack of success, Night of the Hunter later found a cult following, and has since been praised as a masterpiece, and one of the finest of film noir. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific item, usually a film, television or radio program, though some comic books, musicians, writers or others also gain dedicated followings. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ...

Roger Ebert has written of the film, "It is one of the most frightening of movies, with one of the most unforgettable of villains, and on both of those scores it holds up ... well after four decades (.)" [1] Roger Ebert (right) with Russ Meyer, 1970. ... A typical cartoon villain. ...

Influence and references

• The narrator of Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" from his Tender Prey album seems to be a man very similar to Powell facing his execution: "My kill-hand tattooed 'Evil' across its brother's fist/That filthy five, they did nothing to resist"

• Two shots in the opening sequence of The Blues Brothers focus on Jake and Elwood's hands. Jake's has "J-A-K-E" tatooed on the knuckles of his right hand, while Elwood's has "E-L-W-O" on his.... with "O-D" on his left.

• The Clash's "Death or Glory" from 1979's London Calling includes the line, "Love and Hate tattooed across the knuckles on his hands"

• The Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There features a shot directly inspired by Night of the Hunter, with Jon Polito dead in a car at the bottom of a river, in imitation of Shelly Winters.

• In Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, the character Radio Raheem delivers an-almost verbatim version of Powell's famed monologue about his tattooed hands (see below), only with brass knuckle rings replacing the tattoos.

• The Appalachian mountain dancer Jesco White has the words "Love" & "Hate" tattooed on his fingers in tribute to the character of the Preacher.

• The Simpsons episode "Cape Feare" features Sideshow Bob with tattooed knuckles, however, "Since he's a cartoon character with only three knuckles, his tattoo reads 'L-U-V' and 'H-A-T,' with a macron over the middle 'A,' to get that 'long a' sound." [2]

• Bruce Springsteen's "Cautious Man": "On his right hand Billy'd tattooed the word 'love'/ and on his left hand was the word 'fear'/ And in which hand he held his fate was never clear"

• In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the character of Eddie, played by rocker Meat Loaf has the words Love and Hate tattooed across his own fingers.

• In House of 1000 Corpses, the homicidal clown Captain Spaulding has "Love" and "Hate" tattooed across his knuckles

• The band Mono Puff covers the song Pretty Fly on the album It's Fun to Steal

Nick Cave on the cover of the album The Boatmans Call Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian rock musician, songwriter, poet, author, actor and screenwriter, best known for his work in rock and roll band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and his fascination with... It has been suggested that Blues brothers bar be merged into this article or section. ... The Clash was one of the most successful British punk rock groups that existed from 1976 to 1986. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... London Calling, a double album released by The Clash in December, 1979, marked the bands critical and commercial breakthrough. ... Joel and Ethan Coen, commonly called The Coen Brothers in the film business, are United States directors best known for their quirky comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona; the brothers write their own scripts and alternate top billing for the screenplay. ... The Man Who Wasnt There is a 2001 Neo-noir film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. ... Jon Polito is an American actor, best known for working with the Coen Brothers. ... Spike Lee Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957), better known as Spike Lee, is a controversial film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his many films dealing with social and political issues. ... Do the Right Thing is a 1989 motion picture produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee and released by Universal Pictures. ... Performer Jesse Jesco White, mountain dancing atop a doghouse Jesse (Jesco) White, the Dancing Outlaw, (born 1956) is an entertainer from Boone County, West Virginia. ... The Simpsons. ... Robert Underdunk Terwilliger is a fictional character featured in The Simpsons, voiced by Kelsey Grammer. ... A cartoon is any of several forms of art, with varied meanings that evolved from one to another. ... Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... The Rocky Horror Picture Show (RHPS) (first released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 1975) is a comedy-horror musical film directed by Jim Sharman from a screenplay by Sharman and Richard OBrien, who also composed the songs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup. ... House of 1000 Corpses is an horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie, a Heavy Metal artist, making his debut as a movie director. ... Mono Puff was a New York City band and a side project of John Flansburgh, one-half of the musical duo They Might Be Giants. ...

Remake

There was a 1991 made for television version of Night of The Hunter, staring Richard Chamberlain as Powell. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934 in Beverly Hills, California to parents Chuck and Elsa Chamberlain) is an American actor who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare. ...

Quotes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Night of the Hunter

• "Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. Now watch, and I'll show you the story of life. Those fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warring and a-tugging, one agin t'other. Now watch 'em! Old brother left hand, left hand he's a fighting, and it looks like love's a goner. But wait a minute! Hot dog, love's a winning! Yessirree! It's love that's won, and old left hand hate is down for the count!"
• "Once upon a time there was a pretty fly, he had a wife this pretty fly but one day she flew away, flew away. She had two pretty children, but one night those pretty children flew away into the sky, into the moon."
• "Chilll-dren!"
• "There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin' things, lacy things, things with curly hair."

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

External links

• The Night of the Hunter at the Internet Movie Database
• The Night of the Hunter at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list