Amazingly, I discovered this movie only by accident. I was in my
public library and just happened to go by the CD on display, and it
caught my eye. I'd never heard of it, but it looked interesting so I
tried it, and was blown away.
I now consider it the greatest horror movie ever made.
It was the only movie ever directed by famous actor Peter Laughton.
It was not a success at the box office, breaking Laughton's heart, and
so nobody ever again put up the money for him to make a film.
It was shown on TV however, and gradually found an audience although, as mentioned, not me - until now.
Part of the movie's brilliance is that it's incredibly original, but
this is not so immediately obvious as to put off viewers accustomed to
the average film.
It's based on a novel by the same name by Davis Grubb. Laughton
remains true to the novel, though reshaping the material to condense it
for the movie. Much of the dialogue is taken directly out of the book.
Plus, Laughton finds ways to both focus and cinematicly amplify the
themes of the novel. However, the key sequence of the children in the
skiff going down river is far more than what's in the novel.
Robert Mitchum is terrific as Preacher, the man with HATE tattooed on
the fingers of one hand and LOVE on the fingers of the other -- no,
that didn't start with Eddy in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The demonstration at the burlesque house as to the true nature of Preacher's sexuality is dramatized in one startly instant.
Ben Harper is the father of a boy and a girl, and wife to Willa
Harper. The story is set off when he drives back home from robbing the
local bank, killing two people in the process. Knowing the police are
after him, he hides the $10,000 in his daughter Pearl's doll, and makes
her and son John swear not to tell anybody.
Then Ben is put in the same jail cell as Preacher (caught for
stealing a car, not the numerous murders of women he's committed), and
Preacher becomes obsessed with getting that $10,000.
When he's released after Ben's hanging, he heads on down to meet the new widow Willa and find the money.
The movie is brutal in how it depicts the tendency of females to love
a man who hates them and fears sexuality. He makes Icey Spoon excited.
He makes Willa Harper turn religious. Pearl loves him "lots and lots"
even after he's tried to murder her. And Ruby wants to run off with him
even after learning the truth.
As Rachel Cooper points out, "Women is such fools."
The only female who doesn't fall under his influence is Rachel
Cooper, played by silent screen star Lillian Gish. She's the only one
who sees through him almost from the beginning. And she's the one who
finally brings him down, so he can't prey on any more widows.
The one weakness I can see in the movie is that John's confusion
while staying with Rachel is not well explained. We see it, but don't
quite understand it. At least, I didn't. It's more explained in the
novel.
In the film, seeing him manage to see through Preacher when nobody
else does, then struggle to keep the secret of the money and then manage
to get himself and Pearl away from Preacher before they're killed, I
got used to him being on top of the situation, for a ten year old boy.
So I didn't get his change of mind after leaving his skiff.
And in the film, I didn't get why John wanted the princess of Egypt
to find two kings in the bull rushes, instead of one (Moses).
Night of the Hunter is not a movie to take lightly. Don't try to
watch it while you're distracted. Or with someone who doesn't appreciate
powerful, unusual movies.
