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The Night of the Hunter (1955)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
24 November 1955 (Argentina)
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Tagline:
The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE! more
Plot:
A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win
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NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
The Stepfather (1987)
(From SoundOnSight. 22 October 2009, 8:17 PM, PDT)
Shelley Winters: 1920-2006
(From IMDb News. 14 January 2006)
(From SoundOnSight. 22 October 2009, 8:17 PM, PDT)
Shelley Winters: 1920-2006
(From IMDb News. 14 January 2006)
User Comments:
One of the most extraordinary movies ever made. Essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies!
more (275 total)
Cast
(Complete credited 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 (as Gloria Castilo) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 (1959) (cut) |
South Korea:15 (2003) |
Brazil:14 |
Argentina:13 |
Australia:M |
Canada:14A (video rating) |
Finland:(Banned) (1955) |
Norway:16 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:12 |
USA:Approved (certificate #17385) |
West Germany:12 |
UK:X (original rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Robert Mitchum once stated that Charles Laughton was the best director he had ever worked for, ironic in that Laughton never directed another movie after The Night of the Hunter (1955) with Mitchum.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: The turtle that John says could be made into soup is actually a desert tortoise.
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Quotes:
Willa Harper:
[Willa and Harry's wedding night] Harry?
Rev. Harry Powell: I was praying.
Willa Harper: I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought...
Rev. Harry Powell: You thought, Willa, that the moment you walked in that door, I'd start to paw at you in that abominable way that men are supposed to do on their wedding night. Ain't that right, now?
Willa Harper: No, no, no.
Rev. Harry Powell: I think it's time we made one thing perfectly clear, Willa. Marriage to me represents the blending of two spirits in the sight of Heaven. Get up, Willa.
Willa Harper: Harry, what...?
Rev. Harry Powell: Get up. Now go look at yourself yonder in that mirror. Do as I say. Look at yourself. What do you see, girl? You see the body of a woman, the temple of creation and motherhood. You see the flesh of Eve that man since Adam has profaned. That body was meant for begettin' children. It was not meant for the lust of men! Do you want more children, Willa?
Willa Harper: I... no.
Rev. Harry Powell: It's the business of this marriage to mind the two you have now. Not to beget more. Alright, you can get in bed now. Stop shivering.
[...]
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Rev. Harry Powell: I was praying.
Willa Harper: I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought...
Rev. Harry Powell: You thought, Willa, that the moment you walked in that door, I'd start to paw at you in that abominable way that men are supposed to do on their wedding night. Ain't that right, now?
Willa Harper: No, no, no.
Rev. Harry Powell: I think it's time we made one thing perfectly clear, Willa. Marriage to me represents the blending of two spirits in the sight of Heaven. Get up, Willa.
Willa Harper: Harry, what...?
Rev. Harry Powell: Get up. Now go look at yourself yonder in that mirror. Do as I say. Look at yourself. What do you see, girl? You see the body of a woman, the temple of creation and motherhood. You see the flesh of Eve that man since Adam has profaned. That body was meant for begettin' children. It was not meant for the lust of men! Do you want more children, Willa?
Willa Harper: I... no.
Rev. Harry Powell: It's the business of this marriage to mind the two you have now. Not to beget more. Alright, you can get in bed now. Stop shivering.
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Surge of Power (2004)
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Soundtrack:
Dream, Little One, Dream
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FAQ
Is this movie based on a novel?Is this a true story?
How did Harry get out of prison?
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'The Night Of The Hunter' is recognized by most critics and hard core film buffs as one of the most extraordinary movies ever made, but sadly it's still frequently overlooked by the many movie fans, probably because it's so difficult to categorize. Yes, it's a thriller but it's also a child's nightmare. A Noir but also a fable. Robert Mitchum gives one of his very best performances as Harry Powell, the charming but evil preacher with "love" tattooed on one hand, "hate" on the other. Powell is one of the most memorable screen villains of all time, and 'The Night Of The Hunter' is worth watching just for Mitchum, who is mesmerizing. Shelley Winters is surprisingly effective as the widow Powell woos, Peter Graves has a small role at the beginning as her first husband, and Lillian Gish plays the saintly Ms. Cooper, guardian of unwanted children. Because this movie isn't set in isn't the "real world" many viewers don't know exactly how to react to it. Charles Laughton's small town America is a stylized, dreamlike place, in some ways not unlike David Lynch's twisted world depicted in 'Blue Velvet' and 'Twin Peaks'. It also reminds me of Flannery O'Connor's Gothic South in her classic novels 'Wise Blood' and 'The Violent Bear It Away'. Some of the scenes involving Powell menacing Winters' children deliberately invoke James Whale's 'Frankenstein', and the sequence depicting the children's journey down the river is charming but blatantly artificial. While I'm a big fan of "outsider" film makers like Russ Meyer, Coffin Joe and Alejandro Jodorowsky, I also greatly admire those who work within the system but still manage to subvert Hollywood with doses of surrealism. I'm thinking of movies such as 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Shock Corridor' and 'The Manchurian Candidate'. Each of these films are unique but they also remind me of each other and of 'The Night Of The Hunter'. I highly recommend them all and wish that there were a lot more movies like them today. 'The Night Of The Hunter' is essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies!