The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Release date: 1955-11-24
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Charles Laughton
Production Co: Paul Gregory Productions
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
Rating: 8.0/10
Length: 1h 32min

Storyline

It's the Great Depression. In the process of robbing a bank of $10,000, Ben Harper kills two people. Before he is captured, he is able to convince his adolescent son John and his daughter Pearl not to tell anyone, including their mother Willa, where he hid the money, namely in Pearl's favorite toy, a doll that she carries everywhere with her. Ben, who is captured, tried and convicted, is sentenced to death. But before he is executed, Ben is in the state penitentiary with a cell mate, a man by the name of Harry Powell, a self-professed man of the cloth, who is really a con man and murderer, swindling lonely women, primarily rich widows, of their money before he kills them. Harry does whatever he can, unsuccessfully, to find out the location of the $10,000 from Ben. After Ben's execution, Harry decides that Willa will be his next mark, figuring that someone in the family knows where the money is hidden. Despite vowing not to remarry, Willa ends up being easy prey for Harry's outward ...

Plot Keywords

widow, preacher, spanking, car theft, girl, southern gothic, loss of father, courtroom, cellar, brother sister relationship, 1930s, psychopath, hidden money, religion, death of father, based on novel, boy, child, money, doll

Short Review

It is doubtful that you will ever hear the old hymn, 'Learning,' again without recalling the gaunt, flapping figure of Preacher Powell as he lams it out in the dark night -- to the terror of the listening youngsters