The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Cast

Robert Mitchum
as Harry Powell
Shelley Winters
as Willa Harper
Lillian Gish
as Rachel Cooper
Peter Graves
as Ben Harper

Get more information about The Night of the Hunter (1955) on IMDb

Genres & Description

Crime Drama Film-Noir Thriller

8.0 / 10

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 ...

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Comments on this trailer
Comments may include spoiler!

Bilal Tuğrul Uğurlu

It looks like a nice classic Imdb 250 on the list - @Tuesday, November 6, 2018 9:12 PM

Acquanella Ogbemudia

Awesome Movie remember it from my Childhood great Actors - @Saturday, October 20, 2018 1:00 AM

ᄆᄆᄆ

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Cinephile 98

Happy 100th birthday to the legendary Robert Mitchum. - @Sunday, August 6, 2017 5:15 AM

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bunny fish

10 PEOPLE HAVE ZERO TASTE IN FILM,BRILLIANT CLASSIC - @Tuesday, April 18, 2017 12:46 PM

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mittens472

Robert Mitchum was really scary in this movie - @Thursday, February 11, 2016 11:06 PM

Alec McGrath

Undoubtedly, my favourite part of the whole film was just after the “Mother Goose” was sitting in the chair with her shotgun and sang with Harry Powell. As she was singing, one of the girls interrupted her and entered the frame with a lit candle. When she walked into frame with the candle, the lighting crew subtly lit the scene a bit more, but also lit the window screen. Since the window screen was lit, we lost sight of Powell who was sitting outside the window. As soon as they blew out the candle, the lighting cut out, and Powler was no longer in the shot. He disappeared; thus adding immensely more suspense and drama to the film. - @Tuesday, October 27, 2015 9:26 PM

Alec McGrath

Mitchum (Harry Powell) reminds me of a cross between Elvis Presley & Dean Martin. Looks wise. - @Tuesday, October 27, 2015 9:15 PM

Ginny Didier

I certainly have no problem if somebody doesn't like the movie, but, please note: This movie was (at least to my knowledge) never described as a "horror" movie (rather as "film noir" or "psychological thriller"), and it is intentionally grotesque to some extend: Laughton uses some motifs of "Expresssionism" (a German film technique from the 1920s), such as surrealistic sets and stylized dialogue to create a reflection of the main character's distorted mind and the children's nightmare-perspective. So, don't take everything you see here for real, the characters are supposed to be distorted to some extent! The acting is great, but more like theater, than film, which gives another proof that Laughton wanted to create a surreal atmosphere. Moreover, Robert Mitchum was cast against type, which is always interesting. I must admit that I, too, prefer "Cape Fear", because it's the best Mitchum performance ever (alongside "Not as a stranger"), but more realistic than "The Night of the Hunter". Still, the "Night of the Hunter" is a very interesting film with a phantastic Mitchum-performance. - @Monday, March 16, 2015 1:09 PM

Pour Une

Sounds like a caricature. - @Sunday, February 8, 2015 10:56 PM

Августовское воодушевление

that is the 5th best film i ever saw! - @Wednesday, November 5, 2014 8:16 PM

MelanieLouM

Lillian Gish was so great in this movie...She was one badass! :-D - @Friday, October 3, 2014 9:53 AM

123tgw

One of the truly greatest movies ever made in my opinion, and in my personal top 3 films of all time alongside Akira Kurasawa's Seven Samurai. - @Saturday, May 24, 2014 11:17 AM

Kim Johnston

Coming to the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta April 17th. - @Sunday, March 30, 2014 6:01 PM

Cinemacynic

I know this is supposed to be one of the best horror films ever... but it was utter garbage... maybe I am jaded because I have seen every horror movie ever created... but seriously this movie is less scary than an episode of True Love. - @Tuesday, March 25, 2014 4:35 AM

segamegadrive34

I hate the characters in this movie. The mother was a giant gullible cunt who believed what a stranger said over what her kids said, and when the mother found out the stranger was lying, she did nothing. Ruby was a slut who liked robert Mitchum's character despite the fact that he was a serial killer. The little girl with the doll would hug robert mitchum's character even after robert mitchum's character tried to kill her and her brother. You have to overlook all this crap to think this is a good movie. I hate this movie. - @Saturday, January 25, 2014 1:04 AM

RickRudesMustache

man when i had my accident and was laid up in bed for month unable to walk slightly buzzed on pain meds an this film came out i was so captivated. nothing like a classic like this to get you through a rough night when you can't sleep. Robert Mitchum was so incredible amazing this subject matter was even dealt with on the big screen back in the day. - @Monday, December 30, 2013 10:09 AM

Dusty Miller

For those who gave this movie a thumbs down....you have committed the ultimate sin ! This is a real movie...real actors...great acting...a story full of suspense....Robert Mitchum is so eeriely sinister as a roaming preacher...with blood on his hands....awesome film....they don't make em' like this no more. - @Thursday, October 31, 2013 1:58 PM

Finn Murphy

Awesome Film - @Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:40 PM

Daniel Ryan

Mitchum drew off experiences in his youth, when he spent a period bumming across the country, for the character of Preacher Powell. He claimed that during his travels he had run across real backwoods communities where "people would believe anything a man said as long as he had a bible in his hand" and that he wanted the character to serve as a warning. - @Wednesday, July 17, 2013 12:17 PM

nosebleed

back then it was hailed as the worst movie of all time crazy, huh - @Thursday, April 4, 2013 1:51 AM

PUNI Go

Classic movie! - @Friday, February 22, 2013 11:38 PM

anyshitt

good movie.. intense while heart warming.. - @Tuesday, February 5, 2013 8:51 AM

Sean Greene

I thought this was pretty good and I'm only in my mid 20's now I need to see The Killing. - @Wednesday, December 12, 2012 2:18 AM

FilmAdviser

the film is genius, though children's acting is quite poor - @Wednesday, September 19, 2012 7:49 AM

alanvking

Yes, Mitchum was great in the originall Cape Fear too !! - @Saturday, September 15, 2012 7:11 AM

Sparky Widgets

Maybe not, but I can`t help thinking about all those "true believers" with eyes closed and hands raised to heaven in abject surrender to the emotions stirred by a smooth talking preacher, even were he a preacher traveling in 2012. Any critique of their belief by a "doubter" would be as welcomed as a skunk during a picnic. Don`t look for rationality from those who desert their own as a means to follow blindly those who claim to have a personal relationship with a man who died over 2000 years ago - @Friday, July 6, 2012 3:55 AM

Cole McKenna

the most creepy bit was when the uncle reeled the body out of the lake - @Monday, June 11, 2012 3:59 AM

scarlett hellis

Children...chiiiildren. - @Tuesday, May 8, 2012 10:21 PM

ohsnapiam59

I saw this when I was a kid in the late 50s and it scared the crap out of me. I'm 60 yrs old now and it's still creepy. - @Monday, April 23, 2012 3:10 AM

omega14j1

Leannnnning Leannnnning... Children i'm gettin' awful mad. - @Saturday, March 10, 2012 7:23 PM

DragonChaserKev

A fantastic film with some super top notch performances. One of cinema's all time greats. - @Monday, January 16, 2012 9:58 PM

Thomas

putting on a stage performance of this great noir classic, Mitchems shoes are some mighty ones 2 fill but this film has so much 2 give for inspiration - @Saturday, January 7, 2012 3:26 PM

jimmyl324

one of the greatest movies ever... - @Friday, October 21, 2011 8:46 PM

waysworth

one of my all time favorite freight films. - @Sunday, July 31, 2011 3:11 AM

orozuz

Magic movie, it's a such of oniric experience to watch " The night of the hunter". I think it's a movie that it's out of all the standard conditions of cinema. Magic movie. - @Monday, July 18, 2011 7:52 PM

Babs McConologue

@KilldozerRocks, Oh my god yes. He was an amazing actor. His villain characters, like Max cady and Reverend Harry Powell sends chills down my sppine even to this day. Good thing we still have Gary Oldman around playing great villain characetrs. - @Thursday, June 16, 2011 9:51 PM

Pie2

Just saw this on TCM. When Gish ran into the house and brought out that shotgun, you knew Ms. Cooper wasn't playing. - @Sunday, May 22, 2011 6:06 AM