CHARLES LAUGHTON

The Night of the Hunter

I’m not really all that surprised that this didn’t do well upon its initial 1955 release. It’s far too “art house” for that, not to mention that it came out at a time where the idea that preachers weren’t to be automatically trusted was somewhat less obvious than it is today. Throw in a proto-Southern Gothic aesthetic, and it all kind of makes sense. Thankfully this has been rightfully reevaluated in the decades since.

I say thankfully because it’s an incredible film. I love Robert Mitchum anyway, but this role is just utterly perfect for him. He’s menacing, and cloying, and alluring, all at the same time. The entire premise of the film, that he’s able to get all these people to trust him, would be utterly ridiculous if he wasn’t just so damned charismatic and repulsively attracting.

I found this so hard to watch and I mean that in the best way. I had to distract myself, even as I couldn’t look away from the beautiful cinematography. There are endless shots in this film that could be still photographs, or paintings. It’s just insanely well staged. But it was all just so tense and scary that, even though I knew the story, I still found it hard to actually watch.

Partially that’s probably because it’s about children. As any parent is likely to tell you, kids in trouble narratives hit very different once you have your own. It’s not at all surprising to me that so much awful stuff in this society can be achieved simply by appealing to the fears of parents. This film threatens these kids and gives them, for most of the running time anyway, nowhere to go to be safe. It also leaves the audience with nowhere to go, something, as I said, I found both undeniable and uncomfortable. What a masterpiece! - Nov 19th, 2024