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The Night of the Hunter (1955)

8.2
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Ratings: 8.2/10 from 34,754 users   Metascore: 99/100 
Reviews: 308 user | 115 critic | 6 from Metacritic.com

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.

Writers:

Davis Grubb (novel), James Agee (screenplay), and 1 more credit »
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Related Videos

The Night of the Hunter -- Three Reasons Criterion trailer The Night of the Hunter -- Criterion trailer
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum ...
Shelley Winters ...
Lillian Gish ...
James Gleason James Gleason ...
Evelyn Varden Evelyn Varden ...
Peter Graves ...
Don Beddoe Don Beddoe ...
Billy Chapin Billy Chapin ...
Sally Jane Bruce Sally Jane Bruce ...
Gloria Castillo Gloria Castillo ...
Ruby (as Gloria Castilo)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emmett Lynn Emmett Lynn ...
Birdie Steptoe (scenes deleted)
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Storyline

Harry Powell marries and murders widows for their money, believing he is helping God do away with women who arouse men's carnal instincts. Arrested for auto theft, he shares a cell with condemned killer Ben Harper and tries to get him to reveal the whereabouts of the $10,000 he stole. Only Ben's nine-year-old son, John and four-year-old daughter, Pearl know the money is in Pearl's doll and they have sworn to their father to keep this secret. After Ben is executed, Preacher goes to Cresap's Landing to court Ben's widow, Willa. He overwhelms her with his Scripture quoting, sermons and hymns, and she agrees to marry him. On their wedding night he tells her they will never have sex because it is sinful. When the depressed, confused, guilty woman catches him trying to force Pearl to reveal the whereabouts of the money, she is resigned to her fate but the children manage to escape downriver, with Preacher following close behind. Written by alfiehitchie  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Money | Preacher | Children | Religious Fanatic  | See more »

Taglines:

The Hands Of ROBERT MITCHUM in "The Night of the Hunter" See more »

Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Official Sites:

MGM | Add/edit official sites  »

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(Argentina) See more »

Also Known As:

La noche del cazador See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$795,000 (estimated)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paul Gregory Productions See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The studio tank at Republic studios, where John Wayne shot Wake of the Red Witch, was where the dummy of 'Shelley Winters (I)' in the underwater sequence was shot. The eerie shots were filmed by an underwater cameraman in a scuba outfit and a camera that had to be held by him on a hook. See more »

Goofs

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Willa Harper is lying in bed talking to Harry her mouth movements are out of sync with the dialogue. See more »

Quotes

Rev. Harry Powell: Chiiilll... dren!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Mallrats (1995) See more »

Soundtracks

"The Lullabye"
(accompanying the barn-scene)
"The Lullaby" (1955) (uncredited)
Music by Walter Schumann
Lyrics by Davis Grubb
Sung by Kitty White See more »