The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Director:

Charles Laughton
(more)

Writers:

Davis Grubb (novel)
James Agee (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

24 November 1955 (Argentina)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE!

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.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Money | Children | Preacher | Doll

Awards:

1 win

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emmett Lynn	...	Birdie Steptoe (scenes deleted)
Corey Allen	...	Young Man in Town (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Bart the Hangman (uncredited)
Cheryl Callaway	...	Mary (uncredited)
Michael Chapin	...	Ruby's Boyfriend (uncredited)
Mary Ellen Clemons	...	Clary (uncredited)
Kathy Garver	...	Child (uncredited)
James Griffith	...	District Attorney (uncredited)
John Hamilton	...	Townsman Who Greets Rachel (uncredited)
Kay Lavelle	...	Miz Cunninghan (uncredited)
Gloria Pall	...	Burlesque Dancer (uncredited)
George Wallace	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Laughton
Robert Mitchum		(uncredited)
Terry Sanders		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Davis Grubb		(novel)
James Agee		(screenplay)
Charles Laughton		screenplay contributor (uncredited)

Produced by
Paul Gregory	....	producer

Original Music by
Walter Schumann

Cinematography by
Stanley Cortez		(photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Golden

Casting by
Millie Gusse		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Hilyard M. Brown		(as Hilyard Brown)

Set Decoration by
Alfred E. Spencer		(as Al Spencer)

Makeup Department
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist (as Don Cash)
Kay Shea	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Ruby Rosenberg	....	production manager
Frank Parmenter	....	production manager: second unit (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Carter	....	assistant director
Frank Parmenter	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Terry Sanders	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Jack Sonntag	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Joe LaBella	....	property man (as Joe La Bella)

Sound Department
Stanford Houghton	....	sound (as Stanford Naughton)

Special Effects by
Louis DeWitt	....	special photographic effects (as Louis De Witt)
Jack Rabin	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Seymour Hoffberg	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Harold E. Wellman	....	camera: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jerry Bos	....	wardrobe
Evelyn Carruth	....	assistant wardrobe

Music Department
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Saul Bass	....	publicist (uncredited)
Robert Mitchum	....	director: children (uncredited)
Denis Sanders	....	unspecified assistant (uncredited)
Terry Sanders	....	unspecified assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paul Gregory Productions (presents)

Distributors

• United Artists (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1955) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• BFI Films (1999) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Adams Filmi (1955) (Finland) (theatrical) (banned)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Cosmopol-Film (1956) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Stjärnfilm (1958) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (2004) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1955) (Canada) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1955) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Valio-Filmi (1959) (Finland) (theatrical) (cut)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Imagica Corp. (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kinokuniya (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• SF Home Entertainment (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1955) | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) (1955) | UK:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #17385) | West Germany:18 (f) | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (1959) (cut) | South Korea:15 (2003) | Brazil:14 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (2004) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1958) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paul Gregory Productions

Trivia:

Laughton's first choice for the two adult leads were Gary Cooper and Betty Grable, but both turned the roles down.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although story is set in Depression, a Forties era photo of Ingrid Bergman (then unknown to American film-goers) adorns cover of a magazine prominently displayed on a small town newsstand.

Quotes:

Rachel Cooper:Where's your Mrs?
Rev. Harry Powell:Uh, she run off with a drummer... durin' prayer meetin'.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Bringing in the Sheaves

A must-see for lovers of art cinema and suspense. Exquisite!

One of the best suspense films ever made. Exquisite art direction: moody, scary, sometimes lyrically beautiful. Yet there are comical and even idyllic moments. Mitchum is EXCELLENT, especially in the cellar scene. Subtle, different; not just the same old ax-after-ax tear-'em-up blood-and-gore formula, but REAL suspense built from the personalities of the characters and the artful editing, music, art direction, and Charles Laughton's directing. Yet warm and lovely in parts. The cast's characterizations are excellent, even in minor roles, such as the "typical townspeople". You'll remember this one for a long time. Maybe not for kids under 12, as the frightening parts are too much like real life (compared to run-of-the-mill horrendous movies) and might leave unsettling memories.