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The Night of the Hunter ()


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A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.

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Cast verified as complete

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Harry Powell
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Willa Harper
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Rachel Cooper
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Uncle Birdie Steptoe
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Icey Spoon
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Ben Harper
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Walt Spoon
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John Harper
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Pearl Harper
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Ruby (as Gloria Castilo)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Young Man in Town (uncredited)
Oscar Blank ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Bart the Hangman (uncredited)
Nora Bush ...
Townswoman (uncredited)
Cheryl Callaway ...
Mary (uncredited)
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Judge (uncredited)
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Ruby's Boyfriend (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
Mary Ellen Clemons ...
Clary (uncredited)
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Prison Guard (uncredited)
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Sheriff (uncredited)
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Child (uncredited)
Rudy Germane ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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District Attorney (uncredited)
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Townsman Who Greets Rachel (uncredited)
Joe Hinds ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Woman Feeding Hungry Children (uncredited)
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Townswoman (uncredited)
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Miz Cunninghan (uncredited)
Thomas Martin ...
Townsman on Street (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
King Mojave ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Bart's Wife (uncredited)
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Burlesque Dancer (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
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Prison Guard (uncredited)
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Townswoman (uncredited)
Robert Robinson ...
Townsman (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
Lucile Sewall ...
Townswoman (uncredited)
Bert Spencer ...
Townsman (uncredited)
James Stone ...
General Storekeeper (uncredited)
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Townsman (uncredited)
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(uncredited)
Glen Walters ...
Townswoman (uncredited)

Directed by

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Charles Laughton

Written by

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Davis Grubb ... (from the novel by)
 
James Agee ... (screenplay by)
 
Charles Laughton ... (screenplay contributor) (uncredited)

Produced by

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Paul Gregory ... producer

Music by

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Walter Schumann

Cinematography by

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Stanley Cortez ... (photography by)

Editing by

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Robert Golden ... film editor

Casting By

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Mildred Gusse ... (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Hilyard M. Brown ... (as Hilyard Brown)

Set Decoration by

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Alfred E. Spencer ... (set decoration) (as Al Spencer)

Makeup Department

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

Production Management

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

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Milton Carter ... assistant director
Frank Parmenter ... second unit director (uncredited)
Terry Sanders ... second unit director (uncredited)
Jack Sonntag ... first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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

Sound Department

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Stanford Houghton ... sound (as Stanford Naughton)

Special Effects by

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

Camera and Electrical Department

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Seymour Hoffberg ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Harold E. Wellman ... camera: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Jerry Bos ... wardrobe
Evelyn Carruth ... wardrobe assistant

Music Department

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Arthur Morton ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Stéphane Audel ... french voice dubbing: James Griffith (uncredited)
Saul Bass ... publicist (uncredited)
René Bériard ... french voice dubbing: Corey Allen (uncredited)
Micheline Cheirel ... french voice dubbing: Gloria Castillo (uncredited)
Jean d'Yd ... french voice dubbing: James Gleason (uncredited)
Mona Dol ... french voice dubbing: Cheryl Callaway (uncredited)
Cécile Dylma ... french voice dubbing: Evelyn Varden (uncredited)
Paul Faivre ... french voice dubbing: Don Beddoe (uncredited)
Christian Fourcade ... french voice dubbing: Billy Chapin (uncredited)
Denise Grey ... french voice dubbing: Lillian Gish (uncredited)
Georges Hubert ... french voice dubbing: Paul Bryar (uncredited)
Marie Martine ... french voice dubbing: Sally Jane Bruce (uncredited)
Jean-Claude Michel ... french voice dubbing: Peter Graves (uncredited)
Robert Mitchum ... acting coach: children (uncredited)
Jacqueline Porel ... french voice dubbing: Shelley Winters (uncredited)
Denis Sanders ... unspecified assistant (uncredited)
Terry Sanders ... unspecified assistant (uncredited)
Roger Tréville ... french voice dubbing: Robert Mitchum (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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 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 prey for Harry's outward evangelicalism; she is a pious woman who feels she needs to atone for her sins which led to Ben doing what he did, especially as Harry presents himself as the preacher who worked at the prison and provided salvation to Ben before his death. Harry quickly figures out that John and Pearl know where the money is. Conversely, John doesn't trust Harry, John who first tries not to show to Harry that he indeed does know where the money is, and then second constantly reminds a more-trusting Pearl of their promise to their now-deceased father. With Willa devoted to her new husband, John and Pearl become more desperate in evading Harry's veiled threats. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines The scenes...the story...The stars BUT ABOVE ALL - THE SUSPENSE! See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • La noche del cazador (United States, Spanish title)
  • La nuit du chasseur (France)
  • Die Nacht des Jägers (Germany)
  • La noche del cazador (Spain)
  • La nit del caçador (Spain, Catalan title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 92 min
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Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $795,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia The sequence with Powell riding a horse in the distance was actually a dwarf on a pony. It was filmed in false perspective. See more »
Goofs A man who is sentenced to only thirty days for a misdemeanor would be sent to the county jail, and not the state penitentiary, and thus, would never be sharing a cell with a condemned man on death row. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into La monnaie de l'absolu (1999). See more »
Soundtracks Dream, Little One, Dream See more »
Quotes Rachel Cooper: It's a hard world for little things.
See more »

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