The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Preamble

A slight gap since my last post I'm afraid, but hopefully it was worth waiting for, I know it was for me :)

What I already knew

Very little. I had vaguely heard of the film, but only knew that it was one of those films that didn't do very well when it was released and has built up a following since.

Review

This film starts in a slightly jarring style. The titles are relatively innocuous, but the music is a lullaby-style song which seems out-of-place given the subject of the film. However this is perfect for the style of what follows, and actually sets it up quite well.

The whole impact of the film is based upon the stylistic approach, which is slightly odd but very compelling. Light and shadow are used to great effect, sound is used to foreshadow events, and the sets and scenery are in places realistic, and in others quite highly stylised and unrealistic. The establishing of Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell is done well. He is a complex guy, and you come to understand this quite quickly.

The plot is pretty simple really, Preacher Harry Powell is in prison with Ben Harper and finds out that Harper hid $10,000 somewhere around his house. Harper is hanged, and when Powell is released he tracks down the family of his cellmate to try and find the money. He does this in a fairly standard way, by courting and marrying the widow, and trying to prise the location of the money out of the children.

Harry is not a straightforward preacher though, and his relationship with his new wife, and her children, is oddly formed and menacing. The whole mood of this is helped by the style of the film, and in particular some of the sets, which are created in a stylised and almost theatrical way (to my eye). There are also some almost surrealistic scenes, and moments that are jarring in impact - perhaps this is the intention - I never know.

In passing, one thing that stood out for me is that Robert Mitchum really reminds me of Brad Garret's character in Everybody Loves Raymond. I'm not sure if Brad Garret was aware of this, but the portrayals are very similar in their mannarisms and speech patterns.

Overall, there is plenty in this film that I didn't quite understand and I'd like to see it again to try and work some things out. I didn't quite buy the portrayal of Harry Powell; I think he was too obviously 'dodgy', but that is perhaps my modern viewpoint. The overall impact of the film is very good indeed, and there are some great moments to enjoy.

Rating: buy it

Mrs Worm's opinion

She didn't watch it