Discussion of "The Night of the Hunter"
Details
The Night of the Hunter (1955) is an American thriller directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelly Winters, and Lillian Gish.
The supporting cast includes Billy Chapin, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce, and Peter Graves. The screenplay was written by James Agee based on the novel (1953) of the same name by Davis Grub. The cinematography was by Stanley Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons, Since You Went Away, and The Three Faces of Eve).
The Reverend Harry Powell (Mitchum) is arrested for driving a stolen car. In jail he shares a cell with Ben Harper (Graves) who killed two men in a bank robbery. He stole $10,000 and made his children to never reveal where he hid the money. Harper is hanged for the murders and the secret dies with him.
When Powell is released from jail, he visits Harper’s hometown, where he romances Harper’s widow, Willa (Winters) and marries her, all in an attempt to find the money that Ben had hidden. John Harper (Chapin) is suspicious of Powell from the start and wants nothing to do with him, while his younger sister, Pearl (Bruce) is attracted to him as a replacement for her father.
Will Powell be successful in finding the stolen money? And what will become of the children?
To learn more about the film and view the discussion questions, click on the link to my blog post below.
https://classicmovieman.blogspot.com/2023/05/robert-mitchum-shelly-winters-and.html
To watch the movie on YouTube, click on the link below.
Discussion of "The Night of the Hunter"