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Movies / On DVD / The Night of the Hunter
The Night of the Hunter

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The Night of the Hunter (1955)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:40

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.7/10

Consensus: Featuring Robert Mitchum's formidable performance as child-hunting preacher, The Night of the Hunter is a disturbing look at good and evil.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:02-04-1999

Synopsis: In this eerie meditation on good and evil, a schizophrenic preacher--possibly the devil himself--relentlessly hunts two small children across the Depression-era Bible Belt to get at their dead... In this eerie meditation on good and evil, a schizophrenic preacher--possibly the devil himself--relentlessly hunts two small children across the Depression-era Bible Belt to get at their dead father's stolen fortune. In Robert Mitchum's career-defining role as Preacher Harry Powell, he wears unforgettable tattoos of two four-letter words on his fingers: LOVE and HATE. Hauntingly directed by Charles Laughton, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is his only credited directorial effort, and it is a tour-de-force. [More]

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves

Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves, Evelyn Varden, Gloria Castillo, Don Beddoe, Billy Chapin, James Gleason, Sally Jane Bruce

Director: Charles Laughton

Director: Charles Laughton
Producer: Paul Gregory
Screenwriter: James Agee
Story: David Grubb
Composer: Walter Schumann

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Night of the Hunter

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A monochrome masterpiece, pure cinematic alchemy and just about every other superlative that spells genius.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/24/07
Trevor Lewis
Trevor Lewis
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An overlooked gem in the history of American film, this creepy curio incorporates elements of horror, noir, thriller and fairy tale.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/24/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's the absolute authority of Mitchum's performance -- easy, charming, infinitely sinister.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

It is a garish, unbelievable but fairly exciting nightmare.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
10/07/08
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ultimately the source of its style and power is mysterious -- it is a film without precedents, and without any real equals

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/28/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

This start for Gregory as producer and Laughton as director is rich in promise but the completed product, bewitching at times, loses sustained drive via too many offbeat touches that have a misty effect.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 2 Comments
08/28/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Corny, yes; pretentious, sure; overwrought, definitely -- but every frame of it is thrilling.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/21/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

All this has been crisply compacted into clear screen drama by the late James Agee and it is put forth under the direction of Mr. Laughton in stark, rigid visual terms.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Powell's] glibly superficial moralizing is epitomized by an infantile hand-play… [Gish's character] provides an undistorted counterpoint to Powell's diseased religiosity.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
10/17/05
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

One of the most legitimately scary thrillers ever made.

comment Comment
03/21/05
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/08/05
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

No review available.

comment Comment
02/13/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

No review available.

comment Comment
02/11/05
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

No review available.

comment Comment
01/04/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Charles Laughton's only directorial effort is a work of inspired brilliance.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/21/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
11/12/03
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Film Threat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

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