The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Tomatometer
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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.
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... [More]
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves
Director: Charles Laughton
Reviews for The Night of the Hunter
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 5/5 |
A monochrome masterpiece, pure cinematic alchemy and just about every other superlative that spells genius. Full Review |
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An overlooked gem in the history of American film, this creepy curio incorporates elements of horror, noir, thriller and fairy tale. Full Review |
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There's the absolute authority of Mitchum's performance -- easy, charming, infinitely sinister. Full Review |
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Click to read the article Full Review |
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It is a garish, unbelievable but fairly exciting nightmare. Full Review |
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Ultimately the source of its style and power is mysterious -- it is a film without precedents, and without any real equals Full Review |
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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 |
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5/5 |
Corny, yes; pretentious, sure; overwrought, definitely -- but every frame of it is thrilling. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
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 |
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A |
[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 |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
One of the most legitimately scary thrillers ever made.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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5/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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A+ |
Charles Laughton's only directorial effort is a work of inspired brilliance. Full Review |
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4/5 |
No review available.
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