Someone I have a deep respect for recently talked about this movie, and, since I've been on a Film Noir kick lately, I figured I'd use the opportunity to revisit this one. Charles Laughton's film is not perfect. I suspect that it might even have taken away from the beauty of the movie if it was perfect. Like all Noir it leans toward melodrama, and like all Noir the acting can often seem overdone. But the cinematography in this film more than makes up for any flaws that might exist. In that sense it is perfect Film Noir. There is a dreamlike quality that seems to echo early German Expressionist film, in which the world that you're looking at doesn't quite seem real and you're left you with the feeling that you're in a kind of beautiful nightmare. There are images of children floating down the river on a skiff that has elements of Huckleberry Finn, yet with a more ghostlike surreal quality. We see Robert Mitchum's villainous preacher cast in impossible shadow as he rides a stolen horse and sings the same old hymn over and over again. That same hymn and that same impossible shadow laid over top of a clear image is used later on when Mitchum sits singing in the front yard of house while the protective old woman with a shotgun in her lap, played by Lillian Gish, rocks back and forth and sings along with the man she is in silent battle with. Images like these, or like that of Shelly Winters' body, with flowing hair in perfect sync with the surrounding seaweed, seen almost angel like at the bottom of the river are what make this movie a masterpiece. Yes, as I said, there are flaws. There are places where the film seems a little silly. But the overall effect is hauntingly beautiful and Night of the Hunter is a darkly wondrous painting that, if you haven't seen, you absolutely should see. You won't forget Night of the Hunter. You can't forget Night of the Hunter. That may not be the only thing to mark a great film. But it definitely should be one of them. And I think that makes Night of the Hunter more than worthy of the title of Film Noir Masterpiece.

Cinematography is great. Music is good and serves to heighten the suspense in the right places. Pacing and direction are decent. However, except for the little girl and Mrs Cooper (most of the time), the acting is generally terrible and quite tacky. Dialogue is so cheesy, sometimes it felt like I was watching a spoof.Overall, it felt more like a stage play. I don't regret watching it but no way it deserves the 8/10 rating it's currently on.

There are many things that makes The Night of the Hunter so iconic. The film is an almost childishly innocent tale about a preacher of a faith of his own making (Robert Mitchum, note perfect). This preacher is a man who not only talks to God, but thinks God talks back, giving him permission to court, marry, and murder lonely widows to obtain their fortunes to build a church grand enough for the preacher to adequately worship God in. At the same time as the preacher is arrested for an innocuous offence, Ben Harper, a man tired of always being down and out, robs a bank and gives the money to his children to hide before he is arrested and taken away to be hanged. Harper and the preacher's lives intersect briefly in jail, but it's enough time for the preacher to catch wind of Harper's hidden fortune, and when he gets out of jail he comes a knockin' fully intent on getting Harper's ill-gotten money by any means necessary. There is honestly nothing not to enjoy about the film. The showiest performance of all is Robert Mitchum, but every actor in this is good, grasping the fairy tale tone of the plot. Charles Laughton's direction is impeccable, the cinematography, the lighting, the shots, everything will take your breath away with its stark vicious beauty. And the score is haunting and exotic, adding to the frighting atmosphere. I've seen this movie many times and each time been completely seduced by the film. One of the greatest.

No wonder Loughton was ever allowed to direct another film, this is probably the worst piece of crap I have ever seen, but for a good laugh it was worth the cost of admission. Listen, we all know Mitchum was a one dimensional hack, his best role came in What a Way to Go, but this thing? Holy Mary mother of god. And to add insult to injury, the dumbed down idiots in this country hail it as one of the great masterpieces of cinema. Seriously, what planet am I on? BTW, my dad was in the theater business, he refused to run this tripe because of the general reception in Nashville... it was totally panned, and ended its run after 3 days. LOL And yes, its that bad!