Noirvember is here! And we are kicking it off with 1955’s The Night of the Hunter.
Robert Mitchum stars as Harry Powell, a self-proclaimed preacher. He uses religion and the fear of God to ingratiate himself with wealthy widows and murder them for their money. During a brief stint in prison, Powell shares a cell with Ben Harper (Peter Graves). Harper is a bank robber about to be executed for the murders of two men. Powell learns that Harper hid $10,000 from the robbery and his children might know where the money is.
Shelley Winters is Willa Harper, Ben’s widow. When the charismatic Powell he rolls into town, Willa is pressured into marrying him to support her children. Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce are the children, John and Pearl. When things get really bad, they run away and wind up in the home of Rachel Cooper, played by Lillian Gish.
The Night of the Hunter was directed by Oscar-winning actor Charles Laughton. While he’d had experience directing in the theater, this was Laughton’s first time behind the camera. After negative reactions and lackluster box office performance, this would be the only film he ever directed. Whether it was because of the film’s reception or because directing a movie is just so much work, Laughton never again attempted a follow-up and passed away 7 years later. Eventually, though, as so often happens, Hunter would be reappraised and would become an essential work in both the noir and horror conversations.
In 1992, The Night of the Hunter was selected for the National Film Registry.
Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board works to ensure the survival, conservation and increased public availability of America’s film heritage, including: advising the Librarian on its recommendations for annual selections to the National Film Registry, apprising the Librarian of changing trends and policies in the field of film preservation, and counseling the Librarian on ongoing implementation of the National Film Preservation Plan.
