- The Night of the Hunter
- Opened September 29, 1955 | Runtime:1 hr. 33 min.
NR
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Actor Charles Laughton's one excursion behind the camera gave birth to this pantheon movie marvel, Laughton's simultaneous debut and swan song as a film director. Robert Mitchum is astonishing as a wandering sociopathic preacher who uses his fire-and-brimstone fundamentalism to mask his schemes to bilk money from gullible yokels, and when that doesn't work, to blithely rob and murder. Puritanical Shelley Winters, left alone with her son and daughter after husband Peter Graves is sent to jail for robbery, is a perfect target for smooth-talking Mitchum who has gotten wind of the hidden loot. Lillian Gish is rock-solid as the elderly matron who shelters the children when they flee with homicidal Mitchum in pursuit. A genuine work of cinematic poetry and a trenchant allegory on the hypocrisy and evil waiting just below the surface in seemingly harmonious communities.Read More
- Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin, Evelyn Varden, Peter Graves
- Director: Charles Laughton
- Genres: Crime Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Thriller
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