Truly frightening for a good part of it, strangely stiff and artificial for the rest. Robert Mitchum is Preacher Harry Powell, an utterly horrific character, a pathological killer who uses his collar to get to widows to steal their money and kill them. While in prison he learns that his cellmate stole some money and hid it, and only his two young kids know where it is. After the cellmate is hanged, like a bee to honey Mitchum seeks out the widow (Shelley Winters) and kids. He marries her, kills her, and then tries to track down the kids after they run off. Mitchum is the epitome of evil here and really scary. But the picture goes off course near the end after Mitchum is caught; the movie then becomes a plea for the poor innocent children in the world, and doesn't seem to go with what went on before. Charles Laughton directed (his first and only time), and a lot of the picture has an almost Elizabethan touch. The journey down river by the kids is like out of a fairytale. Lillian Gish is the savior for the kids.

I was 10 years old when I saw Night of the Hunter at the Roxy Theater in Delphi, Indiana, in 1955. Mitchum's performance scared the bejeezus out of me.
As an adult, I bought the DVD and was astounded by the genius and the artistry of the film. Your knowledge of American film is incomplete if you haven't seen this masterpiece of suspense.
I'm not one for giving away plots, so I won't. Suffice it to say this film is filled with images that will stick with you for a long, long time.

EVEN IF YOU'RE A DIEHARD COLOR-FILM-ONLY FAN, I SUSPECT THAT IF YOU GIVE THIS FILM TEN MINUTES OF YOUR TIME, YOU'LL BE HOOKED. MITCHUMS' PERFORMANCE IS RIVETING AND BRILLIANT - YOU BECOME IMMEDIATELY IMMERSED IN HIS CHARACTERS' EVIL, DEVIANT AND SUBTLE, CONNIVING PERSONA. THE CINEMATOGRAPY IS MASTERFUL - SOME SCENES BEGIN HAUNTING AND BEAUTIFUL, LIKE A DISNEY CLASSIC, ONLY TO BECOME MENACING AND FOREBODING WHEN MITCHUM MAKES HIS APPEARANCE, USUALLY PREFACED BY A SINISTER MUSICAL SCORE. ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES - MITCHUMS' EVIL PREACHER STILL STANDS OUT AGAINST ANY OF THE CRAZED STALKER PERFORMANCES SINCE.

Perhaps the least prolific writer/director to create a masterpiece in a class of its own - almost - was Charles Laughton, who wrote and directed ONE movie in 1955 called "The Night Of The Hunter" with Robert Mitchum as a demonic preacher, Shelley Winters in a fine role, and Lillian Gish at her best. Charles Laughton was 7 years from the end of his 55-film acting career (that began in 1928) when he made Hunter, a film that had little commercial success upon its release, but has since achieved cult status. When I first caught Hunter as a afternoon movie broadcast, I was mesmerized by its haunting mood, earthy characters, photographic brilliance, and perfectly matched soundtrack music.

Decades later upon first seeing Terrence Malick's Badlands (1973), I remembered a movie from my distant past that evoked the same awe, starred Mitchum, and was directed by Laughton. It was at the IMDb site years later that I was able to ID it as "The Night Of The Hunter". My most memorable similarity noted between the two masterpieces was the cinematography - clever camera angles, sweeping stark landscapes, menacing crime scenes on land and water, and above all the frequent close-ups of animal and plant life, the latter with time-lapse growth montages. Hunter was a remarkable directorial debut for Laughton as was Badlands for Malick, whom I suspect was somewhat influenced by his predecessor.

Ever since I first caught Badlands as a late-night movie broadcast, I have been mesmerized by its haunting mood, earthy characters, photographic brilliance, and perfectly matched soundtrack music - so much so that I am compelled to watch broadcast after broadcast. After buying first the VHS then the remastered DVD, I am still left wanting the ultimate package that would feature not only better widescreen video and richer surround sound, but also a seperate bonus audio soundtrack with all the musical selections, especially those by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. Fans of this movie have long lamented the absence of a published soundtrack. For more info on the actual Badlands Orff/Keetman cuts, see my review at Amazon 'Soundtrack for the Terrence Malick 1973 movie "Badlands"?'.

We who hold Badlands in high regard have also bemoaned the two-decade drought of directorial output by Maestro Malick that ended with a poorly edited theatrical release of "The Thin Red Line". "Days Of Heaven" was nearly on par with Badlands, but then did Orson Welles ever have a realistic shot at surpassing Citizen Kane with HIS subsequent efforts?

Interestingly, 43 years passed from the premiere of Hunter until the soundtrack CD was finally released in 1998 with narration throughout by Laughton (published in 1955 on LP, now a collector's item in the $100+ bracket)! I just discovered the existence of this CD today while surfing IMDb, prior to writing this review, in an Amazon link. Perhaps there is hope we may see a Badlands soundtrack release before 2016, maybe with some Sissy Spacek narration and Martin Sheen dialog as seperate tracks.

When a religious fanatic marries with a widow , strange things start to happen . The far echoes of his spiritual ancestor - Tartuffe - begin to show .

Eventually he will murder her searching for her loot and the awful nightmare will be unforgettable for the children who will have to escape for her lives .

This essential film considered for many viewers as a Film Noir , acquires a major significant if you think in the bitter metaphor of the terrible persecutions undertaken by the Status Quo in the World .

The masterpiece of Charles Laughton found in Robert Mitchum his best exponent . Realize the haunting and poignant final.

And please remember the sincere homage by Spike Lee in Do the right thing to this cult movie

The religious fanatic becomes heretic due its own fanaticism .

Though this premise may be well extend to other areas .