IMDb > The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Night of the Hunter
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The Night of the Hunter (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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The Night of the Hunter (1955) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Davis Grubb (novel)
James Agee (screenplay)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Night of the Hunter on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 November 1955 (Argentina) more
Genre:
Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller more
Tagline:
The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE! more
Plot:
A religious fanatic marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real daddy hid $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
The Stepfather (1987)
 (From SoundOnSight. 22 October 2009, 8:17 PM, PDT)
Shelley Winters: 1920-2006
 (From IMDb News. 14 January 2006)
User Comments:
One of the most extraordinary movies ever made. Essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies! more (275 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Robert Mitchum ... Harry Powell

Shelley Winters ... Willa Harper

Lillian Gish ... Rachel Cooper
James Gleason ... Birdie Steptoe
Evelyn Varden ... Icey Spoon
Peter Graves ... Ben Harper
Don Beddoe ... Walt Spoon
Billy Chapin ... John Harper
Sally Jane Bruce ... Pearl Harper
Gloria Castillo ... Ruby (as Gloria Castilo)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Corey Allen ... Young Man in Town (uncredited)
Paul Bryar ... Bart the Hangman (uncredited)
Cheryl Callaway ... Mary (uncredited)

Michael Chapin ... Ruby's Boyfriend (uncredited)
Mary Ellen Clemons ... Clary (uncredited)

Kathy Garver ... Child (uncredited)
James Griffith ... District Attorney (uncredited)
John Hamilton ... Townsman Who Greets Rachel (uncredited)
Kay Lavelle ... Miz Cunninghan (uncredited)

Gloria Pall ... Burlesque Dancer (uncredited)
George Wallace ... (uncredited)
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Directed by
Charles Laughton 
Robert Mitchum (uncredited)
 
Writing credits
Davis Grubb (novel)

James Agee (screenplay)

Charles Laughton  screenplay contributor (uncredited)

Produced by
Paul Gregory .... producer
 
Original Music by
Walter Schumann (music by)
 
Cinematography by
Stanley Cortez (photography by)
 
Film Editing by
Robert Golden 
 
Casting by
Millie Gusse (uncredited)
 
Art Direction by
Hilyard M. Brown  (as Hilyard Brown)
 
Set Decoration by
Alfred E. Spencer  (as Al Spencer)
 
Makeup Department
Don L. Cash .... make-up (as Don Cash)
Kay Shea .... hair stylist
 
Production Management
Ruby Rosenberg .... production manager
Frank Parmenter .... production manager: second unit (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Carter .... assistant director
Frank Parmenter .... second unit director (uncredited)
Terry Sanders .... second unit director (uncredited)
Jack Sonntag .... first assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Joe LaBella .... property man (as Joe La Bella)
 
Sound Department
Stanford Houghton .... sound (as Stanford Naughton)
 
Special Effects by
Louis DeWitt .... special photographic effects (as Louis De Witt)
Jack Rabin .... special photographic effects
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Seymour Hoffberg .... assistant camera (uncredited)
Harold E. Wellman .... camera: second unit (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jerry Bos .... wardrobe
Evelyn Carruth .... assistant wardrobe
 
Music Department
Arthur Morton .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Saul Bass .... publicist (uncredited)
Robert Mitchum .... director: children (uncredited)
Denis Sanders .... unspecified assistant (uncredited)
Terry Sanders .... unspecified assistant (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 (1959) (cut) | South Korea:15 (2003) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1955) | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #17385) | West Germany:12 | UK:X (original rating)
Filming Locations:
CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Paul Gregory Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Robert Mitchum once stated that Charles Laughton was the best director he had ever worked for, ironic in that Laughton never directed another movie after The Night of the Hunter (1955) with Mitchum. more
Goofs:
Continuity: On the riverside when Willa and Harry are talking, Willa's hands and purse are resting on the edge of her knees. In the next shot, however, her hands and purse are in her lap. more
Quotes:
Rachel Cooper: Get your state troopers out here. I got something trapped in my barn. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Dream, Little One, Dream more

FAQ

How did Harry get out of prison?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this a true story?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
42 out of 58 people found the following comment useful.
One of the most extraordinary movies ever made. Essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies!, 20 May 2004
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

'The Night Of The Hunter' is recognized by most critics and hard core film buffs as one of the most extraordinary movies ever made, but sadly it's still frequently overlooked by the many movie fans, probably because it's so difficult to categorize. Yes, it's a thriller but it's also a child's nightmare. A Noir but also a fable. Robert Mitchum gives one of his very best performances as Harry Powell, the charming but evil preacher with "love" tattooed on one hand, "hate" on the other. Powell is one of the most memorable screen villains of all time, and 'The Night Of The Hunter' is worth watching just for Mitchum, who is mesmerizing. Shelley Winters is surprisingly effective as the widow Powell woos, Peter Graves has a small role at the beginning as her first husband, and Lillian Gish plays the saintly Ms. Cooper, guardian of unwanted children. Because this movie isn't set in isn't the "real world" many viewers don't know exactly how to react to it. Charles Laughton's small town America is a stylized, dreamlike place, in some ways not unlike David Lynch's twisted world depicted in 'Blue Velvet' and 'Twin Peaks'. It also reminds me of Flannery O'Connor's Gothic South in her classic novels 'Wise Blood' and 'The Violent Bear It Away'. Some of the scenes involving Powell menacing Winters' children deliberately invoke James Whale's 'Frankenstein', and the sequence depicting the children's journey down the river is charming but blatantly artificial. While I'm a big fan of "outsider" film makers like Russ Meyer, Coffin Joe and Alejandro Jodorowsky, I also greatly admire those who work within the system but still manage to subvert Hollywood with doses of surrealism. I'm thinking of movies such as 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Shock Corridor' and 'The Manchurian Candidate'. Each of these films are unique but they also remind me of each other and of 'The Night Of The Hunter'. I highly recommend them all and wish that there were a lot more movies like them today. 'The Night Of The Hunter' is essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies!

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Anyone else notice that Pearl was useless.... appleseiter15
8.2 Rating? Did I miss something? cann85
I been with MEN !! daddysarm
Just watched this for the first time satellite79
Why this is one of the best Film Noir's and why it transcends the genre andrewaaa299
Hated it! ubercool_ann
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