MUBI

“The Night of The Hunter” directed by Charles Laughton is a near perfect film. The visuals are striking and elegant. The cinematography moved me especially. The river scenes with the animals are incredibly gorgeous. Mitchum’s performance is creepy, and intense. But the real standout is the performance by John the boy. Lillian Gish also shines as the old lady with the big heart. It’s a tad bit melodramatic, but one of the finest American films i’ve had the pleasure of viewing recently.

4 stars

Taken from the romance of the same name based on the true story of the Harry Powel, a preacher who killed 25 women upon marrying them, this avant thriller was way ahead of its time, even today. The only directing effort from the actor Charles Laughton, this is a phenomenal exercise in style and narrative, one true classic that inspired many and is as frightening today and breathtaking as it was 60 years ago.

There is nothing like this in the classic hollywood period, a bold and precise cinematography that is a direct result of the noir period that uses German Expressionism as a reference to build truly breathtaking angles, lightning and scenery, built upon the dark and profoundly astounding character of Harry Powell played by Robert Mitchum. Stanley Cortez is the man behind the cinematic power and every scene, every plan is simply perfect. It is, nonetheless, a classic period movie, filled with the yin and yang of the dramatic narrative of the 40s and 50s, good vs evil, god vs satan, and these parts are balanced by a smart script that builds the tension maniacally then slows the pace to absorb the darkness only to carefully open the doors of mayhem to breathe joy in the last scenes.

If not only for the script, for the characters then, beautifully photographed, from the psychopath priest whose right knuckles are tattooed LOVE and the left ones HATE, to the children that play their parts so convincingly you’d think you’re watching a documentary. The setting is the depression era 30s, in a small town by the river, and this atmosphere is built using not only strong characters but also angled by the precise and beautiful cinematography.

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This is an alright film. It consists of very interesting visuals, most notably the way Cortez and Laughton captured the sequences taking place on / in water. It would appear that the fishing scene was an influence for the beginning and end of Tarkovsky’s “Solaris.” The acting is as good as any Hollywood picture during the time period. I found the story fairly anti-climactic and at some points down right silly, particularly the terms of his mother’s marriage and her instant submissiveness. I don’t think anyone could really argue the lack of development there. The children also barely seemed phased by the execution of their father and disappearance of their mother. However, my issue with most pre-1960’s American films has always been their lack of a natural and believable feel, so I will not single out this picture. I would imagine a fairly common analysis made about the film would be the conflict it expresses between the desires of a pure devotee of god and one claiming to be so for the sake of opportunism. That would be an evaluation I agree with and I don’t find much else worth considering on the subject of supposed underlying meanings. 3 stars.

It might be a toss up… best debut and only film directed by an actor who starred in a version of Mutiny on the Bounty? I guess we could have a sub-section about appearing in the film or not to make it easier. Laughton, like Brando, showed such great cinematic instincts as a director you can’t help but wonder what both could have achieved if they’d continued?
Night of the Hunter is a macabre fairy tale, a morality fable told with wit and verve. Mitchum’s preacher is one of his great roles, part pantomime villian and part psychopath… it’s a potent mix.

It’s one of the strengths of the film that he’s not playing it as an out an out heavy, keeping it edgy, even suggesting schizophrenia, he’s deluded and convinced he’s doing God’s work. Of course it’s not always easy to discern the deeply religious from the deeply disturbed, as ‘spiritual’ delusion is an oft seen symptom in the mentally ill. One senses Laughton has drawn upon many sources to realise his vision. German expressionistic choices are all through it, and he revels in the artificiality of the environment and the theatricality of the piece, introducing innocent elements of the natural world into a canvas dreamscape.

The set up is quickly established and the preacher Harry Powell sets off to do his pre-ordained work. He marries the widow and on the wedding night puts her in her place. His religion is old fashioned and simple, he regards her as flesh/trash, a vessle of temptation and a barrier to him having a clean and holy life as his Lord intended, a common enough sentiment in many early church writings. If he has to kill then that’s perfectly Biblically sanctioned, his Old Testament god did not draw the line at slaughtering women and children, so why should he?

Mitcham hints at a sexual dimension to the satisfaction his murders bring, but he never leers or overplays. Harry is an angel of death, a constant threat to the environment he inhabits and the shots of Willa underwater are high photographic art indeed, amongst the most striking in all of cinema. Great evil like Harrys can only be bettered by a pure heart, and Lillian Gish plays the unlikely nemesis. The scene where she joins in a duet with Mitchum of his ‘theme’ song is wonderful, only to see Harry vanish with some cinematic sleight of hand. The children are fine performance wise, one senses Laughton had seen Rene Clements masterpiece Forbidden Games as there are similarites of tone.
The music also is pivotal and surprisingly deft, given the era’s lamentable impulse to bombast and clutter in thrillers, a delicate score and worthy of Aaron Copeland.

The children do abide, and this film once seen will never be forgotten.

My housemates generally watch Will Smith action movies and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. I put Night of the Hunter on as a joke, expecting them to leave the room. Instead they were riveted, I had to pause it while they went pee, and they were telling their buddies that it was black and white but really good. Maybe No Country For Old Men prepared them for the explicitly sinister Harry Powell. It probably also helped them digest the building suspense, and slowed-down climax. Maybe I’m not even talking about my room mates anymore.