The Night of the Hunter poster

Cast

Robert Mitchum profile

Robert Mitchum

Preacher Harry Powell

Shelley Winters profile

Shelley Winters

Willa Harper

Lillian Gish profile

Lillian Gish

Rachel Cooper

Billy Chapin profile

Billy Chapin

John Harper

Sally Jane Bruce profile

Sally Jane Bruce

Pearl Harper

James Gleason profile

James Gleason

Uncle Birdie Steptoe

Evelyn Varden profile

Evelyn Varden

Icey Spoon

Don Beddoe profile

Don Beddoe

Walt Spoon

Peter Graves profile

Peter Graves

Ben Harper

James Griffith profile

James Griffith

District Attorney

Gloria Pall profile

Gloria Pall

Burlesque Dancer

Michael Chapin profile

Michael Chapin

Ruby's Boyfriend

Roy Engel profile

Roy Engel

Sheriff

Kay Lavelle profile

Kay Lavelle

Miz Cunningham

Frances Morris profile

Frances Morris

Bart's Wife

Rudy Germane profile

Rudy Germane

Townsman (uncredited)

Details

Status

Released

Original language

en

Countries

US

Budget

$795,000

Reviews

daniel white profile pic

A review by daniel white

March 22, 2016

The only film directed by the great English actor Charles Laughton, "The Night of the Hunter" is a brilliant allegory about the battle between good and evil. The film failed upon its release but is now considered a classic. Robert Mitchum has never been better as the malevolent "preacher" who marries the hapless Shelley Winters. Mitchum had been in prison with Winters husband and knows there is money to be had from a robbery the deceased husband committed, but where is...

John Chard profile pic

A review by John Chard 10

September 18, 2019

Laughton crafts a nightmarish fairytale that stands up now as a true masterpiece.

A religious maniac marries an idiotic widow and mother of two children in the hope of finding out where the $10,000 is hidden that the now executed husband and father garnered from a robbery.

Upon release back in 1955, the critics of the time kicked this first directorial effort from Charles Laughton to such a degree he never directed again. Watching the film now and observing the tide of praise f...

CinemaSerf profile pic

A review by CinemaSerf 8

March 28, 2023

Continuing with my quest to establish where or not Charles Laughton ever made a bad movie, I recently came, again, to this - one of my all time favourite films. I remember cowering behind the sofa as a child when this film came on television late in the evening. It all centres around a robber who has hidden $10,000 somewhere. His jailbird pal "Powell" (Robert Mitchum) is out, masquerading as a puritanical preacher, and determined to befriend the man's family and to scoop the loo...

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