Night Of The Hunter

Year: 1955

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Laughton

Review

not sure why i put this one in my queue (edit 2/28/08: put it in the queue because poppa recommended it), but i’m happy that i did. it’s the only film that charles laughton directed and that’s a bit confounding considering how really excellent the film is. stanley cortez’s (magnificent ambersons, naked kiss) cinematography is brilliant and was the first thing about the film that really blew me away. the dvd states it has been modified to fit tv screen, but imdb.com states the aspect ratio at 1.33 so i’m not sure what the deal is. robert mitchum is pure evil in this film and i think his evil performance here is more foreboding than that in cape fear (which came seven years later). the father at the beginning of the film is played by the undercover german in stalag 17. lillian gish turns out a good performance as well as the well-doing elderly caretaker who the children encounter while running from mitchum. it’s an engaging story told from a child’s point of view (like shane) which makes mitchum more evil and gish more angelic. really, though, the film is all about the cinematography. the use of deep focus and expressionistic lighting looks great and deepens the feel of the film. this is the first full film i watched on my new television which may have had an impact, but really it was all about the film.