Day 57: It's A Hard World For Little Things

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
Directed by Charles Laughton
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelly Winters, Lillian Gish, Peter Graves, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce, Emmit Lynn

The Rev. Harry Powell (Mitchum) is an odd character.  He knows the Bible chapter-and-verse, travels from town to town in a beat up jalopy and has the words "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed on his knuckles.  Oh, and he also takes up with widows, marries them and kills them, claiming to be doing the Lord's work.  But when he meets bank robber/murderer Ben Harper (Graves), he learns that there's a large stash of stolen money hidden somewhere, and only Harper's children, John (Chapin) and Pearl (Bruce), know where it's hidden.  Harper is executed for his crime, but Powell (who was booked on a lesser charge) goes free.  As soon as he's out, Powell finds Harper's widow, Willa (Winters), and sets out to marry her.  Young Pearl dotes on her new daddy, but John is suspicious.  Powell resumes his murderous ways, doing away with young Willa, but claiming to the townsfolk that she up and R-U-N-N-O-F-T.  Now all that's left is to get the young'uns to divulge the whereabouts of the cash.  But they get away and find themselves in the care of Rachel Cooper (Gish), who takes in wayward children.  Unlike the "Reverend," Rachel is a model Christian, who bestows love on even the most hardened children.  But of course, Powell finds them, which means he's only one step away from finding the loot.

There are a lot of people who say that this film was way ahead of its time, which may be true.  But as I watched it, I noticed that there was a definite nod towards the films of the silent era.  Several tricks of that time were used, such as using an iris in/out to make the audience focus on one particular thing.  Also, much of the scenes were shot in a way that was reminiscent of German Expressionism.  The honeymoon scene in particular calls to mind The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  Laughton even cast the biggest silent film star of her day in Lillian Gish, who, surprisingly, was the best actor in the film.

Yes, all of this makes the film visually stunning.  But the acting was way over the top, even by 1950's melodrama standards.  Mitchum is chilling as the crooked Reverend, but he (and just about everyone else) overplays it almost to the point of ludicrousness. 

Now, if the auteur theory is to be believed, then this film is a extension of Charles Laughton's hatred toward two things: organized religion and female sexuality.  The Reverend claims to be doing the Lord's work, and whether he believes it or not is up for debate.  But we know he's a monster.  And how many times have we seen in the news (especially these days) those who were supposedly men of God doing despicable things?  As for the latter, many of the women in the film go on and on about how sex is strictly for the production of children.  One woman even states that when she and her husband have relations, she's "thinking about her canning."  The one woman in the film who seems to genuinely want physical affection is Willa.  And the Reverend kills her for it.  Of course, talking in such a frank way about such matters in 1955 is probably what made this film so "ahead of its time."

So this is an interesting film to be sure, but whether or not it's a "classic" is really up to you and how you define what is and isn't "classic."  Personally, I was pretty underwhelmed with it, and even found points of it hokey and laughable.  But it's definitely worth a look.