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The Night of the Hunter (1955)
8.2
Ratings: 8.2/10 from 34,683 users
Metascore:
99/100
Reviews: 308 user | 114 critic | 6 from Metacritic.com 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. |
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93 min - 
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Top 250 #190
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1 win
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Robert Mitchum | ... | ||
| Shelley Winters | ... | ||
| Lillian Gish | ... | ||
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James Gleason | ... | |
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Evelyn Varden | ... | |
| Peter Graves | ... | ||
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Don Beddoe | ... | |
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Billy Chapin | ... | |
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Sally Jane Bruce | ... | |
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Gloria Castillo | ... |
Ruby
(as Gloria Castilo)
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Emmett Lynn | ... |
Birdie Steptoe
(scenes deleted)
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Storyline
Harry Powell marries and murders widows for their money, believing he is helping God do away with women who arouse men's carnal instincts. Arrested for auto theft, he shares a cell with condemned killer Ben Harper and tries to get him to reveal the whereabouts of the $10,000 he stole. Only Ben's nine-year-old son, John and four-year-old daughter, Pearl know the money is in Pearl's doll and they have sworn to their father to keep this secret. After Ben is executed, Preacher goes to Cresap's Landing to court Ben's widow, Willa. He overwhelms her with his Scripture quoting, sermons and hymns, and she agrees to marry him. On their wedding night he tells her they will never have sex because it is sinful. When the depressed, confused, guilty woman catches him trying to force Pearl to reveal the whereabouts of the money, she is resigned to her fate but the children manage to escape downriver, with Preacher following close behind. Written by alfiehitchie
Plot Summary | Plot SynopsisTaglines:
The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL... THE SUSPENSE! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
(Argentina) See more »Also Known As:
La noche del cazador See more »Filming Locations:
CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Box Office
Budget:
$795,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Rev. Harry Powell: I was praying.
Willa Harper: I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought...
Rev. Harry Powell: You thought, Willa, that the moment you walked in that door, I'd start to paw at you in that abominable way that men are supposed to do on their wedding night. Ain't that right, now?
Willa Harper: No, no, no.
Rev. Harry Powell: I think it's time we made one thing perfectly clear, Willa. Marriage to me represents the blending of two spirits in the sight of Heaven. Get up, Willa.
Willa Harper: Harry, what...?
Rev. Harry Powell: Get up. Now go look at yourself yonder in that mirror. Do as I say. Look at yourself. What do you see, girl? You see the body of a woman, the temple of creation and motherhood. You see the flesh of Eve that man since Adam has profaned. That body was meant for begettin' children. It was not meant for the lust of men! Do you want more children, Willa?
Willa Harper: I... no.
Rev. Harry Powell: It's the business of this marriage to mind the two you have now. Not to beget more. Alright, you can get in bed now. Stop shivering.
[...]
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(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Sung by a chorus during the opening credits
Reprised offscreen by an unidentified female when the chldren are on the run See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Stanley Cortez, the cinematographer on "Night of the Hunter", had also worked on Orson Welles's masterpiece, "The Magnificent Ambersons". He remarked some years after the making of this film that only two directors he'd worked with had understood light, "that incredible thing that can't be described": Welles and Laughton. See more »Goofs
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Willa Harper is lying in bed talking to Harry her mouth movements are out of sync with the dialogue. See more »Quotes
Willa Harper: [Willa and Harry's wedding night] Harry?Rev. Harry Powell: I was praying.
Willa Harper: I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought...
Rev. Harry Powell: You thought, Willa, that the moment you walked in that door, I'd start to paw at you in that abominable way that men are supposed to do on their wedding night. Ain't that right, now?
Willa Harper: No, no, no.
Rev. Harry Powell: I think it's time we made one thing perfectly clear, Willa. Marriage to me represents the blending of two spirits in the sight of Heaven. Get up, Willa.
Willa Harper: Harry, what...?
Rev. Harry Powell: Get up. Now go look at yourself yonder in that mirror. Do as I say. Look at yourself. What do you see, girl? You see the body of a woman, the temple of creation and motherhood. You see the flesh of Eve that man since Adam has profaned. That body was meant for begettin' children. It was not meant for the lust of men! Do you want more children, Willa?
Willa Harper: I... no.
Rev. Harry Powell: It's the business of this marriage to mind the two you have now. Not to beget more. Alright, you can get in bed now. Stop shivering.
[...]
See more »
Soundtracks
"Dream, Little One, Dream"(uncredited)
Composer unknown
Sung by a chorus during the opening credits
Reprised offscreen by an unidentified female when the chldren are on the run See more »
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