The Night of the Hunter - 1955

I'd seen this movie before, but it showed up on a list of classic thrillers, so I wanted to watch it again to write down my thoughts on it. I remembered most of the storyline, but some new things also stood out to me.

A man claiming to be a preacher is going around the countryside committing crimes in the name of God. He looks for widows and takes their money. Sometimes he kills them. At one point, he gets arrested for stealing a car, and while he's in jail, he meets Peter Graves (I can't remember the character's name). He knows Graves stole $10,000 and that it's somewhere at his house. Once the preacher-man is out, he heads straight there. Graves is hung for murder, so his wife is the convenient widow, ready to mold into the preacher's disciple.

The money is hidden in a young girl's doll, and her older brother is very protective. He makes her swear not to tell, and he can tell something isn't right with the preacher. When his mother disappears, all bets are off, and the children go on the run.

I remember this movie disturbing me the first time I watched it. The callous nature of Harry Powell tracking children is sickening. But after this watch, I did a bit more research. What really sends a shiver down my spine is there was a serial killer that inspired this character for the book by Davis Grubb and thus the film. His name was Harry Powers, and he killed five people and was suspected of killing two others. Eww.

The movie had some really amazing shots in it, and I'm not usually someone who picks up on that sort of thing. There were a couple silhouette shots I really liked, and the story didn't drag. I hate to call this a good movie, because so much goes wrong, especially for those children. Fortunately, the children have someone watching out for them, and the end of the movie isn't depressing. If I ignore the super weird beginning, it easily earns a Good Movie! review.