Monday, September 03, 2018
The Evolution of Horror podcast on Night of the Hunter
Released in 1955, Night of the Hunter was the only film Charles Laughton directed. It was not a commercial success, but today it seems utterly extraordinary.
As the excellent discussion of it on The Evolution of Horror podcast brings out, it defies categorisation. A Southern Gothic fairy tale? Maybe, but that is only part of the film.
The original novel by Davis Grubb is worth seeking out too. It contains much of the eerie glittering atmosphere that Laughton brought to the screen.
You can see a famous scene from the film above and listen to the podcast below.
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I vaguely recall an interview with Robert Mitchum in which he said that Laughton was an excellent director, a view shared by the cast, but implied that Laughton found the process rather wearing. This BFI piece bears out the first point.
It says much for both men that the undoubtedly heterosexual Mitchum got on so well with Laughton, whose homosexuality was no secret in Hollywood. One wonders how different the film would have been if John Wayne had been the lead.
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