Today's Recommendation is for the only film that legendary actor Charles Laughton ever directed, which is the controversial and damn near perfect The Night Of The Hunter.
I wanted to recommend and discuss this film as early as I could because many of the films I will talk about later make reference to this cult classic. For example the Coen Brothers reference it in every film they can, and Spike Lee used an entire monologue from this film in his classic Do The Right Thing.
Simply put, The Night Of The Hunter is a film about two children on the run from a serial killer preacher named Harry Powell (played brilliantly by Robert Mitchum). Even though this may sound like the setup a classic chase type film, Director Charles Laughton made it far more by tackling major issues like religion and sex and intertwined them in a way that was so controversial at the time, the Catholic Church wanted the film destroyed. This outrage from the Church was due largely to the fact that Laughton made the bedroom a church and the bed an altar in which women were sacrificed by a man of god.
The relationship that tenderness and violence have is highlighted by the most referenced and iconic image from the film, which is the tattooed words Love and Hate on Harry Powell's knuckles, which he uses when delivering his false sermon.
Although Evil is heavily represented in the film, it is balanced by opposing forces of good. The killer preacher Harry Powell uses religion in a very dark way, which is later contrasted by the pure and faithful Rachel Cooper (played by Lillian Gish) a mother goose type character who uses religion to teach a positive message to her many adopted children. Visually this balance is highlighted by the use of high contrast lighting with very harsh shadows, making clear cut areas of light and dark.
The Night Of The Hunter is a scary and surprisingly fun film with one of the most memorable villains you will ever see, with tension that keeps you glued to your screen.
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