O Mensageiro do Diabo

'The Night Of The Hunter' is recognized by most critics and hard core film buffs as one of the most extraordinary movies ever made, but sadly it's still frequently overlooked by the many movie fans, probably because it's so difficult to categorize. Yes, it's a thriller but it's also a child's nightmare. A Noir but also a fable. Robert Mitchum gives one of his very best performances as Harry Powell, the charming but evil preacher with "love" tattooed on one hand, "hate" on the other. Powell is one of the most memorable screen villains of all time, and 'The Night Of The Hunter' is worth watching just for Mitchum, who is mesmerizing. Shelley Winters is surprisingly effective as the widow Powell woos, Peter Graves has a small role at the beginning as her first husband, and Lillian Gish plays the saintly Ms. Cooper, guardian of unwanted children. Because this movie isn't set in isn't the "real world" many viewers don't know exactly how to react to it. Charles Laughton's small town America is a stylized, dreamlike place, in some ways not unlike David Lynch's twisted world depicted in 'Blue Velvet' and 'Twin Peaks'. It also reminds me of Flannery O'Connor's Gothic South in her classic novels 'Wise Blood' and 'The Violent Bear It Away'. Some of the scenes involving Powell menacing Winters' children deliberately invoke James Whale's 'Frankenstein', and the sequence depicting the children's journey down the river is charming but blatantly artificial. While I'm a big fan of "outsider" film makers like Russ Meyer, Coffin Joe and Alejandro Jodorowsky, I also greatly admire those who work within the system but still manage to subvert Hollywood with doses of surrealism. I'm thinking of movies such as 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Shock Corridor' and 'The Manchurian Candidate'. Each of these films are unique but they also remind me of each other and of 'The Night Of The Hunter'. I highly recommend them all and wish that there were a lot more movies like them today. 'The Night Of The Hunter' is essential viewing for anybody interested in American movies!

This classic film is set during the Great Depression; Ben Harper has stolen ten thousand dollars, killing two people in the process. He manages to get home and gives the money to his children, John and Pearl. They hide it in Pearl's favourite rag doll and he tells them not to tell anybody else, including their mother, about it. Shortly afterwards he is arrested and sentenced to hang. In prison he tells his story to his cellmate, Harry Powell. Powell professes to be a preacher but he preys on women who he murders for their savings. After Ben is executed and Powell's short sentence ends he heads off to befriend Ben's widow, Willa. Everybody except John takes an immediate liking to Powell. It isn't long before Powell marries Willa and soon after that he starts pressuring John to find where the money is hidden. Things soon get very dangerous as Powell will go to any length to get the money.

After over sixty years this film is still gripping and manages to provide some real surprises for the first time viewer. Robert Mitchum manages to be both plausible and genuinely menacing as the evil Powell. The innocent town where the Harpers live certainly isn't ready for a man like Powell. Shelley Winters is solid as Willa and Lillian Gish impresses as the woman who ultimately helps the children. Young Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce are also good in the roles of John and Pearl respectively. Director Charles Laughton did a fine job building the tension, creating the right atmosphere and providing some moments that are surprisingly disturbing for a film of this era. Overall I'd say that this is a must see for any fans of classic cinema in general and certainly for fans of film noir.

It's a shame Charle Laughton, the distinguished actor, didn't direct more films. As he clearly indicates with "The Night of the Hunter", he had a rare gift for guiding a production into achieving greatness. This film, which didn't receive the attention it got when it was released, has turned out to be something discerning movie fans saw from the start, a classic.

Charles Laughton was basically a man of the theater, then came the movies, but he was at heart someone who was equally at ease working on the stage, or performing in front of a camera. Mr. Laughton undertook to direct this screen play written by another distinguished American writer and critic, James Agee, based on the David Grubb's novel.

The result is a magnificent film about to what extreme a man will go in order to steal from two young and innocent children something their father had left for them in trust. The evil character of Harry Powell, a charlatan preacher taking advantage of poor and unsophisticated country folk, is one of the best creations in the novel. Harry Powell doesn't care what he must do to get his hands in the money. He marries the children's mother, a widow who was hoping for some happiness in her life, only as part of his overall scheme of things.

The film is a poetic account of the story with great emphasis on the kindness the children receive at the end from Rachel Cooper, a woman with a heart of gold who took John and Pearl into her home when they needed it.

Robert Mitchum is the evil Harry Powell. It's without a doubt, one of Mr. Mitchum's best screen work. As guided by the director, the actor gives a performance that still surprises whoever watches the film for the first time. Shelley Winters plays Willa, the widow who can't sense the danger connected to the man she marries. Lillian Gish is another luminous presence in the film because she projects no-nonsense kindness and sweetness toward the children she takes into her home.

The film also is enhanced by the brilliant black and white cinematography by Stanley Carter. The film still shows a pristine look fifty years after it was released. Also, the musical score of Walter Shumann adds another layer in the film's texture.

"The Night of the Hunter" is ultimately a work of art that moves the viewer because of the tremendous work its director, Charles Laughton, gave to the movie.

You can run, but you can't hide, from a wolf in a sheep's hide, when he senses he can take, and he's happy to forsake, gets a paw inside to prise, no one to hear your frightened cries, as you're taken to a place, and hunted down without much grace.

Seldom will you encounter such a soulless character as Harry Powell through such an outstanding performance by Robert Mitchum. I remember watching this as a child and being quite disturbed by how nasty people can be. I've watched it several times since and the most recent viewing left me thinking I'd just watched a promotion for a church or some such religious organisation, so intense was the in your face piety of the dialogue and direction - which didn't enhance the experience if I'm honest.

This is a nightmarish tale of a psychopathic preacher named Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum). Ben Harper (Peter Graves) commits killings and he hides the money , promising his sons -Pearl and John- silence about the secret place where it is stashed . While Harper is in prison meets lugubrious preacher Powell who has the words ¨Hate¨ tattooed on the knuckles of his left hand and ¨Love¨ on his right . One time condemned Ben to death penalty , Harry is freed from jail and goes Harper's home where lures Willa (Shelley Winters) and after he marries her in the hopes of getting the cache of money . Later on , the kids are protected by Rachel (Lilian Gish) when Powell threatens them , she's a valiant old lady , rifle wielding and Bible-reading .

This is an ogre-tale in which the psychotic baddie is a bogus preacher. It's a rare film noir , a classic of bizarre beauty and extraordinary performances , totally unique in Hollywood history . A perfect collaboration between novel author : David Grubb , the great screenwriter : James Agee , the cameraman : Cortez and director Laughton . This unusual , odd picture is proceeded under point of sight the children , describing mysterious scenarios and has its moments of strange images , such as the magic journey across the river . Dutch-born American serial killer Harry Powers was the inspiration for the Preacher . Top-notch Robert Mitchum in the acting of his life along with ¨Cape fear¨, he said that Charles Laughton was his favorite director and indicated that this was his favorite of the movies in which he had acted . Magnificent Lilian Gish as old lady who defends the children wielding her shotgun . Special mention for James Gleason as an old drunk who lives on a cottage by the river . Stanley Cortez's masterly cinematography drew heavily from photographers Nicholas Musuraka and John Alton , noir cinema's masters , in its use of lights , darkness and shadows to originate apprehension , suspense , mood and fear . Splendid musical score by Walter Schumann with sensitive lyrics and songs creating a hypnotic atmosphere . This masterpiece was wonderfully directed by great actor Charles Laughton , his only film behind the cameras , however being a flop on original release and he was never again to be offered the film-making another movie . Rating : Over-the-top film , above average . Indispensable and essential watching.