What is the greatest film by a Director who never made another feature? Today that’s a question that requires thought and research, but for decades the answer was The Night of the Hunter, the only directorial effort by actor Charles Laughton. If you’re not prepared, it’s easy to be blown away by how weird Night of the Hunter is. The story suggests a thriller, but the execution has more in common with horror films, fairy tales, children’s nightmares and deeply religious pictures. The performances are as outstanding as they are offbeat, none more so than Robert Mitchum’s psycho preacher. The look of the film is striking, with heavy-handed shadow and light effects like you only see in German silent films. Reality departs this picture in the opening scene when the heads of Rachel and her kids appear among the stars. Buildings and rooms have unusual dimensions and spatial relations to other objects in the frame. Even something as benign as a boat trip takes on eerie dimensions. The whole film is shot like Snow White’s escape through the forest.
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