July 26th marked the 71st anniversary of the premier of the horror-thriller The Night of the Hunter based on the novel by Davis Grubb. The film stars Robert Mitchum as the killer conman posing as a preacher, Harry Powell. Powell, during a brief incarceration, learns of a stash of $10,000 hidden by the condemned Ben Harper, played by Peter Graves, whose children hold the secret to the location of the hidden money. Seduction, charm, and murder are all tools utilized by Powell in his pursuit of the money. The movie was considerably a star-studded production with Shelley Winters as the widow Willa Harper and Lillian Gish as the fierce Rachel Cooper. Unfortunately, like a lot of art, this film wouldn’t gain true appreciation until many years after its initial release.
The Night of the Hunter premiered in Des Moine Iowa on July 26th, 1955, as part of a fundraising event in the hometown of the movie’s producer, Paul Gregory. Failing to capture a broad audience and panned by critics, this would be the only solo directed film by Charles Laughton. The film would live on by the efforts of devoted fans being shown in museums and revival houses. The cult film would be subjected to reassessment through the 1970s, gaining greater appreciation as new generations discovered this Southern Gothic masterpiece. The film’s legacy of rediscovery would continue through its influence on modern directors and the spread of physical media.
The film is likely to find new audiences again as discussion will build around the adaptation in the works to be directed by Scott Derrickson. Derrickson, well known for psychological horror films such as The Black Phone and Sinister, is writing the script with his writing partner C. Robert Cargill. Together they have established a strong line of films that give good reason for excitement at the prospect of this new adaptation. How will their version match up against the 1955 film? We shall see.
The American Heritage Center has a wealth of materials related to the production of The Night of the Hunter. A teletype in the Columbia Pictures Records (Coll. 9355) discusses the original deal between the studio, Paul Gregory, and Lloyd Wright which shows Charles Laughton was already attached to direct and Robert Mitchum was willing to commit to summer filming. The sheet music of the score for the film can be found in the Walter Schumann papers (Coll. 3280). The AHC also holds the papers of Paul Gregory (Coll. 8500), which has the first draft of the script for the film.
Post contributed by AHC Reference Archivist Rob Kelly
