The Night of the Hunter 4K 1955

There are a lot of mysteries in the thousand-ton history of cinema for me. One of the main ones is why Lawton made only one film...

The great actor made his directorial debut with this film, and it exceeded all expectations, at least mine. An absolutely solid, atmospheric story, imbued with the Christian spirit and held in a strict style. Unforgettable are the utterly wolfish look and howl of Powell as the children slip away from him on the river, the long chase, the wonderful confrontation between the old woman with the shotgun and the scumbag criminal. But the most impressive shots are of Powell on horseback, riding on the trail of children and chanting psalms - well, just a natural demon of hell at work.

Excellent camerawork, and Mitchum nicely lived up to his role. In general, I think the film has no weak points, flying by in the same breath. A horror tale with a happy ending, a purifying piece of work, if I may say so...

The accusations of lusciousness and obsessive piety are completely incomprehensible to me: the religious entourage and biblical motifs are exactly one of the film's main attractions.