THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

High Contrast Cinema’s first movie of 2024 is Charles Laughton’s spellbinding gothic noir The Night Of The Hunter. Based on James Agee’s 1953 novel, the film was released in 1955 to generally poor reviews resulting in Laughton never stepping behind the camera again.

It was reassessed over time and is now considered by many critics to be one of the greatest films ever made. Featuring an unnerving central performance from Robert Mitchum as a murderously charismatic self-styled preacher, it also gave Lillian Gish, the silent era’s ‘First Lady of American Cinema’, perhaps her most memorable role in the second half of her career.

A dark fairy tale full of unforgettable imagery, its cinematic power remains undiminished nearly 70 years later.