The Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American Southern Gothic horror-thriller film directed by Charles Laughton in his sole feature film directorial credit, and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish. The screenplay by James Agee is adapted from Davis Grubb's 1953 novel. The plot is about Preacher Harry Powell (Mitchum), a serial killer who poses as a preacher and pursues two children in an attempt to get his hands on $10,000 of stolen cash hidden by their late father. The novel and film draw on the true story of Harry Powers, who was hanged in 1932 for the murder of two widows and three children in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

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