Principal cast
Robert Mitchum as Preacher Harry Powell, Shelley Winters as Willa Harper, Lillian Gish as Rachel Cooper, Billy Chapin as John Harper, and Sally Jane Bruce as Pearl Harper
Film 115 of 244 on the Screen Path
The Night of the Hunter
It’s a hard world for little things.
About the film
The Night of the Hunter at a glance.
Screen Path places this 1955 film at stop 115 in one curated journey through cinema. The learning experience adds context before you watch and deeper analysis after.
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
Key craft credits
Stanley Cortez (director of photography), Robert Golden (editor), Walter Schumann (original music composer), Charles Laughton (screenplay), and James Agee (screenplay)
- Director
- Charles Laughton
- Release
- 1955-07-26
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
- Genres
- Crime, Drama, and Thriller
- Country
- United States
- Quiz
- 50 questions
The Screen Path journey
Before. After. Remember.
The featured film is watched outside Screen Path. The app provides the learning experience around it: a guide, an analysis, and a quiz with explanations.
01
Before you watch
Start with a spoiler-free video guide to the context and filmmaking choices worth noticing.
Spoiler-free02
After the film
Return after watching for a deeper video analysis of craft, meaning, and legacy.
Contains spoilers03
Quiz yourself
Answer 50 questions with clear rationales designed to make the ideas stick.
50 questions in this journeyWant to try a complete journey on the web? The Citizen Kane page includes the spoiler-free guide, after-film analysis, and a sample quiz.
Try Citizen Kane →Film data and images provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.