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Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
| When unctuous Reverend Harry Powell (Mitchum) learns where a criminal has stashed some money, he literally casts an ominous shadow on their Depression-era home. Sharing fudge and hypocrisy at a Sunday picnic, Mitchum ingratiates himself to the gossipy locals, the naïve widow Willa (Winters) and her younger daughter Pearl. But John, the older boy, to whom his father entrusted the cash before his execution, is not fooled by Mitchum's charm, his baritone hymns, nor by the “L-O-V-E” and “H-A-T-E” tattooed across his knuckles.
After Powell weds Willa, apparently for the children's benefit, he righteously denies her a wedding night, and soon murders her, concealing her body in the river. He then begins the sinister business of unearthing the money ("where's it hid?) in torment scenes which telegraph countless dark films to come (“ohhhh, chil-dren.)" His menacing pursuit of the orphans includes an eerie cellar from which the children flee and a nightmarish rowboat scene. When grandmotherly Rachel Gibson, marvelously played by Lillian Gish, takes the children into her home with four other waifs, kindness, discipline, and the Bible bring comfort. But they still must remain vigilant for the Reverend (“figured I was gone, huh?)" When she and John outsmart him, we learn how effective the Reverend's M.O. has been and how just his punishment. Charles Laughton's only directorial effort. | ||
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Plot Time/era of movie: - 1930's-1950's Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Kids: - Crime & Scandal Yes Story of - catching brutal killer/stalker Religion themed film? Yes Parent(s) gone? - Orphan story Main Character Identity: - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Hair color? - brunette (Brown) Hair type - - (man) short/standard straight Body type - (man) muscular Events of movie makes character more... - irritated Ethnicity/Nationality How sensitive is this character? - hard edged Intelligence - Average intelligence Physique - very athletic Secondary Main Character Identity: - Male Hair color - blonde Hair style - - (man) short/standard straight How much in movie? - 90%-100% Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American) Main Adversary Identity: - a fight for survival Setting United States Yes The US: - Southeast Water? Yes Water: - peddle boat Misc setting Style Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths Movie makes you feel... - depressed/sad Check here if B&W Yes Any profanity? - None Is this movie based on a - book |
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