Robert Mitchum gets caught up in some dangerous dichotomies in THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton, 1955)
Rubin Museum of Art Cabaret Cinema
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, March 18, free with $7 bar minimum, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org/cabaretcinema
Robert Mitchum stars in Charles Laughton’s lurid story of traveling preacher/con man/murderer Harry Powell, who has the word “love” tattooed on one set of knuckles and “hate” on the other. While in prison, Powell bunks with Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who got caught stealing $10,000 — but the only person who knows where the money is is Ben’s young son, John (Billy Chapin). When Preacher is released from jail, he shows up on the Harpers’ doorstep, ready to woo the widow Willa (Shelley Winters) — and get his hands on the money any way he can, including torturing John and his sister, Ruby (Gloria Castillo). Laughton’s only directorial effort is seriously flawed — the scenes in the beginning and end with Lillian Gish are wholly unnecessary and detract from the overall mood. Stanley Cortez’s cinematography is outstanding, featuring his unique use of shadows, the battle between light and dark (which plays off of several themes: old versus young, rich versus poor, good versus evil, and men versus women), and some marvelous silhouettes. The Night of the Hunter is screening March 18 at the Rubin Museum in conjunction with the Brainwave series of talks and will be introduced by actress Parker Posey. Andrei Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood follows on March 25 and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Red Shoes on April 8.