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On Sunday, Dec. 11, you’re invited to a screening of one of the darkest and most disturbed movies in early cinema history. Based on a true story, this expressionistic, terrifying odyssey is a legend, whose influence on future films would be felt for decades to come. Join us for a journey into madness and murder with THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER from 1955.The Story:
On a diabolical mission to eradicate sin, a misogynistic serial-killer preacher named Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) finds and kills women he believes “arouse carnal desires”. While in jail for auto theft, he discovers a secret from the condemned bank robber he shares a jail cell with: that the loot from his robbery is hidden on his family farm and only his young children know where. After his cellmate is executed, Reverend Powell embarks on an evil quest to woo the dead man’s widow in order to get closer to the children and find the money…and K*ll anyone who gets in his way.
Despite receiving negative reviews upon its original release, it has been positively re-evaluated in later decades and is now considered one of the greatest films ever made. It was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1992. The influential French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma selected The Night of the Hunter in 2008 as the second-best film of all time, behind Citizen Kane. In spite of the film's later acclaim, the negative reaction to its premiere sadly made it Charles Laughton's only feature film as director.
Want to delve deeper into the story? Bookhouse Book Club will be hosting a discussion before the film of the original 1953 source novel ‘The Night of the Hunter’ by author Davis Grubb. Come talk about the books deeper themes and larger meanings before seeing the film version.
Bookhouse Book Club: 5:00
Movie Screening: 6:30
Free to all
18+
Full bar and food available
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
405 N Cleveland St, Memphis, TN 38104-7012, United States