Thus says the Lord:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more” (Jer 31:15).
The Night of the Hunter belongs on every Christian’s Christmas list. My family has even made an ornament to hang on our tree of a pivotal scene from the film. In this article, I want to discuss some of the themes of this film and make an argument for why this Halloween horror film ought to be on every Christian’s Christmas movie watch list.
The film was based on the 1953 novel by Davis Grubb, who also contributed scene and character sketches for the film. The screenplay was written by the director, acclaimed British film and stage actor Charles Laughton, and novelist James Agee, who also wrote the screenplay for The African Queen. Famously, The Night of the Hunter is the only film that Charles Laughton ever directed. There are a few reasons for this. For instance, the movie is filmed in black and white at a time when color film was all the rage; in addition, audiences did not want to watch a movie about the Great Depression so soon after living through that era themselves.
However, one of the reasons is not due to the filmmaking itself. Laughton, despite his inexperience as a director, does a masterful job behind the camera. Aesthetically, he is clearly influenced by the early German expressionist directors (think Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu) as well as Orson Welles (Citizen Kane). This explains many of the choices within the film—shots that highlight the interplay between light and darkness, tight framing and open spaces, beauty and horror.
The movie begins with a short monologue by Rachel, the film’s heroine, who doesn’t appear again until about an hour into the film. This is an odd scene, for the elderly Rachel (played by Lillian Gish, who had been famous for her silent films), is reading to a group of little children in Sunday School, but only their faces are shown against the background of a star-filled night sky. She is reading Matthew 7:15–20:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
As she is reading, the film cuts to its first scene, a bird’s eye view of a farm where children are playing. As the camera swoops in, the children discover the partially covered body of a woman who has been murdered. The scene then cuts to Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum brilliantly playing against type) driving in his car and talking to God. These first moments give us the movie’s theme: good versus evil, the innocent hunted by the wicked. Harry is the devil—a Depression-era Herod, willing to kill even children to get what he wants—and he is after them (Harry means “to persistently carry out attacks”). But a heavenly eye is watching over them.
As he drives, Harry reveals that he is a serial killer who preys on rich widows. He also hates women and believes that God does as well: “There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin’ things, lacy things, things with curly hair.” He believes that by killing these pretty things, he is doing the Lord’s work.
Harry Powell is the false prophet from Matthew 7 that Rachel warns the children about. Harry wears a minister’s garb and claims to be a “man of God.” He is charming and quickly wins the hearts of strangers, particularly women. He often is heard singing “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” which serves as an ominous warning that evil is lurking, similar to the way those famous notes work in the movie Jaws.
Harry has LOVE and HATE tattooed on the knuckles of his hands, a visual illustration of the true gospel proclaimed by a false prophet, which Revelation describes as a great beast. This is how Harry is portrayed in the film: absurd and animalistic. Wild animals appear throughout the film, particularly when the children are in danger or being pursued, and Harry often responds to moments of frustration with ridiculous animal-like screams.
Harry is “providentially” thrown into prison for 30 days due to car theft where he bunks with a young husband and father who is in prison for murder and is about to hang. He had robbed a bank, and in the ensuing getaway he killed two people. Before his arrest, he had made it home, hid the money in his daughter’s doll, and told his children not to tell anyone, even their mother. The father is eventually executed, and Harry, knowing that there is money hidden somewhere in the vicinity of a young widow, makes a bee-line for her house the moment he is released.
This is the set-up for the rest of the film which can be divided into two parts. In the first half, Harry, the false preacher, comes to town, woos and deceives the widow and townsfolk, and eventually marries her. He threatens the children—big brother John (God is gracious) and little sister Pearl (of great price)—and eventually murders his new wife when she realizes he is not who he says he is. This leads to the second half of the film: a chase across the countryside in which two little children with a doll full of stolen cash, flee from Harry—they on a little boat, he on horseback—until they are rescued by the motherly Rachel Cooper.
Every adult, until Rachel arrives, fails to protect the children. They are absorbed by their own sins and slaves to their own vices, unwilling or unable to lay their lives down for these little ones. Willa, their own mother, is too weak to protect them. When her moment of death comes, she doesn’t put up a fight for her children—she welcomes it because she will finally be at peace. The children truly have no one to protect them. And so, just when Harry has figured out where the money is and attempts to murder them, John and Pearl escape down the river. It is a long journey; by the time Rachel Cooper finds them, the children are filthy and starving. Rachel feeds them and adds them to her little flock consisting of a few other orphans whose parents are either dead or cannot care for them.
Thus says the LORD:
“Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
There is hope for your future, declares the LORD,
and your children shall come back to their own country (Jer 31:16–17).
Rachel truly loves the children: “I’m a strong tree with branches for many birds. I’m good for something in this world, and I know it too.” She provides for them, she teaches them, and she disciplines them. At night, she gathers the children around her and reads them the Bible. In one lovely scene, Rachel tells the story of Moses and how he was saved as a baby in the river. John immediately connects to this and his own rescue from the river and he wants to know more about this bad “king” who tried to kill baby Moses, obviously thinking about Harry as his own, personal Pharaoh. Rachel replies, “King? Oh, well, there’s only one king.”
The dragon eventually finds his way to the children. At first, Harry tries to lay the charm on Rachel, but she is not easily deceived. When he lies and tells her that the children are his, John tells her “he ain’t my daddy!” and Rachel replies “yeah, and he ain’t no preacher neither!” His deception thwarted, Harry loses his temper and threatens to return that night (Christmas Eve).
As evening approaches, Rachel loads her shotgun and gathers the children around her. She tells them the story of Herod and the baby boys and how Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escaped into Egypt. Outside the house, the killer lurks and sings his favorite hymn. Rachel begins singing with Harry. “See,” some critics might say, “this is revealing the close connection between true and false religion.”
No, it’s not. Rachel is taking the song back. She is singing the counter-melody. As Harry sings “leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms,” Rachel counters with “leaning on Jesus.” Harry, of course, doesn’t believe one word he’s singing—he’s a false preacher. But Rachel is the real deal—she believes every word she is singing, and because she truly is leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus, she no longer weeps for her children. The true King has come; she protects them from the beast, shotgun in hand.
The battle is over before it’s barely begun. Harry attacks and gets a face full of buckshot. He flees into hiding, screaming like an animal. Rachel calls the sheriff and says, “Get your troopers out here. I got something trapped in my barn.” Harry is arrested. Having discovered the body of the children’s mother, the townsfolk roll in, eager to lynch him. But Rachel shuffles the kids off, back to the warm protection of her home. It’s Christmas morning and there are gifts to open.
Early in the film, before the arrival of Harry, John passes a storefront and sees a watch. He’d love to have a watch (he has the money too, hidden in his sister’s doll), but he has made a promise to his dad, and so he moves on. Now, on a Christmas morning, Rachel hands him a gift: a brand new watch. Critics have noted the connection, but explain it as simply a happy ending. But it is more than that; God is the giver of good gifts – He cares for His children. Rachel didn’t know that John wanted a watch, but His heavenly Father did. Rachel references 1 John at various times, including in the final lines of the film: “Lord save little children. The wind blows, and the rains are cold. Yet they abide. And they endure.”
The little children have made it to the end. They abide and they endure. And on Christmas morning, they receive their reward.
Brian is the pastor at Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville, AL and he serves on the Board of the Theopolis Alumni Association. He and his lovely wife Denise have been blessed with six beautiful daughters who fill their home with boundless joy and entertainment. Brian has degrees in Theology and Electrical Engineering and spent 20 years in the Power Industry. The McLains love to sing, dance, read, cook and play games, and they cherish the opportunities they get to serve and host others in their home.