First of all, the story takes place during the Great Depression, which is an important factor since John and Pearl Harper’s father robs a bank because he is fed up with all the starving children of the world. John and Pearl (the main characters) are eventually orphaned when their father is hanged for his crime and their mother marries a murderous, phony priest, named Harry Powell, who is searching for their father's stolen money. While on the run from Harry, John and Pearl come across Ms. Cooper who takes them in as her own children.
Much of the story is told through symbolic lighting techniques, such as silhouettes and various angles of lighting. Many powerful tools of design and composition give The Night of the Hunter a unique and memorable mise-en-scène, but, above all, lighting catches the viewers’ attention and conveys certain emotions and associations for certain characters such as the antagonist Mr. Powell.
Much of the story is told through symbolic lighting techniques, such as silhouettes and various angles of lighting. Many powerful tools of design and composition give The Night of the Hunter a unique and memorable mise-en-scène, but, above all, lighting catches the viewers’ attention and conveys certain emotions and associations for certain characters such as the antagonist Mr. Powell.
For instance, silhouettes are commonly used to convey moments of fear to the movie’s viewers. Silhouettes are incorporated several times during the nightlong chase scene, in which Harry Powell relentlessly pursues the children down the bank of the river, and again when he shows up on horseback outside the barn where John and Pearl are hiding. By reducing facial expressions or any other human characteristics of Harry Powell to a blackened figure, Mr. Powell takes on the appearance of a sinister monster climbing over the hill, with no seeable emotions or sympathy. Contrastingly, a silhouette of Ms. Cooper shows the fear that Harry Powell has for her, and empowers Ms. Cooper; by lighting Ms. Cooper in the same way that the preacher has been lit, the viewer can compare the strength that the preacher has over the the children, to the strength Ms. Cooper has over the preacher.
Similarly, lighting, or lack there of, commonly conveys the danger and mysteriousness of Harry Powell; by lighting Harry harshly from above, his face usually has distinct shadows and gives the viewer a sense that something is mysterious and deceiving about Mr. Powell and that something might be missing from his humanity. In the scene where Mr. Powell explains his tattoos of “LOVE” and “HATE” to Pearl and John and their mother and grandparents, the phony preacher is lit from the right so that only half of his face is illuminated and the other half is consumed in shadows. This scene summarizes the plot of the movie in a somewhat Shakespearian way (in the sense that the end of the movie is summarized by one of the characters early on). Like the Ghost foretelling the end of Hamlet, Mr. Powell tells the story of good (Ms. Cooper and the children) versus evil (Harry Powell), and that love and hate wrestle with one another, but, inevitably, love conquers hate.
Unlike Harry Powell, Ms. Cooper is usually lit with softer light, which illuminates her whole face and sometimes gives the appearance of a halo over her head. The somewhat obvious effect of this type of lighting gives Ms. Cooper a holy, honest look and association. By lighting her whole face, the viewer gets the feeling that she has nothing to hide, unlike the preacher, and the halo lighting makes the audience feel that she can be trusted.
Lighting and use of shadows in The Night of the Hunter are outstanding and essential to the storytelling and symbolism of the story, and make it one of my personal favorites. The beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness of the lighting in The Night of the Hunter are excellent examples for future filmmaking and lighting techniques and make this movie into a classic suspense film.
Lighting and use of shadows in The Night of the Hunter are outstanding and essential to the storytelling and symbolism of the story, and make it one of my personal favorites. The beauty, simplicity, and effectiveness of the lighting in The Night of the Hunter are excellent examples for future filmmaking and lighting techniques and make this movie into a classic suspense film.
Works Cited
Barsam, Richard. Looking At Movies: Fourth Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2013
Dayoub, Tony. "Cinema Viewfinder: Blu-ray Review: Charles Laughton X Two - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and The Night of the Hunter (1955)." Cinema Viewfinder: Blu-ray Review: Charles Laughton X Two - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Blogger.com, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/11/blu-ray-review-charles-laughton-x-two.html>.
Dumas, Andre. "The Horror Digest: The Night of the Hunter: Bob Mitchum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Stalker." The Horror Digest: The Night of the Hunter: Bob Mitchum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Stalker. Blogger.com, 12 Apr. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://horrordigest.blogspot.com/2010/04/night-of-hunter-bob-mitchum-your.html>.
"The Film Emporium." : Classic Throwback: Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955). N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2012/03/classic-throwback-night-of-hunter.html>.
Koresky, Michael. "The Criterion Collection." RSS. The Criterion Collection, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1997-out-of-time-lillian-gish-in-the-night-of-the-hunter>.
"La Otra." : Junio 2010. Blogger.com, 30 June 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://tallerlaotra.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html>.
McDonald, Craig. "REMEMBERING DAVIS GRUBB & THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER." : REMEMBERING DAVIS GRUBB & THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Blogger.com, 6 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://craigmcdonaldbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/remembering-davis-grubb-night-of-hunter.html>.
Night of the Hunter. Dir. Charles Laughton. 1955. MGM. DVD.
"The Night of the Hunter." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048424/>.
"Perfect Shots." CHUD.com Community. Huddler Tech, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chud.com/community/t/142987/perfect-shots>.
S.C., Jeff. "Jeff S.C. Presents:: My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part I (#50-41)." Jeff S.C. Presents:: My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part I (#50-41). Blogger.com, 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://jeffscpresents.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-top-50-favorite-movies-part-i-50-41.html>.
"Wonders in the Dark." Wonders in the Dark. WordPress.com, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/21-the-night-of-the-hunter/>.
Wuest, Bryan. "Watching the River: Mise En Scène and Safe Space in The Night of the Hunter." Mediascape. UCLA of Cinema and Media Studies, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Winter2012_WatchingTheRiver.html>.
Dayoub, Tony. "Cinema Viewfinder: Blu-ray Review: Charles Laughton X Two - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and The Night of the Hunter (1955)." Cinema Viewfinder: Blu-ray Review: Charles Laughton X Two - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Blogger.com, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/11/blu-ray-review-charles-laughton-x-two.html>.
Dumas, Andre. "The Horror Digest: The Night of the Hunter: Bob Mitchum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Stalker." The Horror Digest: The Night of the Hunter: Bob Mitchum, Your Friendly Neighborhood Stalker. Blogger.com, 12 Apr. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://horrordigest.blogspot.com/2010/04/night-of-hunter-bob-mitchum-your.html>.
"The Film Emporium." : Classic Throwback: Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955). N.p., 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.com/2012/03/classic-throwback-night-of-hunter.html>.
Koresky, Michael. "The Criterion Collection." RSS. The Criterion Collection, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1997-out-of-time-lillian-gish-in-the-night-of-the-hunter>.
"La Otra." : Junio 2010. Blogger.com, 30 June 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://tallerlaotra.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html>.
McDonald, Craig. "REMEMBERING DAVIS GRUBB & THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER." : REMEMBERING DAVIS GRUBB & THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Blogger.com, 6 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://craigmcdonaldbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/remembering-davis-grubb-night-of-hunter.html>.
Night of the Hunter. Dir. Charles Laughton. 1955. MGM. DVD.
"The Night of the Hunter." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048424/>.
"Perfect Shots." CHUD.com Community. Huddler Tech, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.chud.com/community/t/142987/perfect-shots>.
S.C., Jeff. "Jeff S.C. Presents:: My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part I (#50-41)." Jeff S.C. Presents:: My Top 50 Favorite Movies: Part I (#50-41). Blogger.com, 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://jeffscpresents.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-top-50-favorite-movies-part-i-50-41.html>.
"Wonders in the Dark." Wonders in the Dark. WordPress.com, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/21-the-night-of-the-hunter/>.
Wuest, Bryan. "Watching the River: Mise En Scène and Safe Space in The Night of the Hunter." Mediascape. UCLA of Cinema and Media Studies, n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. <http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Winter2012_WatchingTheRiver.html>.