One line summary
A plucky little boy protects his sister, and late fathers dirty money from a murderous, deceptive preacher.
Concise Plot breakdown
1- Serial killer Reverend Harry Powell flees from the scene of his latest murder. His purpose is to rid the world of sinful women, and to use their money to further his cause.
2- Father of two, Ben Harper, robs a bank. He hides the money in his daughter- Pearl’s – doll, swearing her and her older brother – John – to secrecy.
3- Powell and Harper share a cell in prison, where Harper hints that his children know the location of the money. Once Powell is released, and Harper executed, he marries Mrs Harper and establishes himself as the new man of the house.
4- Powell earns the trust of townfolk and Pearl, but not that of John. John constantly reminds Pearl not to reveal their late father’s secret.
5- When Mrs Harper discovers Powell is searching for the money, she still believes he has only married her to show her God’s light. Powell murders her and dumps her body in the river, claiming she left him for a life of sin.
6- With this story Powell maintains the sympathy of the locals. Willa’s drowned body is seen by Birdie Steptoe. Steptoe keeps this discovery secret out of fear he will be blamed.
7- Alone with the children, Powell threatens them. They escape with the doll in a small boat, and seek the protection of Rachel Cooper, a woman who takes in destitute children
8-Powell tracks them down but Rachel runs him off her land. He returns after dark, but Rachel shoots and wounds him. Police arrive and arrest Powell. John becomes distressed at the paralells between this arrest and his father’s.
9- John runs to Powell and beats the doll against him. The money spills out and John insists he can have it if he wants it.
10- Powell is convicted. The Townfolk form a lynch mob, Powell is escorted from the courthouse towards his apparent execution. John and Pearl have their first Christmas with their new family.
The first character to be established in The 1955 thriller Night of the Hunter is Rachel Cooper,
a kind woman who takes in homeless or troubled children. This appearance correlates with the
outcome of the film, as it begins and ends with a monologue by Rachel, both heavy with
religious connotations.
With Rachels warnings of wolves in sheeps clothing still playing in the voice-over, we are
introduced to Reverend Harry Powell. He immediately establishes himself as the villain of the
story with his speech about how many widows he has killed. He goes on to say to the
omniscient deity that he is tired not of killings but “tired… of perfume smelling things, lacy
things, things with curly hair.” This statement declares his motive, and establishes his hatred of
women. During this monologue in the car, he passes a graveyard, subtly reinforcing the viewers
suspicions of his ill intentions. His tattoos across both hands symbolize the stark contrast
between his love and devotion for the lord, and his hatred of all that is sexual and feminine.
Powell is promptly arrested at what appears to be a burlesque show, with leads us to believe
that there could be a sexual element to his sadisdic take on religion. Once arrested, we leave
him in the courtroom being sentenced for car theft, and meet our protagonists, John and Pearl,
playing with Pearls doll in their front garden. This establishes the status quo of the film as a
family unit in a small town.
This is communicated through the birdsong audible throughout the scene, and the extensive
greenery around their home. We understand they are a happy family at the children’s excited
response on seeing their father’s car approaching.
When it comes to backstory, we don’t see that of our protagonists but that of our villain, with
the discovery of Powell’s last victim before he comes to the Harper household.
Meanwhile our inciting incident is occuring with the arrival of Ben Harper and a wad of stolen
money. We later learn that he had stolen this money because he “Got tired of seeing children
without food”. In depression hit West Virginia this wouldn’t be an uncommon sight as poverty
was rife. In this twenty year lull between world wars, the American working classes suffered
financially. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the
final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not
clothed.”
It could therefore be said that Ben Harper robbed a bank to feed starving children because
he himself felt robbed, robbed of the American dream promised for his family and others.
This can be linked to Arthur Millers “Death of a Salesman” when Willy’s death leaves his son
Biff to use his late fathers money to improve the life of their family. But in both Death of a
Salesman, and Night of the Hunter, bot sons end up happier without their fathers money, giving
both mens sacrifices an ironic undertone, as they died to provide financial security, and only
made things worse for their family.
The doll itself contains strong symbolism, the purity of childhood innocence contaminated
with the adults crimes, murders, and greed.
With Ben Harper arrested, we are lead to the central dramatic question of the story: Will Harry
Powell ever be exposed for the murderer that he is?
Throughout most of the film John’s aims stay the same; to protect the money from Powell, but
in the climax of the film, John has a moment of anagnorisis where he realises he would rather
have a happy life without the money than live in constant fear in possesion of it.
The proggresive complications throughout the story are what leads our protagonist to this
moment of clarity. Starting with the execution of his father, and then the murder of his mother.
Willas speed to re- marry is a comment on the societal expectations imposed on women of
the time, which we see in dialogue with Icey Spoon at the picnic. This can be linked with the
film “A streetcar named desire”, both films presenting a sharp critique of the way insitutions
and attitudes of post war America placed restrictions on womans lives.
Pearls trust of Powell and the townflolks scinicism at the unhappines John displays, as well
as the threat to their lives, leads them to have to run away. They have no one on their side and
evil hot on their heels.
This groundbreaking take on hunted children was clearly influential on the finale of To Kill a
Mockingbird, as Bob Ewell stalks Jem and Scout Finch through the woods, written seven
years after the book “The Night of the Hunter”, and five years after the film.
A conflicted character throughout the film is Pearl. At her young age she appears unnable to
pick between trusting her brother, John, or Powell. Another figure who struggles with right and
wrong is Birdie steptoe, who John refers to as “Uncle”. When the local drunkard spots Willas
corpse at the bottom of the lake, he is so conflicted between telling authorities at risk of getting
arrested, and keeping quiet, that he drinks himself into a stupor. This image of Birdie Steptoe
passed out in his home is a strong symbol of just how alone these two children are, no adults
in their town are willing- or able- to help them.
The Biblical theme throughout the film set up a basic battle of good and evil. Atheists may
point to Powell’s twisted Bible thumping as the reason they dislike religion. Believers may
praise Rachel Coopers character, who relies heavily on her faith to fight the monster that is
Powell. although, if looked at objectively, The Night of the Hunter is less a condemnation of
religion as it is a condemnation of religious extremism, which applies to everything from the
bloody Christian Crusades to modern terrorism.
We also address the theme of “coming of age.” A common theme in film. A similar example of
a protagonist withgoing this experience would be the character of Tom Sawyer, Fleeing
adulthood with his childlike pranks, and another of Twains creations, Huckleberry Finn, escaping his life on his raft, just as John and Pearl fled from Harry Powell in their boat.
Another significant theme is that of truth and deceit. The irony of the townsfolk and Willa
trusting Harry Powell over John just because he is a “Man of God” risked being a controversial
societal comment of the time, but the film was a success regardless.
The end of act one can be identified as Wila’s murder, as this is the turning point of the
childrens lives, and act two is the escape by boat of the two children.
The crisis faced by John and Pearl in the final act is the threat of Reverend Powell destroying
their new life with Rachel Cooper, and John’s realisation that they will never be able to escape
him whilst they still have the money.
Harry Powells song “Leaning” contains notes of irony when he claims the children would be
“safe and secure.” But when Rachel Cooper joins the song in a chorus with the words “Lean
on Jesus” she defies Harry Powell by letting him know that her faith will protect her and the
children.
The final act climax occurs when John throws himself onto the handcuffed preacher and
attempts to give him the money, as this shows that John has finally broken under the pressure
of keeping his vow to his father.
The storys resolution has a fairytale like feel, with the villain being beaten, and the
protagonists living “Happily ever after” with their new family.
The film seems to be trying to tell us that what at first appears to be good, may be deceitful,
and the power of unity in surviving the hardest of times. Pearls faith in John towards the end of
the film is a prerequistit for the outcome of the story.
“Endings are vital as they determine the audiences final feelings on what they have seen.”
Without the scene in the third act, in which John throws himself onto Powell with the words
“Here, here, take it back, I don’t want it, its too much.”, the thesis of the film would not be
what it is. The films thesis is “Money can’t buy happiness”, This moral does not fully form until
the ending, with the Christmas scene. John presenting Rachel Cooper with an apple wrapped
in a lace doily strenghtens the thesis’ importance throughout the film.
Bibliography
Websites
Books
DOASM
TOM SAWYER
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Films
STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE