The first time I saw The Night of the Hunter (1955) I thought it was one of the greatest older thrillers I'd ever seen. All of the tension was there and the story was clever enough for me to consider it on the same level as Psycho.
However, upon watching it the second time I realized there was one big flaw with the movie, one I cannot and will not overlook. That problem is Shelley Winters. Now, I love Shelley in other movies and was saddened by her recent passing, but her character in this movie is so overacted that it makes it hard to enjoy the movie. She plays the new wife of the murderous pastor and not only turns a blind eye to absolutely anything wrong about him, but doesn't even care when it looks like her kids are in trouble... because she's in love. Whatever.
What could have been the most well-crafted thriller ever is lost on a character that steals each scene she appears in, and doesn't give it back to you so you can enjoy the film. (6.7/10)
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