Night of the Hunter Questions

1) In what way do the shadows and silhouettes of the Film Noir style affect the story of The Night of the Hunter?

• The style of the film makes the film a bit darker in a sense… if it were shot in full color, the audience may not know where the main point of the scene is. The Film Noir style highlights certain aspects of the scene and draws attention to them. Also, without all of the shadows and dark scenes, it would look less like a horror movie and more like a family thriller. Also, the dark nature directs viewers to think of the film as a darker story (it highlights the darker aspects of the story, such as Harry Powell killing Willa Harper).

2) What role does music play in the movie?

• The music acts in unison with the “film noir” style, in highlighting the feeling and focus of the different scenes. Without the music, the viewer would have less of a cue to feel a certain emotion or feel for a certain character.

3) A variety of animals were shown in the river scene where John and Pearl are fleeing from the Preacher, Harry. What do you think those animals symbolized?

• The animals added to the serene, yet chilling scene and took the feeling of comfort yet uncomfort home. They also may have symbolized the children’s past of being innocent, sleeping in their beds that were given to them by their loving parents, telling ghost stories, safe from the horrid outside world.

4) Name 2 ways in which the juxtaposition between Good and Evil were represented.

• One way would be the entirety of Harry Powell’s pursuit of the children… Powell was portrayed as this sickening monster reaching out for the children amid the sticky swamp, and the children were portrayed as innocent and frightened. Another way would be whenever Powell sat Pearl on his lap… she is dressed in light, frilly dresses and Powell is highlighted in black. You can tell that Pearl stands out, and that she is good and isn’t meant to be in such a dark place.

5) Select 3 words to describe each of the following characters

• Harry Powell (“Preacher”): criminal, deceiving, greedy
• Ben Harper (Dad): means well, desperate, loving
• Willa Harper (Mom): gullible, thick-headed, agreeable
• John Harper (Little Boy): protective, untrusting, disobedient
• Pearl Harper (Little Girl): naive, innocent, trusting
• Uncle Birdy (Dockmaster): drunk, wistful, lazy
• Rachel Cooper (Rescuer): kind, strict, caring

6) Using the list above, place the characters in order, according to who you believe had the strongest moral character (1 being the highest).

1. Rachel Cooper (Helped the kids get away from Powell, raised them in comfort)
2. John Harper (Stays quiet for the good reasons, a righteous person at heart, too young to form own morals)
3. Willa Harper (Adopts Christian morals instead of her own, goes along with what everyone says, a bit dull)
4. Pearl Harper (Doesn’t stay quiet for the greater good, but too young to form own morals)
5. Ben Harper (Stole money for the greater good, but still selfish)
6. Uncle Birdy (Too drunk to have a stable moral compass, but wouldn’t do anything too outlandish)
7. Harry Powell (Off the charts. Selfish, chases miles after children to secure money and won’t let up. Shown to be a pedophile)

7) What do you think motivates the Preacher, Harry Powell?

• The money motivates Harry Powell to track down the children, as they are naive, frail, and can easily be hurt/killed to obtain the money. He also may have thought that it was a sign from God, because it could seem like a setup that his roommate on death row had a family with hidden money. He says that he wants to use the money to build a church, but he could have other motives given his un-Christian like actions...

8) Which character did you like the most…why?

• The character I liked the most would be Rachel Cooper. She was a daredevil who dedicated the latter half of her life to raising orphaned children in a friendly, healthy environment. She didn’t trust Harry Powell when he came to pick the kids up, and she stayed up all night with her shotgun in case Powell dared to trek near. She also defended the kids in court, and helped them escape from the mobs. She is truly the most righteous character and my favorite.

9) Which character did you like the least…why?

• This has to be a tie between Willa and Pearl Harper. It’s not either of their faults, but they both fell for Harry Cooper’s tricks even though it was painfully obvious that he was marrying Willa for the money. Pearl has an excuse, as she is too young and naive to realize that Harry Cooper was tricking them (even so, her acts of loyalty to Cooper after he tricked her many times before were quite annoying), but Willa is a grown woman. She may be a bit dull and gullible (she doesn’t say much in the movie, she just goes along with whatever the Spoons say), so she has an excuse there, but I hate people who don’t form their own opinions, especially when it comes to religion. Even if one’s dull, one must not let a book written 2000 years ago define their whole life. She married Cooper because she fell for his tricks, and she was easily convinced by the Spoons that a woman cannot raise a family alone and that she must find a man to support her family soon. Actually, I may just hate the Spoons more than these two because I hate people who are like the Spoons (especially the wife), preaching like they know everything. This was in the 50’s, but their views are still misogynistic. Anyway, it was easy to tell that Cooper was a horrible, lying snake and it angered me that all of the aforementioned people put their full trust in Cooper merely because he was the one to swoop in at the right time. That’s for another story, but why wasn’t anyone suspicious that he came in right after Ben Harper got taken away?

10) Would you recommend this movie to a friend…why?

• Right after watching this movie, I didn’t really see why people liked it. But thinking back, I can sort of tell why it’s revered. I’m not sure if my friends would like this movie (because like me and many others of this generation, they have modern tastes and short attention spans), but I could see myself watching this with friends if they were film buffs. If my friends and I can watch A Clockwork Orange, we could probably stand this tamer movie. So, to directly answer that question, it depends on which friend.

2/5