28463

Night of the Hunter (United Artists, 1955). Insert (14" Night of the Hunter (United Artists, 1955).

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 700.00 USD
Night of the Hunter (United Artists, 1955). Insert (14  Night of the Hunter (United Artists, 1955).
<B>Night of the Hunter (United Artists, 1955).</B></I> Insert (14" X 36"). When one considers the relative inexperience of those involved in this production, the film's masterful employment of mood and pacing becomes all the more remarkable. A young Shelley Winters had not yet acquired her famous heft, screenwriter James Agee had gained fame as a film critic with only two credits to his name and Charles Laughton, while renowned as an actor, had never before directed a film. Disappointed by the poor critical and commercial reception of this film, Laughton vowed never to do so again, and he never did. His tight and assured direction, in fact, belies the headaches of production. In his biography, Robert Mitchum wrote that Laughton disliked most of Agee's script, so after Agee received his money, he did an uncredited rewrite on almost the entire thing. Laughton also hated working with children -- which makes the film's overt theme of celebrating childhood innocence an odd choice -- so he had Mitchum direct many of the child actors' scenes. This insert stands as a testament to all of that hard work. The borders are clean and edges sharp; the only flaws are a few dirt smudges and a bleed through from a theater's rubber stamp on back. Very Fine+.