The Night of the Hunter (1955) at the Great Movies Library Series

Thanks to all who came out to our Great Movies event at the Severna Park Library last night as we watched and discussed Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter. Nearly half the audience had seen the film before, so when they noticed that I’d had a co-worker write LOVE and HATE on my fingers with a Sharpie, they understood the reference.

Without giving away too much, we talked about how the film came into production, which includes the story of Charles Laughton on a nationwide tour of Bible readings, the casting of Mitchum, how the film played to audiences and critics (hint: it bombed), how it has been reexamined and lauded in recent years, and much more.

Again, my favorite part of these events is in talking with the audience after the film. They often bring up so many great ideas and concepts I’d never even thought of. (You’ll have to attend one of our events to see what I’m talking about.) It’s always great to have my friend Audy from Cinema Samurai in attendance. I also announced that Jenna, one of our former (and seasonal) library pages will be studying film and media in the UK this summer at the University of Birmingham. What an honor!

We’ll have an Epic Saturday movie coming up on May 19 at 12:30pm when we’ll show the American classic The Right Stuff (1983). And you can find out more about our next Great Movies feature for June here.

Once again, if your local public library isn’t showing films for the public, ask them if they would consider doing so. Spread the movie love!

Photos: Senses of Cinema, Dan Burkarth