Charles Laughton Directs

The Night Of The Hunter is the only classic motion picture for which the original rushes, trims and outtakes survive. All of this material was left on the cutting room floor by director Charles Laughton and film editor Robert Golden almost half a century ago and has not been seen since. While there are no "missing" scenes here, these rushes provide the viewer with a unique understanding of how neophyte director Laughton coached and interacted with his performers, helping them develop their characters onscreen. Because Charles Laughton liked to keep the camera running between takes, we hear his offscreen voice directing and motivating the performances of Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce and the other actors. The outtakes to be screened have been carefully selected from more than eight hours of surviving material, and represent an alternative view of all of the film's most memorable sequences.

Selezione, montaggio e commento: Robert Gitt.
Italian distribution: UCLA Film and Television Archive, 302 East Melnitz, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1323, USA, tel. +1-310-2068013, fax +1-310-2063129, e-mail rgitt@ucla.edu.