#29: THE SHINING (1980)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, several times, although I don't think I've rewatched it recently. Probably not within the last ten years

BEST SEQUENCE

There are so many good options to choose from, especially the scenes that introduced unforgettable images, like Danny and the Grady sisters in the hallway or the blood pouring out of the elevator. I'm going to go with Jack's investigation of Room 237 after Danny is attacked, though. It's maybe the scariest part of the movie for me, and I like the juxtaposition of titillation and horror. The shot of Shelley Duvall screaming as Jack hacks through the bathroom door is also incredibly effective

BEST LINE

Again, lots of good options, but I can't deny "Heeere's Johnny!" Honourable mentions to "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" and the way Jack says "Wendy, darling, light of my life"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

84%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Though it deviates from Stephen King's novel, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness -- exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. At the same time, his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future."

DIRECTOR

Stanley Kubrick

MAIN CAST

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers

THOUGHTS

• I've mentioned before that Stephen King is my favourite author, and The Shining is one of his best books, so let's discuss this right off the bat: King doesn't like this movie, or, at least, he doesn't think it's a good adaptation of his novel. And honestly, I completely understand his point of view. The book is about a decent man, a loving father and husband, who is fighting his own alcoholism and violent impulses and who is basically possessed by the hotel and made to lose that battle. This is perhaps also due to the length of the book compared to the length of a movie, but Jack's descent into madness is much more gradual in the book, and the movie loses some of that suspense and nuance. Crucially, in the book we also get several early scenes of Jack enjoying his time at the Overlook, and the quality time he spends with Danny and Wendy
• That last point, in particular, we really don't get in the movie. Jack Nicholson's movie Jack is a pretty unstable asshole right from the beginning, and there aren't any scenes that I can think of of him being a loving father and husband. Despite all the supernatural happenings in the movie, it comes across less as a story of a man being possessed by a haunted hotel, and more a tale of an already dangerous man hitting his breaking point thanks to cabin fever
• That's enough comparing between book and movie, though, because even though I think the book is excellent and terrifying, the movie is too, in slightly different ways, and it contains scenes and moments and images that I will simply never forget
• It's a total cliche to say that a movie's setting is its own character, but I think this is the best example of that. This movie simply wouldn't be this movie if the Overlook Hotel wasn't so singularly memorable, and crucial to the movie's effectiveness. The massive, imposing exterior, the long, slightly cramped hallways that Danny trikes through, the huge, empty lounge where Jack writes, they're all integral to the movie's impact
• Nicholson doesn't hold back, he chews up the scenery with gusto, but he's pretty convincing and terrifying. Danny Lloyd, as Danny, is also quite good for a child actor. Supposedly Kubrick managed to hide the really scary stuff from Lloyd, who didn't even know he was in a horror movie
• Now, I had always heard that Kubrick was awful to Shelley Duvall while making The Shining. And this is not meant to question anyone's personal experiences, but this may have been less verifiably true than I thought, with even Duvall having varying emotions about her time working with Kubrick. It does seem like it was an exhausting, emotionally draining experience, though, and that definitely comes across in multiple scenes, including the aforementioned sequence of Jack chopping through the bathroom door, or of him pursuing her up the flight of stairs
• Finally, I said something similar five summers ago when I reviewed The Thing (and holy shit, that was five summers ago?!): if you, like me, are experiencing a heatwave currently, The Shining is a pretty damn cold movie. Just imagine that you're Jack, limping through the snowy hedge maze, eventually freezing to death, as a surefire way to beat those summertime blues

Up next: Stephen King adaptations have appeared multiple times on both the official AFI list and the Readers' Choice list, but The Shining is his last appearance. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye yet, though, so we'll have one last Stephen King movie, and it's one of my favourites. From 1990, it's Misery (and it's also a pretty cold movie, come to think of it)

#30: THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, about 20 years ago

BEST SEQUENCE

All the Russian roulette scenes are harrowing and tense and darkly suspenseful, and you could pick any one of those. However, in terms of most memorable sequence, I have a soft spot for the scene of the guys all hanging out in a bar, playing pool and belting out "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli

BEST LINE

"If anything happens, Mike, don't leave, don't leave me over there."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

86%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Its greatness is blunted by its length and one-sided point of view, but the film's weaknesses are overpowered by Michael Cimino's sympathetic direction and a series of heartbreaking performances from Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"The lives of a group of friends are forever changed by the Vietnam War."

DIRECTOR

Michael Cimino

MAIN CAST

Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep

THOUGHTS

• I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's not a very cheerful exercise to decide how thrilling a dark and sombre war movie is. War is Hell, and war movies aren't really in the same category as most of the films I've reviewed. Assigning an arbitrary Thrill Score is extra hard for a movie like The Deer Hunter, which is 3 hours and 3 minutes long, and, shall we say, somewhat leisurely paced at times. A huge chunk of the movie's first hour takes place at a Russian wedding, and a thrilling wedding it is not. There are some who say that this attention to detail is crucial to show what the characters' normal lives are like, and to let us get to know these men before they go off to war, and I can see the logic behind that argument. It could also be said that the scenes of normalcy make the horrifying violence all the more startling, and I can understand that argument too. However, the movie certainly takes its time for long stretches, and I'm not sure I'm personally convinced that it's necessary to this extent
• That said, a 5/10 Thrill Score might seem generous, but I'm following my Ben-Hur philosophy. The movie as a whole isn't all that thrilling, but the heart-pounding sequences really do stick in your mind. That brings us to this movie's use of Russian roulette, a terrifying concept that has claimed many lives. I don't want to describe it in detail, but if you're unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia article. There aren't many movies with scenes tenser than the Russian roulette sequences in The Deer Hunter, they really do rip your guts out. However, The Deer Hunter was fairly controversial when it came out due to its negative depiction of Vietnamese people. This is compounded by the fact that there's no evidence whatsoever that any Russian roulette occurred during the Vietnam War, making this an effective central metaphor for the movie, but one that was pretty much invented by Cimino
• De Niro is very good as the stoic Mike, but it's Christopher Walken who really leaves an impression. For people my age, it may even be hard to think of Walken as a serious dramatic actor, given his warm, relaxed public persona and the fact that he hasn't been known for any really serious roles for a very long time. He won the Best Supporting Oscar for The Deer Hunter, though, and it's well deserved, especially for the way his cheerful and carefree early-movie character contrasts with the haunted (and haunting) late-movie scenes
• Aside from Walken's Oscar, The Deer Hunter won four more, including Best Picture and Best Director
• This was John Cazale's last movie, and he died before it was released. We've talked about Cazale before (Dog Day Afternoon) and we'll talk about him again (The Godfather). Cazale was only in five movies total, but every one of those movies was nominated for Best Picture, and three of them won. Meryl Streep has a relatively small role in The Deer Hunter, and it's said that she accepted the part mostly to be close to Cazale, her romantic partner until he died
• Lastly, not to be too glib about a very serious subject, but please enjoy Bob & Doug McKenzie playing The Beerhunter

Up next: We'll hear from two guys we haven't seen in a little while. It's Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, based on the book by Stephen King (and we'll talk about it more, but believe it or not, King wasn't a fan of the movie)

BONUS REVIEW: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, a few times

BEST SEQUENCE

I'll talk about a couple of other scenes in the "Best Kill" category later, but for "Best Sequence" I'll go with the iconic bathtub scene. The shot of Freddy's glove rising out of the water is unforgettable

BEST LINE

"Whatever you do, don't fall asleep"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

94%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Wes Craven's intelligent premise, combined with the horrifying visual appearance of Freddy Krueger, still causes nightmares to this day."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life."

DIRECTOR

Wes Craven

MAIN CAST

Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, Ronee Blakley, John Saxon, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri

THOUGHTS

• As some of you may recall, for the past few years now, I've been reviewing the Friday the 13th franchise every time a Friday the 13th rolled around. In my last Friday the 13th review I decided, this is all well and good, but we're missing out on some other famous slasher franchises, namely Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I would consider these three properties to be the Slasher Trifecta. And now, here we are! From this point forward, with every Friday the 12th, I'll review another Elm Street movie (and Halloween movies on every Friday the 14th)
• Given the nature of this, comparisons may be hard to avoid, but I'll try to focus on each franchise as its own thing. I will just say, though, Halloween and Friday the 13th both started out fairly grounded, adding more supernatural touches as time went by (especially Friday the 13th, which basically turns Jason into a magical zombie), but Nightmare was supernatural right from the jump, and it's this flavour of scares that really sets it apart from the others
• Director Wes Craven really let his imagination run wild with Freddy Krueger, a killer who can attack you in your dreams, and Craven's creativity and inventiveness are a lot of fun in this movie, even aside from how effectively he uses the lack of real-world constraints to scare us. Moments like Nancy's phone turning into Freddy's mouth and tongue, or his arms crazily stretching out while stalking Tina, or the aforementioned shot of Freddy's glove reaching out of Nancy's bathtub, all of these moments are not just scary and shocking, but also incredibly memorable
• Speaking of Freddy's glove, certainly not the most practical movie weapon, but maybe the most iconic?
• Which brings us to Best Kill: Johnny Depp getting dragged into his own bed, and a geyser of blood flooding his ceiling
• Second-Best Kill: Tina getting thrown around the room and dragged across the ceiling
• There are some fairly melodramatic performances in this movie, especially from Ronee Blakley as Nancy's mom, and while there's a kind of fun scrappiness to Heather Langenkamp's performance as Nancy, she's not great. In fact, I think Baby Johnny Depp probably gives the best performance. He was 21 or so, and this was his first on-screen performance ever
• I did like Langenkamp setting a bunch of traps for Freddy, a sequence that gave very strong Home Alone vibes
• Especially in comparison to other slasher villains, Freddy would come to be known as the one with a strong personality and morbid sense of humour, but we actually don't get a whole lot of that in this first movie. Which is probably just as well as a starting point, since we need to be scared of him first
• Finally, even without factoring in Freddy as the killer, I find the whole premise of this movie incredibly effective - the idea that you can't let yourself fall asleep, or you'll get killed. When you really stop to think about it, the whole idea of sleeping is really kind of strange, and the fact that the human body requires it, and you can't delay it forever, adds a lot of tension to Nightmare. Eventually Freddy will get his chance to get you, and hey, if you don't sleep, you're going to end up dead anyway. You only have so long before your body forces you into a dangerous situation
• And that's our first Nightmare! We'll be seeing Freddy again in 2027, on Friday, February 12th

#31: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, probably in high school

BEST SEQUENCE

The abduction of Barry, the little boy

BEST LINE

I'd have to sing it for you, but if you know solfège, it's "Re - Mi - Do - Do (down an octave) - Sol"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

91%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind is deeply humane sci-fi exploring male obsession, cosmic mysticism, and music."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"An Indiana electric lineman finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches."

DIRECTOR

Steven Spielberg

MAIN CAST

Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, Teri Garr, Cary Guffey

THOUGHTS

• Movie thrills can come in various forms. Sometimes we're reacting to terrifying monsters or sadistic killers, sometimes to frantic shootouts or death-defying stunts. Other times, however, thrills can come from pure spectacle and movie magic, when our jaws drop in wonder and amazement. That's largely the case here. Referring especially to the last half hour of the movie, the meeting between humans and aliens, it's simply wondrous. It's not action packed, it's not even really scary, just eerie at most. And yet, I was enthralled and, yes, thrilled. In fact, while typing that out, I just convinced myself to bump the Thrill Score up by a half point
• I've reviewed other movies that maybe could have benefited from the same argument, movies like The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even Spielberg's E.T. (which absolutely shares a lot of the same DNA as Close Encounters), but there's just something really special about what Spielberg does here. He doesn't rush, he takes his time with showing us this colossal mothership, and we end up feeling just like the characters in the movie must have felt. When I reviewed 2001 I saw it in the theatre shortly after, and I'm definitely going to keep my eyes open for a big screen showing of Close Encounters as well
• This also contains some of the best uses of light and darkness I've ever seen in a movie, from the very effective shots of whole city blocks going dark (something that's easy for us to imagine, but no less effective to see), to the vibrant and otherworldly beams of light that come from the UFOs. In fact, my pick for the best sequence, Barry's abduction, is the only really scary part of the movie, and it's pretty terrifying. It's entirely done with light, though. We never even get a glimpse of the aliens themselves until very close to the end
• You do kind of need to buy into the visual appearance of the aliens a little bit, especially the short ones wandering around (who were just a bunch of tweenaged girls in costumes), but this didn't bother me so much because Spielberg had already pulled me in by that point so it was easy to suspend my disbelief
• Even though I'm largely focusing on the special effects, the actors are all very good and convincing at making us believe they're seeing what we're seeing, a skill that's much more necessary these days in the age of CGI than it was back in 1977. It's also interesting to note that Close Encounters was Spielberg's direct follow-up to Jaws, a much less fantastical movie
• As always, John Williams' music played a big part in making this movie work so well, and once you've heard it you'll never be able to forget the famous 5-note sequence. Another favourite scene was the one in the Indian village, with massive crowds of people joyfully singing the melody
• Finally, I want to shout out Devils Tower, which looks so bizarre that you might think it was just another special effect Spielberg invented, but which is in fact a very real monolith in Wyoming. It's such a cool setting, and I loved the scenes of Roy constructing his replica, especially when the same landform is shown on the TV right beside his model

Up next: The Deer Hunter, 1978's Best Picture winner

#32: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

Both sequences at the carnival, but especially the earlier one, watching Bruno stalk his prey and pounce

BEST LINE

"Each fellow does the other fellow's murder. Then there's nothing to connect them. Each one has murdered a total stranger. Like you do my murder, I do yours."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"A provocative premise and inventive set design lights the way for Hitchcock's diabolically entertaining masterpiece."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A psychopath tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person."

DIRECTOR

Alfred Hitchcock

MAIN CAST

Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter), Kasey Rogers

THOUGHTS

• I thought this movie was fantastic. Terrifically thrilling, and entertaining all the way through, it's my favourite Hitchcock movie that I've reviewed so far, by a long shot. Despite this, I debated giving it a 9.5/10. I figured, I still have a lot of Hitchcock movies left to go, so I wanted to leave some room just in case there ends up being a movie I like better. But then I thought, to what end? Strangers on a Train is a perfect thriller with a brilliant premise and great performances. Even if there does end up being a Hitchcock film I like better, it wouldn't take away from how much I enjoyed this one, so I'm happy to give it the 10/10 I think it deserves
• Remember, I've reviewed three Hitchcock movies so far (Notorious, Dial M for Murder and Rebecca), and Dial M for Murder was my favourite before this one, at 7.5/10. There are still five more to go, and three of them are in the top ten. I do even think there might be a chance that Strangers on a Train could end up being my favourite of the bunch
• I knew about the general idea: two guys meet on a train, and they consider swapping murders to avoid suspicion. This happens in the first ten minutes of the movie. But what I didn't realize, and what really ratchets up the tension, is the fact that only one of the men is actually fully onboard for the plan. Not only does this add layers to the intrigue and tension, but it also gives us a distinct hero and a very distinct villain
• And what a villain! Robert Walker is incredible as the sociopathic, manipulative Bruno. His icy, nonchalant demeanour is chilling, and I love the way his eyes flit back and forth while he's talking to someone. Sadly, Walker's mental health was not good at this point in his life, and he died only a couple months after the movie was released
• Farley Granger is also good, if slightly less memorable, as the protagonist, Guy. Granger had previously appeared in Hitchcock's movie Rope, released in 1948, a movie that I had seen before and remembered liking, and even thought about adding as a supplemental review. In fact, I rewatched it last night, and it's very good! Famous for telling its story in real time, and for Hitchcock making it seem like it was filmed all in one shot, give or take a cut or two. Some critics found this trickery distracting, but I thought it worked very well and added to the tension, including some very effective camerawork. That's about all I have to say about Rope, though, so I don't think a full review is necessary. I would probably give it an 8/10 for thrills
• Back to the movie at hand, though! Watch Strangers on a Train. Undeniably one of Hitchcock's best, and it may wind up being my favourite at the end of this project of mine

Up next: Speaking of directors that are well represented on this list, it's another movie from Steven Spielberg: 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind

#33: THE FUGITIVE (1993)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

9

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once. And it was a lot better this time than I remembered

BEST SEQUENCE

I have to go with the iconic jump off the dam

BEST LINE

"I didn't kill my wife!"

"I don't care!"

Runner-up: "The guy did a Peter Pan right here off of this dam, right here!"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

96%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Exhilarating and intense, this high-impact chase thriller is a model of taut and efficient formula filmmaking, and it features Harrison Ford at his frantic best."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal."

DIRECTOR

Andrew Davis

MAIN CAST

Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbé (and I'll include Julianne Moore, even though her role is very small)(also Jane Lynch, with a tiny role)(and Neil Flynn, the janitor from Scrubs, with the tiniest role of all)

THOUGHTS

• I think I was biased against this movie at first because it was based on a TV show, a bias that, in hindsight, makes absolutely zero sense. It was an intriguing concept for a TV show in the '60s, so why wouldn't it still be an equally intriguing concept for a fantastic action/thriller movie in the '90s? Hell, it's still an intriguing concept today, but no need for a remake, this movie really doesn't need to be improved upon (and yet, a remake is apparently in development)
• Harrison Ford plays Kimble's desperation very well, and I love his quiet nobility when he goes out of his way to save people, even when doing so puts him more at risk to be caught. And Tommy Lee Jones is a lot of fun as a man who starts out by doggedly doing his job until eventually he starts to see that there may be more nuance than expected
• The strength of the two leads kind of reminded me of Die Hard, in a way, especially the fact that Jones as the (ostensible) villain might be even more fun to watch than the hero. An appropriate comparison also, as Die Hard and The Fugitive were both cowritten by the same guy, Jeb Stuart
• This movie really doesn't waste much time before it starts cooking, and the first 40 minutes are probably the strongest part of the film, including the most memorable sequences in the bus and train crash and the dam jump. Those were certainly the parts of the movie I remembered most, but it does stay very exciting throughout. Jones chasing Ford down a staircase in a government building was also a great moment. I would say, however, that your mileage may vary with the medical corporate espionage and intrigue. I thought it was a fine catalyst for the movie's plot, but definitely not the most memorable part of the movie
• It struck me as a great Chicago movie, too
• Finally, The Fugitive was an absolute sensation when it came out. It was the 3rd-highest-grossing movie of 1993, behind Mrs. Doubtfire and a little movie we talked about recently, Jurassic Park. It was also nominated for seven Oscars, including a win for Tommy Lee Jones as Best Supporting Actor, and it was a somewhat rare example of an action movie getting nominated for Best Picture. It also holds an even rarer distinction: it's the only example of a Best Picture nominee that was adapted from a TV show, so hey, maybe there was some logic behind my previous bias

Up next: Hitchcock's back, and it's another one that I haven't seen, Strangers on a Train from 1951

#34: THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, and I didn't remember liking it as much as I did this time

BEST SEQUENCE

The scene of Willa's untimely demise, followed by the shot of where she ends up, which is an absolutely haunting image

BEST LINE

"Leeeeaning, leeeeaning

Safe and secure from all alarms

Leeeeaning, leeeeaning

Leaning on the everlasting arms"

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

93%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Featuring Robert Mitchum's formidable performance as a child-hunting preacher, The Night of the Hunter is a disturbing look at good and evil."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery."

DIRECTOR

Charles Laughton

MAIN CAST

Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, Don Beddoe, Peter Graves

THOUGHTS

• Without really expecting it, and based on the strength of just two movie roles, Robert Mitchum has become one of my favourite portrayers of villains. He was chilling in Cape Fear and he's equally chilling in The Night of the Hunter. In fact, it was hard to choose a favourite line because nearly every line delivered by Mitchum is memorable. The "H-A-T-E and L-O-V-E" sermon is especially noteworthy, and it's been referenced in Do The Right Thing and The Simpsons, to name just a couple
• Ultimately I had to go with Mitchum's repeated singing of his favourite hymn, however. It's a pretty impressive feat to make a bland hymn so spine-chilling, especially when Mitchum actually has a fairly pleasant singing voice, but every time we hear it we know evil approaches and we know he won't stop until he gets what he's searching for. The whole movie has a very effective sense of dread and impending doom
• I'm fascinated by the way this movie makes religion seem so ominous and threatening, used as the justification for preacher Harry Powell's crimes. I also wonder how much of Powell's belief system is bullshit and how much he truly believes. Is he simply a murderous conman, using God to get close to his victims and protect himself from suspicion? Or does he truly believe what he says? The fact that we do witness Powell speaking directly to God, even when no one else is around, might lead us to believe that it isn't an act and he's really this delusional
• With that said, it's also only fair to mention that eventually we meet Rachel Cooper, a woman who uses religion for good, and who protects those who need helping, a very important juxtaposition to Harry Powell
• I've complained about child actors before, and The Night of the Hunter isn't going to make me change my tune. These kids aren't the worst I've ever seen, but they're not great - some very exaggerated reaction shots and just general obnoxiousness. I also wonder if I'm being unfair to the child actors, though, because surely a lot of that also has to do with how they were directed
• Speaking of the director, I've briefly mentioned Charles Laughton before - he had a supporting role in Spartacus. Coincidentally, I've also mentioned his wife, Elsa Lanchester, who played the Bride of Frankenstein. The Night of the Hunter was the only movie that Laughton ever directed, which is a shame. While it wasn't received very well when it was first released, it's now considered an absolute classic
• Finally, I wish to let you know that this movie includes a character named Icey Spoon, which is a dumb name. That is all

Up next: Harrison Ford's back! And we'll be talking about him a few times more after this. From 1993, it's The Fugitive