The Night of the Hunter: A Biography of a Film (English and English Edition) [Paperback]

Jeffrey Couchman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 2009

Reaching simultaneously into the realms of film and literature, this detailed exploration of The Night of the Hunter examines the genesis and the eclectic form of each work and the process of transformation by which the novel became a motion picture. It provides the first major study of the long-lost first-draft screenplay by James Agee and confronts a fifty-year controversy about the authorship of the film. This is a story of artistic convergence on many levels--of novelist and director, director and actor, and cinematic form and tastes. The novel, a 1953 debut from Davis Grubb, was a popular and critical success, remaining on the New York Times best-seller list for four months. Hollywood responded to its atmospheric lyricism, and in the hands of first time director Charles Laughton, the book became a film that is equal parts thriller, allegory, and fever dream, filled with slow, inexorable suspense. On the set, Laughton functioned both as an auteur and a collaborator to create his vision of the book, mixing cinematic flourishes both realistic and abstract in sometimes tense situations. The talents that clashed or came together along the road from book to movie make the final film a product of rich stylistic contradiction and rewarding complexity. Through biography, production history, and critical analysis of the novel and film, author Jeffrey Couchman makes the case that this initially overlooked cinematic gem is a prismatic work that continually reveals new aspects of itself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Couchman is a scholar of refreshing resourcefulness and wisdom. [This book] is a profound contribution to our understanding of an obscure film that has become a classic."--Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun

"Jeffrey Couchman's study of Charles Laughton's masterpiece is an indispensable and masterly synthesis of everything now known about it. Laughton would surely have been astonished and deeply moved to think that such scholarly care should have been lavished on the film all but dismissed on its first release. A book that anyone interested in the history of cinema should read."--Simon Callow, actor and author of Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor and the British Film Institute monograph on The Night of the Hunter

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press; 1 edition (February 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810125420
• ISBN-13: 978-0810125421
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb treatment of a masterful film, April 16, 2009

By 

Francis R. Swietek (Irving, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Night of the Hunter: A Biography of a Film (English and English Edition) (Paperback)

Charles Laughton's NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is an American masterpiece, and it's done justice in this excellent academic work, which treats the making of the picture very thoroughly, for the first time making use of the recently-discovered first draft script by James Agee to discuss how the shooting script was finally constructed. Recollections by surviving members of the crew, as well as reproductions of sketches made by novelist Davis Grubb (whose work also merits critical reexamination) add to the value of the book. Highly recommended to anyone who loves the film, admires Laughton, or is simply interested in the cinematic creative process.