OVERLAY REPORT

Despite its current status as a cinematic masterpiece, **The Night of the Hunter (1955)** was a critical and commercial failure upon its release and did **not receive any awards or nominations** for its actors or the film itself from major organizations like the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs. The lack of recognition for the film's performances is frequently cited by film historians as one of the greatest "snubs" in Hollywood history. ### **The Performance Snubs** * **Robert Mitchum (Reverend Harry Powell):** Mitchum's performance as the sinister, "LOVE/HATE" tattooed preacher is now considered one of the greatest villainous roles in cinema. However, he was not nominated for an Oscar or a Golden Globe. * **Lillian Gish (Rachel Cooper):** As the "guardian angel" protector of the children, Gish provided a powerful foil to Mitchum's evil, but she received no awards attention at the time. * **Shelley Winters (Willa Harper):** Though Winters later won two Academy Awards (*The Diary of Anne Frank* and *A Patch of Blue*), her role in *The Night of the Hunter* was entirely overlooked by the Academy. ### **What They Were "Up Against" (1955 Award Season)** Because the film and its actors were not nominated, they did not formally compete in the 1955–1956 awards cycle. However, to provide context, the following films and actors dominated the categories they would have otherwise occupied: | Category | Winner (1955 Oscars) | Other Major Nominees | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Best Actor** | **Ernest Borgnine** (*Marty*) | James Dean (*East of Eden*), Frank Sinatra (*The Man with the Golden Arm*), Spencer Tracy (*Bad Day at Black Rock*), James Cagney (*Love Me or Leave Me*) | | **Best Supporting Actress** | **Jo Van Fleet** (*East of Eden*) | Betsy Blair (*Marty*), Peggy Lee (*Pete Kelly's Blues*), Marisa Pavan (*The Rose Tattoo*), Natalie Wood (*Rebel Without a Cause*) | | **Best Actress** | **Anna Magnani** (*The Rose Tattoo*) | Katharine Hepburn (*Summertime*), Jennifer Jones (*Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing*), Susan Hayward (*I'll Cry Tomorrow*), Eleanor Parker (*Interrupted Melody*) | | **Best Picture** | ***Marty*** | *Picnic*, *Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing*, *Mister Roberts*, *The Rose Tattoo* | ### **Historical Recognition** While ignored at the time, the film has since received the highest honors possible: * **National Film Registry (1992):** The film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." * **AFI Rankings:** Robert Mitchum's Harry Powell is ranked as the **#29 greatest villain** on the American Film Institute's *100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains* list. * **Critical Re-evaluation:** In 2008, the prestigious French magazine *Cahiers du Cinéma* ranked it as the **second-greatest film of all time**, behind only *Citizen Kane*.