(There are Spoilers) Far more disturbing then Robert Mitchum's psychotic & homicidal religious lunatic Harry Powell in the 1955 suspense thriller "Night of the Hunter" Matthew MacFadye's fanatical Protestant minister the right Reverend Gabriel Hunter is in a class, or padded-room, all by himself.
Having been away from the Northern Ireland town of Middletown for 15 years studying for the ministry Gabe, or Gaberial as he insists to be addressed as, comes back home as the towns new minister to replace the retired Reverend Cray, Mick Lally. Right away Reverand Hunter gets to work on the townspeople lambasting them, with threats of eternal damnation, for not following the words of Christ.
With a fanatical zeal Reverend Hunter takes it upon himself to straighten out his flock by first forcing them to pay, during church services, for the upkeep of the towns dilapidated Abbey and then goes out on his own to shut down Middletown's recreation hall. It's there where the people eat drink and participate, by gambling, in blood spattering and deadly cock-fights.
You first notice how disingenuous Reverend Hunter is when after, by almost single-handedly tearing the place apart, stopping a cock-fight he then takes one of the fighting cocks and rips it's head off to the shock and astonishment of those in the audience there! If Reverend Hunter cared so much for the abused and helpless cocks why would he viciously kill one of them himself just to make a point!
It's when the Reverend sees that his hard working brother Jim or Jimbo, played to perfection by Daniel Mayes, pregnant wife Caroline, Eva Birthistle, isn't that crazy about his wild and hellfire sermons that he starts to get to work on her. Reverend Hunters constant intrusiveness into Caroline's life turns her not only off to him but the church, or religion, that he represents! It's when Caroline sick and tired of her brother-in-laws, Reverend Hunter, attempt to run both her and her husband's lives tells him to go, now this really hits home, straight to blazes that he then incites the entire town on her. The righteous Reverend Hunter starts a campaign of terror against Caroline accusing, from the pulpit, her and her husband Jimbo, who backs his wife up against his crazy brother, of being in league with the Devil himself!
To really stick it to the crazed religious fanatic Caroline even refuses to have her soon to be born child baptized by Reverend Hunter. This was the last straw for the now totally off-the-wall holier then thou Reverend Hunter who not only has Caroline and her husbands business, auto mechanic shop & town pub, boycotted by the fired up townspeople but even goes a step farther!
****SPOILER ALERT**** Reverend Gabriel Hunter gets his and Jimbo's guilt-ridden father Mr. Bill Hunter, Gerard McSorley, to leave everything to him in his will by hounding the poor and sick old man into thinking that he'll buy himself a place in heaven for doing it. It's not that much later in the movie that the Reverend Hunters plans to off the old man, his own father!, when he finally comes to his senses and is about to rewrite his will. Mister Bill plans to leave everything to not only Jimbo and Caroline but his now new born granddaughter leaving the shocked and disappointed Reverend Hunter with nothing more that a tank of hot air to supplement his fire and brimstone harangues in church.
Shocking ending with Reverend Hunter, if he didn't already, go off the deep end committing crimes that will damn his soul for all eternity. It was even more revealing to see how insane Reverend Hunter got when he in a last desperate act of repentance actually begged his shocked brother Jimbo to commit an act, on the Reverend, that will guarantee his eternal damnation! Luckily for both Jimbo and his deranged brother Gaberial he, following what the Bible tells him, didn't go through with it!
Having been away from the Northern Ireland town of Middletown for 15 years studying for the ministry Gabe, or Gaberial as he insists to be addressed as, comes back home as the towns new minister to replace the retired Reverend Cray, Mick Lally. Right away Reverand Hunter gets to work on the townspeople lambasting them, with threats of eternal damnation, for not following the words of Christ.
With a fanatical zeal Reverend Hunter takes it upon himself to straighten out his flock by first forcing them to pay, during church services, for the upkeep of the towns dilapidated Abbey and then goes out on his own to shut down Middletown's recreation hall. It's there where the people eat drink and participate, by gambling, in blood spattering and deadly cock-fights.
You first notice how disingenuous Reverend Hunter is when after, by almost single-handedly tearing the place apart, stopping a cock-fight he then takes one of the fighting cocks and rips it's head off to the shock and astonishment of those in the audience there! If Reverend Hunter cared so much for the abused and helpless cocks why would he viciously kill one of them himself just to make a point!
It's when the Reverend sees that his hard working brother Jim or Jimbo, played to perfection by Daniel Mayes, pregnant wife Caroline, Eva Birthistle, isn't that crazy about his wild and hellfire sermons that he starts to get to work on her. Reverend Hunters constant intrusiveness into Caroline's life turns her not only off to him but the church, or religion, that he represents! It's when Caroline sick and tired of her brother-in-laws, Reverend Hunter, attempt to run both her and her husband's lives tells him to go, now this really hits home, straight to blazes that he then incites the entire town on her. The righteous Reverend Hunter starts a campaign of terror against Caroline accusing, from the pulpit, her and her husband Jimbo, who backs his wife up against his crazy brother, of being in league with the Devil himself!
To really stick it to the crazed religious fanatic Caroline even refuses to have her soon to be born child baptized by Reverend Hunter. This was the last straw for the now totally off-the-wall holier then thou Reverend Hunter who not only has Caroline and her husbands business, auto mechanic shop & town pub, boycotted by the fired up townspeople but even goes a step farther!
****SPOILER ALERT**** Reverend Gabriel Hunter gets his and Jimbo's guilt-ridden father Mr. Bill Hunter, Gerard McSorley, to leave everything to him in his will by hounding the poor and sick old man into thinking that he'll buy himself a place in heaven for doing it. It's not that much later in the movie that the Reverend Hunters plans to off the old man, his own father!, when he finally comes to his senses and is about to rewrite his will. Mister Bill plans to leave everything to not only Jimbo and Caroline but his now new born granddaughter leaving the shocked and disappointed Reverend Hunter with nothing more that a tank of hot air to supplement his fire and brimstone harangues in church.
Shocking ending with Reverend Hunter, if he didn't already, go off the deep end committing crimes that will damn his soul for all eternity. It was even more revealing to see how insane Reverend Hunter got when he in a last desperate act of repentance actually begged his shocked brother Jimbo to commit an act, on the Reverend, that will guarantee his eternal damnation! Luckily for both Jimbo and his deranged brother Gaberial he, following what the Bible tells him, didn't go through with it!