Crime · Drama · Thriller
American
1955 · Directed by Charles Laughton · 93 min
In Depression-era America, a smooth-talking preacher with a hidden purpose insinuates himself into a small river community, while two children carry a secret they have been told never to share. A fairy-tale thriller told in shadows, hymns and stylised sets.
Why it matters in cinema history
A rare Hollywood attempt to fuse the visual language of silent cinema and German Expressionism with a sound-era thriller, it was ignored on release and later became one of the most admired American films of the 1950s.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a fairy tale about children and a wolf, not as a realistic crime story.
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