History Awesome / TheNightOfTheHunter

* John helps his sister escape from the cellar by bringing down a shelf over Powell's head.
** He then has enough presence of mind, when Uncle Birdie fails them, to get Pearl to the boat and escape down river.
* When Powell first shows up at Rachel Cooper's farm looking for John and Pearl, he gives her a fake sob story and starts to pull the same "good vs. evil" performance with his hands that he used to win over Willa and the Spoons. Rachel listens to him impassively - and calmly picks some holes in his story, leaving him to scramble for excuses - before bringing out John and Pearl. Once John confirms for her that Powell is a liar, she reveals in an extremely epic fashion that she ''wasn't buying his bullshit for a second.''

* When Powell first shows up at Rachel Cooper's farm looking for John and Pearl, he gives her a fake sob story and pulls the same "good vs. evil" performance with his hands that he used to win over Willa and the Spoons. Rachel listens to him impassively - and calmly picks some holes in his story, leaving him to scramble for excuses - before bringing out John and Pearl. Once John confirms for her that Powell is a liar, she reveals in an extremely epic fashion that she ''wasn't buying his bullshit for a second.''

** The framing of the scene itself is this, just [[http://thefilmspectrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Screen-Shot-2013-12-16-at-4.07.09-PM.png look at it]]. Both characters are in deep shadow, but while Powell is partly illuminated by a streetlight, symbolizing his two-faced nature, Rachel is perfectly framed by a light behind her so that she appears to be in the center of a halo, symbolizing that she is an "avenging angel" protecting the children. Stanley Cortez, the cinematographer, said that Laughton was one of only two directors he'd worked with who truly ''understood light.'' The other was Creator/OrsonWelles.

** The framing of the scene itself is this, just [[http://thefilmspectrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Screen-Shot-2013-12-16-at-4.07.09-PM.png look at it]]. Both characters are in deep shadow, but while Powell is partly illuminated by a streetlight, symbolizing his two-faced nature, Rachel is perfectly framed by a light behind her so that she appears to be in the center of a halo, symbolizing that she is an "avenging angel" protecting the children. Stanley Cortez, the cinematographer, said that Laughton was one of only two directors he'd worked with who truly ''understood light.'' The other was Creator/OrsonWelles.

** The framing of the scene itself is this, just [[http://thefilmspectrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Screen-Shot-2013-12-16-at-4.07.09-PM.png look at it]]. Both characters are in deep shadow, but while Powell is partly illuminated by a streetlight, symbolizing his two-faced nature, Rachel is perfectly framed by a light behind her so that she appears to be in the center of a halo, symbolizing that she is an "avenging angel" protecting the children.

** It gets even better in that same scene when Powell chases John under the porch trying to get the doll from him. Rachel gets her shotgun, points it at him, and makes it clear she is fully prepared to kill him if he doesn't get off her property. The [[OhCrap look on Powell's face]] when he realizes that not only does Rachel see through him, but that she absolutely ''will not'' let him have his way is priceless, especially after watching that SmugSnake fool almost everyone else in the movie so far.

** She even ''outsings'' him. When Powell starts singing his {{Leitmotif}} "Leaning... leaning...", she starts singing in defiance "Lean on Jesus, lean on Jesus...", all while in a rocking chair armed with a shotgun.

** It gets even better in that same scene when Powell chases John under the porch trying to get the doll from him. Rachel gets her shotgun, points it at him, and makes it clear she is fully prepared to kill him if he doesn't get off her property. The [[OhCrap look on Powell's face]] when he realizes that not only does Rachel see through him, but that she absolutely ''will not'' let him have his way is priceless, especially after watching that SmugSnake fool almost everyone else in the movie so far.

--->'''John:''' He ain't my dad.
--->'''Rachel:''' No. And he ain't no preacher, neither!

-->'''John:''' He ain't my dad.
-->'''Rachel:''' No. And he ain't no preacher, neither!

-->'''John:''' "He ain't my dad."
-->'''Rachel:''' "No. And he ain't no preacher neither!"

* When Powell first shows up at Rachel Cooper's farm looking for John and Pearl, he gives her a fake sob story and pulls the same "good vs. evil" performance with his hands that he used to win over Willa and the Spoons. Rachel listens to him impassively before bringing out John and Pearl. Once John confirms for her that Powell is a liar, she rather epically reveals that she ''wasn't buying his bullshit for a second.''

** It gets even better in that same scene when Powell chases Pearl under the porch trying to get her and her doll. Rachel gets a shotgun, points it at him, and makes it clear she is fully prepared to kill him if he doesn't get off her property. The [[OhCrap look on Powell's face]] when he realizes that not only does Rachel see through him, but that she absolutely ''will not'' let him have his way is priceless, especially after watching that SmugSnake fool almost everyone else in the movie so far.