"Dream.....Little One, Dreaming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                             This haunting image, coupled with the journey of the Harper children, John and Pearl, with that equally haunting song, are two of the more spectacular visual elements in the film version of Davis Grubb's 1953 novel, "The Night Of The Hunter," directed by Charles Laughton.

                              When I first saw the film on TV, around the age of 13, its visual style was so disturbing I could not comprehend it. Was the opening sci-fi, or what?  Twenty years later, when I saw it on screen at the Theater 80 St. Marks, I was struck how unnerving it still was--I don't think I could watch it again--but I could easily recognize the neglected masterpiece it was.

                                I had always wanted to read the Davis Grubb novel, but it turned out to be one of the hardest works to track down, Well, I finally did, and that is what I want to talk about.

                                 It is as chilling as  the movie.  It develops in different ways than the film, but all the key elements are there. The one thing that disappointed me was  the pathology of Harry Powell was never explained. He is presented as Evil Incarnate, who deceives the trusting, preys on  the innocent, is a misogynist of the highest degree, and unrepentant of his deeds. Classic pathology, but, as we know, darlings, serial killers are not born, but made. What made Harry?  An overbearing religious and emotionally abusive father?  Or the same for his mother?  Something turned Harry this way, and once there, he was not going back.

                                  Grubb's prose style has some of the visual style of the film, especially in the section detailing the children fleeing down river--my favorite. It is said Grubb, a skilled artist, designed many of the visuals for the film. Too bad he did not continue in the industry.

                                     Though I knew the story faithfully, I was on the edge of my seat. More than the film, the novel captures the adult world seen through the eyes of a child, and the reader learns to become as fearful and suspicious as John Harper, a child whose father forced, however well intended. too much pressure on this boy's shoulders.  I would have cracked.

                                       Perhaps Harry Powell is better for not exploring his pathology. The readers can do that on their own, so that just the Pure Evil is enough.

                                         It is one of the most unsettling works of fiction out there. And, like William March, who penned a substantial number of works in his time, with"The Bad Seed" remaining what he is remembered for,  so the same with Davis Grubb and "The Night Of The Hunter."

But what a remembrance to have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!