What 1955 film directed by Charles Laughton is the only film he ever directed?

The 1955 film directed by Charles Laughton that stands as his sole solo film-directing credit is The Night of the Hunter. It stars Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell, a murderous fake preacher pursuing two children who know where their late father hid stolen money.

Laughton was already a celebrated actor and had directed plays before making the film. He adapted Davis Grubb’s 1953 novel with screenwriter James Agee, shaping the story into a highly stylized blend of Southern Gothic horror, thriller, and film noir. Its stark black-and-white photography drew heavily on silent cinema and German Expressionism.

The film received poor reactions on its 1955 release, and Laughton never directed another feature. A small technical caveat sometimes causes confusion: he was associated with the shared direction of The Man on the Eiffel Tower, but The Night of the Hunter is his only film credited as his sole director. It was later reevaluated as a masterpiece and entered the National Film Registry in 1992.