MovieChat Forums > The Night of the Hunter (1955) Discussion > Who would be a good Harry Powell in a re...

Who would be a good Harry Powell in a remake?


I can see Johnny Depp giving a different but equally creepy approach to the character of Powell. The rest of the cast would have to be pretty low-budget though, because it would be very expensive and difficult to cast Depp for a film like this. I remember Depp's performance in Secret Window, another fairly low-budget horror movie with no other huge actors, and he was very creepy in that too. There are a lot of people who could play the part of Powell and maybe be even more menacing than Mitchum, not that Mitchum was even close to bad. What do you all think?

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Clive Owen

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Not that I ever want to see a remake of this film, but .. how about Chris Cooper? Also, the wikipedia page for this film mentions a TV remake with Richard Chamberlain in the role.

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Harrison Ford would be playing against-type, which could be fun, but he mightt be too old for the role (although I really don't see age being very important to the role of Powell - he's not an Olympic-athelete in his spare-time).

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christopher waltz.....

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Fassbender. Anyone see it?

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Tom Cruise! He's just crazy enough to pull it off.

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de niro, he did the same type of character in Scorsese's Cape Fear

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Definitely not Johnny Depp... christ. Out of the previous replies, the only good suggestions were Harry Connick Jr. and Josh Brolin, but I'd take a slightly younger Tommy Lee Jones over Brolin for this role. I think that Joaquin Phoenix just might be able to make it work. From a different angle, I think Ian McShane (Deadwood, 44 Inch Chest) would be pretty interesting in the role as well.

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Depp is overrated. He plays the same tiresome person in almost EVERY movie, and his "Pirates of the Caribbean" shlock is the worst.

"Night of the Hunter" was remade, and Richard Chamberlain, though a very fine actor, was sadly miscast in the Harry Powell role.

There are films that should NEVER be remade, and the original (REAL) "Night of the Hunter" is one of them.

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I agree with two of you: Jaoquin Phoenix and John Malkovich. Sorry if the spelling is off. I had a long day and can't see straight. My top choice would be Christopher Walken.

*The Manitou is in and will take your calls now.

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