Laughton's only stab at directing, with Mitchum giving a stunning performance as the psychopathic preacher who, whilst in jail for a minor offence, hatches a devious plan to get his hands on the loot stashed by his condemned cell-mate. Set in '30s rural America, the film polarises into a struggle between good and evil for the souls of innocent children. Laughton's deliberately old-fashioned direction throws up a startling array of images: an amalgam of Mark Twain-like exteriors (idyllic riversid find out more...

Winner of a frightening number of Oscars (Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay); a vulnerable FBI rookie is sent to coax much needed information from the monstrous Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in order to stop a killer who skins his victims. Brilliant, terrifying and gripping. find out more...