The Night of the Hunter (1955)

'She'll not be back. I reckon I'm safe in promising you that.' Robert Mitchum gives perhaps the best performance of his (and everyone else) career, here playing a psychopathic 'preacher' who weds widows then kills them to collect their money. Beautifully shot and directed, Night Of The Hunter is truly great film-making and stars a terrifying villain at its core (you can see where both Mitchum and Robert DeNiro got the idea from when they both portrayed Max Cady, in 1962 and 1991 respectively). Don't be put off by the black and white or that it is an old film because you'll be missing out a great film-noir.