July 27, 1958 –
The gothic thriller, Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, (his only directorial feature,) and starring Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Evelyn Varden, and Peter Graves, opened on this date. The film opened to negative reviews. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made.
While the poor critical reviews are often cited as the reason Charles Laughton never directed another feature, Laughton himself said that he much preferred directing in the theatre. There, you could constantly change and amend the production–adding lines, changing lighting and sets–but with film once it was done it could never be changed.
The Haus of Dcaligari 