"It’s a hard world for little things."
The Night of the Hunter - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
— Rachel Cooper
Context:
The film opens with Lillian Gish's face floating among stars, speaking directly to the audience (and a group of children's faces) as if telling a Sunday school lesson. This frames the entire narrative as a cautionary tale.
Meaning:
This opening line, a direct quote from Matthew 7:15, establishes the film's central theme and foreshadows the arrival of Harry Powell. It sets the stage for a story that is not just a thriller, but a moral allegory about discerning true goodness from deceptive evil.
The story of life is a story of conflict... the story of love and hate. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. The left hand, the hand of hate.
— Reverend Harry Powell
Context:
Powell often performs this story, making his hands wrestle one another in a theatrical display. It is his main tool of seduction, used to win the trust of the townspeople and Willa, masking his predatory intentions with philosophical and religious gravitas.
Meaning:
This quote is Powell's signature sermon and the primary explanation for his famous knuckle tattoos. It is a chillingly simplistic and manipulative parable he uses to enthrall and disarm his listeners, presenting himself as a man who understands the deep struggles of the human soul while being a monstrous embodiment of hate himself.
It's a hard world for little things.
— Rachel Cooper
Context:
Rachel says this as she takes in John and Pearl, recognizing the immense hardship they have endured. It's a moment of quiet understanding and compassion that contrasts sharply with the loud, empty rhetoric of Powell.
Meaning:
This simple, poignant line encapsulates Rachel's worldview and the film's deep empathy for the plight of children. It acknowledges the cruelty and danger of the world while reinforcing her role as a fierce protector of the vulnerable. It's a statement of fact, not of defeat.
Children are man at his strongest. They abide. And they endure.
— Rachel Cooper
Context:
Spoken at the end of the film, as Rachel prepares for Christmas with her flock of children, including John and Pearl. It is a final, hopeful meditation on the survival of innocence in the face of evil.
Meaning:
This is the film's ultimate thesis statement on childhood resilience. Rachel recognizes that children possess a unique and powerful capacity for endurance that adults often lose. It reframes their vulnerability as a form of profound strength. The Coen Brothers later echoed this line in The Big Lebowski with the phrase "The Dude abides."