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The Reverend
Powell
Reverend Harry Powell
"Can't kill the world."
Played By: Robert Mitchum
"You say the word, Lord, I'm on my way...You always send me money to go forth and preach your Word. The widow with a little wad of bills hid away in a sugar bowl. Lord, I am tired. Sometimes I wonder if you really understand. Not that You mind the killin's. Your Book is full of killin's. But there are things you do hate Lord: perfume-smellin' things, lacy things, things with curly hair."
An itinerant preacher who moonlights as a serial killer who preys on women. Having learned of Ben's hidden stash of money, he travels to Harper's hometown to find it.
- Above the Influence: A twisted example. He may be a murderer and a thief, but he has no interest in taking sexual advantage of any of his victims. Indeed, he shows disgust at any expression of sexuality. (Interesting, considering the other role Mitchum is most famous for...)
- Considering the...suggestiveness of his famous switchblade (which notably pops through his pants at the sight of a showgirl), it's implied his violent misogyny might be a twisted expression of his own repressed sexuality.
- Actually Pretty Funny: He bursts out laughing when Pearl confesses the stolen money is in her doll, the last place anyone would think to look. John uses the distraction to drop food jars onto him, making their escape from the cellar.
- Ambition Is Evil: He claims that he'll use Ben's money to fund a large church.
- Arch-Enemy: To John and Pearl, constantly pursuing them to obtain Ben's money.
- Ax-Crazy: Despite his calm, collected demeanor, he's a serial killing lunatic.
- Bad Habits: He's a thief, con artist, and serial killer who poses as a priest and marries his executed cellmate's widow to get his hands on the man's hidden loot, but finds himself stymied by the dead man's young children.
- Believing Their Own Lies: His Establishing Character Moment seems to suggest he actually believes himself to be doing God's work, or at least he tries to justify himself that way.
- Berserk Button:
- Don't touch his switchblade.
- Women in general seem to set him off, thanks to his rampant misogyny.
- Big Bad: His quest to get Ben's money is what causes the entire plot to happen.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He acts like a folksy, kindly, religious man who cares deeply for his stepfamily and the town. In reality, he's a sociopathic serial killer with no moral qualms whatsoever.
- The Bluebeard: Marrying and subsequently killing women for their money is his modus operandi. He's even outright called this.Walt Spoon: Twenty-five wives!Icey Spoon: And he killed every last one of them!
- Broken Pedestal: Pearl adored Harry, and was just as charmed by him as everyone else. Eventually, he reveals his true colours and she realizes what a vicious monster he is.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Played with. While reminiscing about his victims in the opening of the movie, he can't remember just how many people he's killed, thinking here's around six to twelve victims, when he's actually killed twenty-five.
- Butt-Monkey: In the second act of the movie, he gets a shelf dropped on him, knocked down a flight of stairs, and finally takes a shotgun blast to the shoulder, courtesy of Rachel.
- Classic Villain: For all his claims of righteousness, it's blatantly obvious Powell is motivated entirely by greed and lust. He steals constantly to get what he wants and uses his status as a preacher to con them out of their money, and his murders of various innocent women are always caused by his suppressed lust for them, which the deeply misogynistic Powell believes to be a sin on their part, and always justifies his crimes as being in service of God. He also has a good amount of pride to go with it, with a sprinkling of ambition, judging by his constant rambling about building a massive church from Ben's money.
- Con Man: He mostly acts as a preacher in order to charm and eventually defraud people.
- Corrupt Church: Played With in that he might not even be a real preacher, but he's a con man who fleeces people of their valuables, and he quickly forms his own local church after arriving that seems very much like a cult.
- Crocodile Tears: Sheds them while recounting his lie about how Rachel disappeared.
- Dark Is Evil: He dresses in primarily dark clothing, and is heavily associated with shadows and darkness throughout the film.
- Determinator: He'll do anything to get the stolen money, even if it means attempting to murder children.
- The way he continues stalking the children like an unstoppable monster. Lampshaded by John who wonders aloud "Don't he ever sleep?"
- Devil in Plain Sight: Justified; Powell's hand tattoos should be a giveaway that he's not to be trusted, but he's so damn charming that everyone succumbs to him. Except John and Rachel.
- Dirty Coward: He'll woo defenseless women into his grasp, slowly breaking them down before murdering them, but when faced with actual danger, like having to swim after the children or having a shotgun aimed at him, he'll freak out and run away.
- Egocentrically Religious: Harry's under the impression that God wholeheartedly approves his serial murders, greed, and rampant misogyny.
- Establishing Character Moment: He's introduced monologuing about his murders and robberies, and then justifying them as being the will of God while making some misogynistic comments.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Downplayed, as its root is implied to lie in misogyny, but he (at least in the book) scruples to dismiss Ruby's sexual overtures and disgustedly cuts her loose after flattering her vanity just enough to glean John and Pearl's location from her. He'd sooner lose himself in the delusion that he's the children's godly guardian and seize the money directly than take the surer, but seedier route of wooing a besotted child with easy access to Pearl's doll.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Thanks to having Robert Mitchum's deep, intimidating voice.
- False Prophet: Powell has deceived many, but due to his inconsistencies, and mixing in love with hatred, Rachel could see through him that he was no real preacher of the gospel.
- Family-Values Villain: Apart from murder and theft, he clings to very old fashioned social mores. When his wife tries to initiate sexual intercourse on their wedding night, he tells her off for not focusing her efforts on bringing up her two children before risking having any more.
- Faux Affably Evil: It's pretty much a requirement for him, supposedly being a preacher moonlighting as a serial killer and all. He acts polite around John in particular, and manages to win many over with his charm. But it really doesn't take much to see through his act, which John certainly does.
- The Fundamentalist: Subverted. Powell is a fanatical zealot of his own brand of Christianity, and (in private) rails against women or others who have earned his ire for being "sinful", but he plays fast and loose with his interpretation of Christianity to justify his crimes.
- Greed: Powell is constantly robbing and stealing from various people. His monologue at the beginning shows that he frequently murders widows just to steal their money, his entire motivation is to nab Ben's hidden cash, and he frequently steals various methods of transportation whenever he needs to get somewhere in a hurry.
- Holy Hitman: A serial killer and con man who fancies himself a preacher.
- Hypocrite: Powell generally fails to uphold the values he claims to uphold. In spite of his claims otherwise, he's transparently motivated by greed, and a career criminal who thinks nothing of stealing or killing to get what he wants.
- Iconic Outfit: His Knuckle Tattoos and preacher get-up.
- Implacable Man: Powell is downright unstoppable in his pursuit of John and Pearl.
- Jerkass: He's misogynistic, hypocritical, cowardly, self-righteous, and flat-out abusive to the Harpers, which isn't even getting into the actual crimes he commits.
- Karmic Death: Double Subverted. He plays all of the townsfolk like a fiddle and turns them on John and Pearl at the top of a hat. When his crimes are exposed, they form a lynch mob and nearly tear him apart, but the police rescue him. They then inform him that he's still on track to die by proper judicial hanging, the same way Ben (the man who he dismissed as a worthless sinner and whose memory he's been exploiting the whole film) had.
- Killed Offscreen: He's last seen being informed that, in spite of having been rescued from a lynch mob by the police, he's still going to hang properly while the executioner cheerily waves at him.
- Knight Templar: Maybe. He claims to have worked out a religion between himself and God, and regularly prays and talks to Him, appearing to be of the belief that God wants him to kill women. At best, it seems like it's nothing more than his way of justifying his misogyny and crimes.
- Knuckle Tattoos: The ur-example; love and hate tattooed on each hand.
- Large Ham: Due to being a rousing minister, and also in private whenever he grows impatient.
- Laser-Guided Karma: At the end, karma bites Powell in the ass hard. He's arrested, his crimes are exposed, his reputation has been ruined, and he's facing the death penalty.
- Leitmotif: He's got two. One is a menacing pair of booming notes that tend to play whenever he arrives. The other is a more In-Universe one in the form of the Christian hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", which Powell frequently sings out loud throughout the film (often being heard singing it before he actually shows up).
- Madonna-Whore Complex: He definitely has this, thanks to his gross misogyny. He's caught watching a strip show at the beginning, and also berated Willa for wanting to have sex on their wedding night.
- Manipulative Bastard: Powell successfully pulls the strings of everyone in town with the exception of John; he downright brainwashes Willa into making her think she deserves the abuse he gives her.
- Misanthrope Supreme: While his hatred is primarily reserved for women, Powell seems to despise everyone else too for being less righteous and holy than he is.Powell: There's too many of 'em, lord. Can't kill a whole world.
- Never My Fault: Powell invariably claims that his crimes are the will of God, and refuses to accept responsibility for his crimes.
- Obviously Evil: Powell is definitely charismatic, but he's also only able to get as far as he does because the townspeople are all idiots. The only other people he manages to charm are lonely widows and two gullible young girls; the second he runs into someone Noel, isn’t, they're able to see through him within an instant.
- Offstage Villainy: We only ever see one of his murders being committed; he otherwise monologues about his past crimes. He commits plenty of general cruelty on camera though.
- Paper Tiger: Harry is a genuine threat, but he spends most of the film picking on and tormenting vulnerable people who can't fight back. The second he finds something that could actually hurt him, he turns into a screaming coward.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Even for his time, he's pretty misogynistic, seeing women as, at best, good for nothing more than procreation.Harry Powell: There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin' things, lacy things, things with curly hair.
- Red Right Hand: It's a wonder anyone believed he is who he says he is with those sinister knuckle tattoos.
- Satanic Archetype: Hints are dropped that he may be Old Scratch made flesh and blood.
- Serial Killer: Powell has murdered at least twenty-five women.
- Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: Harry seems tormented by his sexual desire, religious belief, and outright misogyny.
- Sexy Priest: Preacher (assuming he really is one), but same deal. He's played by Robert Mitchum, which speaks for itself, and in addition to his natural charismatic charm, his looks probably play a role in winning over women.
- Sinister Minister: It's unclear if he's even a real minister, but he looks and dresses the part, and does seem to have a genuine belief in God, if his "conversation" with Him at the beginning is any indication.
- Sinister Switchblade: His weapon of choice.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's a murderous, lowlife thief, but he acts as though he's some kind of prophet.
- Smug Snake: He's a smug, sly bastard, but he completely fails to charm Rachel, who sees right through him.
- The Sociopath: A textbook example of a high-functioning sociopath. He charms and manipulates people by posing as a man of the cloth, shedding fake tears to garner sympathy in an effort to try and get on peoples' good side to vouch for him when he needs them, has a shallow (if not nonexistent) capacity for empathy, and thinks very little of having to do whatever he needs to do to get what he wants.
- Something Else Also Rises: His switchblade rises as he's watching a strip show.
- Straw Misogynist: He really hates women to a startling degree. He regularly kills them, and while he persecutes both John and Pearl, he is openly abusive to Pearl, including slapping her at one point but politely insidious to John, and in the finale he refers to Rachel Cooper and her makeshift orphanage as "whores of Babylon".
- Straw Hypocrite: It's pretty frequently shown that Powell only pays lip service to the values he holds so dear.
- Tattooed Crook: He's the Trope Codifier for Knuckle Tattoos, after all.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Preacher Harry Powell.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: To all appearances, he's a charming and folksy preacher and the best stepfather a child could ever want. Of course, this is just an act.
- Tranquil Fury: While searching for the children.Harry Powell: (calmly) I can hear you whisperin' children, so I know you're down there. I can feel myself gettin' awful mad. I'm out of patience children. I'm coming to find you now.
- Villainous Breakdown: He does not react well when the children elude him in the boat.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Due to being a Manipulative Bastard. John and Rachel Cooper are the only two that see through his act.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: He's a master at this.
- Wicked Stepfather: One of the most prominent examples in film history.
- Would Hurt a Child: He has no qualms about attempting to beat the truth about the whereabouts of the money out of John and Pearl. He even threatens Pearl with slitting John's throat in order to browbeat her into spilling the beans.
The Harper Family
Willa
Willa Harper
Played By: Shelley Winters
Ben's widow and the children's mother.
- Adults Are Useless: She doesn't lift a hand in her own defense when Harry kills her, despite knowing full well he's likely to kill her children next.
- Brainwashed: Harry convinces her that she is a sinful woman and therefore deserves all the abuse he hurls at her.
- Butt-Monkey: She loses her husband when he's executed for murder and robbery, then has to deal with Icy's nagging about her needing a husband until she finally marries Powell. Then he abuses her and brainwashes her into believing she's a sinful woman loyal to him completely.
- Guess Who I'm Marrying?: Just about the wickedest stepfather in anything ever, that's who!
- I Reject Your Reality: A dark version. Harry's brainwashing leaves her convinced she's a sinner and completely oblivious to all the signs of how dangerous and abusive he really is.
John
John Harper
Played By: Billy Chapin
Ben's eldest son, who was sworn to keep the location of his loot.
- Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Pearl.
- Broken Bird: Having to keep his father's secrets and being on the run from Powell really take their toll on the poor kid. He breaks down sobbing when Powell's arrest reminds him of what happened to his dad.
- Children Are Innocent: Played with. He's much more aware of what's going on than his sister, but by the end, he still has a little bit of his innocence left as shown by his interactions with Rachel.
- Determinator: He will do anything to keep his father's secret.
- Heroic BSoD: Surprisingly enough, as Powell is being arrested, he breaks down and has the same reaction as when his father was arrested at the beginning due to it's resemblance of Ben's arrest.
- Heroic Vow: He has sworn not to tell anyone where the stolen money is, and has to remind Pearl of this frequently. The finale reveals this is a pointed subversion: all John had to do all along was return the money to the police and Powell wouldn't have been a threat. Keeping the secret caused the deaths of at least two people, including John's mother. Of course, the movie seems to be trying to point out just how shitty it was for John's father to put that burden on his young son in the first place.
- Kid Hero: Deconstructed. Having to keep on the run from Harry and protect the money puts way too much stress on him, a mere child, until he loses it at the end.
- Only Sane Man: He's the only one who sees through Harry, apart from Birdie and Rachel. That said, even he has his crazy moments.
Pearl
Pearl Harper
Played By: Sally Jane Bruce
Ben's youngest child.
- Children Are Innocent: She doesn't fully understand either that her real father was a bank robber or that her stepfather is an evil man.
- Girly Girl: She wears frilly dresses, skips around a lot, and is always clutching her doll, even before holding onto it becomes a life-or-death-matter.
- The Load: She's only about four or five, but jeez, she makes John's job of keeping her safe not easy.
Ben
Ben Harper
Played By: Peter Graves
A bank robber executed for murder. He was formerly Powell's cellmate, which resulted in Powell learning Ben's loot had never been recovered and going after it.
- Anti-Villain: Ben's a murderer and a thief, but he does genuinely care about his family and has some scruples.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He seems absolutely disgusted by Powell's hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
- Face Death with Dignity: It's implied that he went out this way.
- Just Like Robin Hood: His justification for the robbery is that he didn't want to see his kids suffer like all the others during The Great Depression.
- Killed Offscreen: He's hung from the gallows offscreen.
- Parents as People: He's extremely flawed for such a minor character. He murders to get the money for his children. Then he makes John swear promises that even a grown man would have trouble keeping, setting off the plot.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He's only around for two scenes before being executed.
Other Characters
Uncle Birdie
"Uncle Birdie" Steptoe
Played By: James Gleason
An alcoholic fisherman who serves as an Honorary Uncle to John.
- Adults Are Useless: He's initially set up as someone John looks up to, yet when John comes to him for help after Willa is murdered, he's a useless drunk mess due to being scared that he will be blamed for what happened due to the circumstances around it.
- The Alcoholic: Or strongly implied to be one, anyhow, considering he seems to spend most of his time day-drinking on his boat.
- Call on Me: He tells John this at one point, but when the time comes, he's passed out drunk.
- Cool Old Guy: Subverted. He's an elderly man who likes to spend the day drinking on his boat and is quite friendly to John whenever he stops by. After Harry kills Willa, John and Pearl go to him for help, but as he found Willa's body in the river, he's afraid the town is going to think that he was the killer, causing him to drink himself into a useless stupor. This forces John to take Birdie's boat and head down the river with Pearl alone.
Rachel
Rachel Cooper
Played By: Lillian Gish
The head of an orphanage who takes in John and Pearl.
- The Atoner: She stated that she "lost her son's love" a long time before the story started. She seems to be looking after the kids as a way to make up for her previous actions. All in all, this just demonstrates that she's a better person than most of the other adults in the film. She knows she did something wrong and now she's trying to make it right, and she doesn't deny her sins.
- Cool Old Lady: She turns out to be quite the Mama Bear as she totes a shotgun to defend John and Pearl from Harry.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's very handed and strict, but she cares.
- Meaningful Name: Rachel, a heavily symbolic name in Judeo-Christian teachings as a mother-figure.
- Mama Bear: She's very protective of the children in her care, as Harry finds out.
- Never Mess with Granny: She pulls a shotgun on Powell when he goes after John. She uses it too when Powell tries to sneak into the house when she's momentarily distracted.
- Only Sane Man: She's smart enough to see the inconsistencies in Powell's sob story and to pull a shotgun on him.
- Thinking Out Loud: She does this frequently.
Ruby
Ruby
Played By: Gloria Castillo
An orphan who falls in love with Powell.
- Fille Fatale: She falls madly in love with Harry, even after Rachel warns her not to. She is implied to have some serious psychological problems.
- The Load: She takes the role of this once Pearl is in the orphanage. She makes it very hard for Rachel to protect the children from Powell.
