Watched two movies I'd never seen before in the past two days, and both used this same gospel song:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_on_the_Everlasting_Arms#In_popular_culture

I am getting a message from God, to lean on stuff more, stop standing up straight and supporting myself with my spine. Ok Lord.

(movies to follow)

One movie was relatively new, the other a classic I'd shamefully - SHAMEFULLY I say (before you do) - never seen.

1) FIRST REFORMED (2017). Combination of great and kind of dopey imho.

2) NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955). Utterly brilliant, instantly one of my favorite movies ever.

I've known about Night of the Hunter and its iconicography for years but never saw it. Yeah, I suck.

Among many other things, it made me sad that Charles Laughton never directed another movie. What a masterpiece.

[warning, NOTH spoiler ]

I also found it very moving given our circumstances in the USA now. Robert Mitchum's murderous con man is enabled by so many morally weak / confused people, until he meets his match in Lilian Gish's character, who detects his bullshit immediately.

Gish's character is a tough old bird who knows herself and has a firm sense of morality - which includes being flexible and understanding to the poor kids she's volunteered to care for. It's not the provisional mostly-for-show morality of the townspeople.

Very different kind of movie obviously, but reminded me of Frances McDormand's character in FARGO. A voracious kind of evil overtakes a whole bunch of people and it needs a grounded, fundamentally decent person with no weird ambitions to stop it.

And folks that's our episode of Corbett on the Cinema for today, and probably forever.