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These are not "home movies" but hours of outtakes from the film itself.
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I saw a lengthy (158min) documentary at last year's Tribeca film festival, containing much of that footage. Essential Charles Laughton would just let the camera run, doing multiple takes without stopping it, so you hear his instructions to the actors, his playing out parts, etc. plus many versions of the same scenes.
Very, very fascinating stuff. I'd have a hard time describing it as a possible DVD extra though, as it is considerably longer than the film itself -- unless MGM is into doing Criterion style, high priced two or three DVD SE, I would imagine that the documentary would get a seperate release.
Here is the blurb from the festival schedule:
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"The Night Of The Hunter is the only classic motion picture for which the original rushes, trims and outtakes survive. All of this material was left on the cutting room floor by director Charles Laughton and film editor Robert Golden almost half a century ago and has not been seen since. While there are no missing scenes here, these rushes provide the viewer with a unique understanding of how neophyte director Laughton coached and interacted with his performers, helping them develop their characters onscreen. Because Laughton liked to keep the camera running between takes, we hear his offscreen voice directing and motivating the performances of Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce and the other actors. The outtakes to be screened have been carefully selected from more than eight hours of surviving material, and represent an alternative view of all of the film's most memorable sequences --Robert Gitt (About the restoration: Preserved from 35mm acetate picture positives and original 35mm magnetic sound tracks from the collection of Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester. Restoration of feature, outtake, and rehearsal footage by UCLA Film & Television Archive, in cooperation with MGM Studios. "
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Ted
