The Night of the Hunter(1955)

POOPER: (Thanks Curt, The Grand Poop-bah)
Reverend Powell (Robert Mitchum) is hanged and Rachel (Lillian Gish) adopts the children.

LONG VERSION:
The movie follows Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), a fraudulent preacher and serial killer with “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed on his knuckles. Imprisoned for car theft, Powell shares a cell with Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who was sentenced to death for a bank robbery that left two men dead. Before his execution, Ben hides the stolen $10,000 in his daughter Pearl’s (Sally Jane Bruce) doll, urging his son John (Billy Chapin) to keep it secret.

After release, Powell travels to Ben’s hometown in West Virginia, posing as a preacher. He manipulates Ben’s grieving widow, Willa Harper (Shelley Winters), into marrying him, hoping to extract the money’s location from John and Pearl. The children distrust Powell, who grows increasingly violent. When Willa discovers his true motives, Powell slits her throat and sinks her body in a car submerged in the river. Townsfolk, led by neighbor Icey Spoon (Evelyn Varden), mistakenly revere Willa as a martyr.

Powell terrorizes John and Pearl, who flee by boat down the river. They find refuge with Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish), a stern but compassionate widow who shelters orphaned children. Powell tracks them, but Rachel confronts him with a shotgun, forcing him to flee. Police arrest Powell after discovering Willa’s body. In court, he is convicted and sentenced to death. John and Pearl remain safely under Rachel’s care, the money now used for their future.