"A Knife in the Dark", LOTR: The Fellowship, Bk.2, Ch. 2

As I had only ever been able to watch the movies prior to taking this Tolkien class, I never knew what really transpired in Bree.

I thought the Riders came in the night, slashed the beds of the Hobbits, and made off angrily to return later on down the line. I had no information regarding the inn keeper's part to play, the general commotion of the entire town of Bree, the craftiness of Strider when he "snuck" them out of town, or of Bill Ferny's creepiness and seeming allegiance to the darkness.

To me, this bit of information served to make the events at Bree far more adventurous and fantastic than the thrill seeking movies tend to. I am upset that the films would have left this out, especially as it is Strider's first moment of assistance to the Hobbits. In taking this away, they continue to paint Strider as an untrustworthy and potentially dark figure. However, for the most part, the Hobbits had already gotten passed this belief and had entrusted him with their lives.

Film changes everything, doesn't it? Can you think of other reasons why they may have done this or why Tolkien thought it was important to include this information outside of simply making Strider look more or less reliable and scary?