The Stranger (1946)

Infamous Nazi war criminal called Franz Kindler (Orson Welles) assumes a new respectable identity in a Midwestern little town following WWII , unaware that a government agent (Edward G. Robinson) from the Allied War Crimes commission patiently stalks him . But his name is fake and his past is tenebrous . The escaped Nazi sedately living and is about to marry a beautiful as well as unsuspecting young woman (Loretta Young) , daughter of a prestigious judge (Philip Merivale) . But later on , Kindler feels his past closing in and he will need his own spouse to help him elude capture .

Interesting Welles movie with plenty of thrills , fine character studio , terrific interpretations and suspense from start to finish . It holds the viewer's interest but admittedly has some flaws , naive moments and wobbles . But it is studded with splendid scenes like the furtive flight across the dockyards at the beginning , the killing in the forests and the final confrontation on the clock tower including the sword wielded mechanical figures that move when the hour begins to strike . The vast New England town exterior sets, including the church with its 124-foot clock tower, were constructed in Hollywood on the back lot of the United Artists studio located on Santa Monica Blvd . Shocking scenes when are shown images about Nazi crimes , in fact it was the first mainstream American movie to feature footage of Nazi concentration camps following World War II . Nice acting by Orson Welles as a Nazi criminal who feels fascination with antique clocks and sedately esconsced in a small Connecticut town when an investigator is tailing him . Edward G. Robinson is perfect as a Federal agent out to get him . However , Orson Welles originally wanted Agnes Moorehead to play the FBI part , then the studio said no and instead gave him Edward G. Robinson . Furthermore , Loretta Young as attractive wife and Richard Long as brother give nicely understated interpretations . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score by Bronislau Kaper . Extremely well made camera-work throughout ; being shot in black and white filled with lights and darks by excellent cameraman Russell Metty . It is also available in horrible computer-colored version .

¨The stranger¨ was efficiently produced by Sam Spiegel and well directed by Orson Welles in 95 minutes runtime , being the only film directed by him to show a profit in its original release . However , Orson has stated that this is his least favorite of his films . Welles was a genius who had a large as well as problematic career . In 1938 he produced "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", famous for its broadcast version of "The War of the Worlds" . His first film to be seen by the public was ¨Ciudadano Kane¨ (1941), a commercial failure , but regarded by many as the best film ever made , along with his following movie , ¨The magnificent Ambersons¨ . After that , he directed this ¨The stranger¨ with an over-pitched acting by the same Welles and often described as his worst . He subsequently directed Shakespeare adaptation such as ¨Macbeth¨ , ¨Othelo¨ and his highly enjoyable ¨Chimes at Midnight¨ or ¨Falstaff¨ . He also performed a lot of films , Orson Welles interpreted for getting financing to shoot his pictures , as he played several exotic characters such as ¨The Tartari¨ , ¨Saul¨ , ¨Cagliostro¨ , ¨Cesare Borgia¨ and ¨Black rose¨ . Many of his next films were commercial flops and he exiled himself to Europe in 1948 . In 1956 he directed ¨Touch of evil¨ (1958) ; it failed in th

Fmovies: Whenever Edward G. Robinson appeared in a picture and Orson Welles directed and starred, you could always count on a great film and this particular film will be enjoyed for many generations because of a great plot and fantastic acting. Edward G. Robinson,(Mr. Wilson),"The Red House",'47 played the role of an investigator, looking for a man who committed horrible crimes during WW II and also a missing friend of his who recently visited this town. Mr. Wilson connects himself with the local town people and plays checkers with a man in town who knows just about everything that goes on with everyone in an New England town. Loretta Young( Mary Longstreet Rankin),"Second Honeymoon",'37, falls in love with Orson Welles,(Dr. Charles Rankin/Franz Kindler),"Butterfly,",'82 and marries the doctor and all kinds of strange things start to happen. Dr. Rankin loves to fix all kinds of clocks and especially a large church steeple clock which has not been working for many years. This story will keep you glued to the silver screen and the ending is very exciting.

The Stranger is a little slow to start. Edward G. Robinson, playing a war crimes detective named Wilson, lets loose one of the right-hand men of an important Nazi war criminal named Franz Kindler (Orson Welles) who escaped prison and managed to erase his identity. He was the mastermind behind the concentration camps. No photographs exist of him, and only this goon might know where he is. Wilson tracks the goon to a small town in Connecticut, where Franz Kindler is posing as a history professor about to marry the daughter of an important politician. Immediately the goon disappears, but the professor arouses Wilson's suspicion.

After the setup is over, The Stranger bolts ahead at a breathless pace. All the clues point to the professor, though there is nothing definitive. When his wife, Mary, finds out (played by Loretta Young), she refuses to believe it. Kindler feeds her a nice lie explaining everything, and she's desperate to believe it. He's not sure that he can trust her.

Welles pulls a ton of suspense out of the situation. He's so good at creating points of tension out of both the simplest means, like a group of college boys on a paper chase, a dog who won't stop digging in the leaves, or something much more gothic, like the ancient, broken-down clock in the church tower. Kindler was an expert on clocks (which is one of the biggest clues), and when he revives this old monster, an iron angel with a sword chases away the devil and then rings the bell to the hour. To get to the top of the tower, an extraordinarily tall ladder must be climbed. This leads to as much or more suspense as existed in the cognate scenes in Hitchcock's Vertigo. In fact, I'm sure Hitchcock watched and liked this film. Everyone knows he admired Welles' later Touch of Evil, which he mimicked in his own Psycho, so why not this film?

The acting is quite brilliant as well. We would expect it from Orson Welles, of course. This is actually one of his very best roles. He is amazing at telling believable lies to his wife and friends, but with the dramatic irony in which the audience is in possession, we see the depth and the nervousness and the evil. Edward G. Robinson has a pretty thankless role for a long time, but nearer the end he begins to expand. We cringe when he coldly suggests that Mary is in mortal danger. He is simply great in the climactic scene (which I won't mention except to say that it is one of the best in film history, although some might find it a bit silly). Loretta Young is also great as a naive wife who so desperately wants to be the perfect wife and believe everything her husband says. If this movie were to be remade today, her character would have been developed further psychologically, but what is here is good. She is also great in the climactic sequence.

Welles' films often have thriller elements, but this is his most thrilling. It's also probably his least philosophical, and almost certainly his most conventional. He made the film as a concession. I think he was allowed to make The Lady of Shanghai in return, which is an even better film than this. That is no matter, though. It's a masterpiece anyway. 10/10.

The Stranger fmovies. The IMDb trivia page says this is Orson Welles's least favorite and least personal film. Aside from "Citizen Kane" and "The Magnificent Ambersons," I think this potent film noir is his most enjoyable—certainly more so than the ugly "Lady from Shanghai" or the overbaked and convoluted "Touch of Evil."

Charles Rankin (Orson Welles) is a professor in a respectable Connecticut town about to marry the daughter of a U.S. Supreme Court justice. But his name is fake and his past is filthy. An earnest convert to Christianity (Konstantin Shayne), who once ran a Nazi concentration camp, is capable of exposing him. "Rankin" kills this little old man and buries his body in the forest. But he isn't safe because an investigator (Edward G. Robinson) from the War Crimes Commission is on his tail. Rankin needs his own wife (Loretta Young) to help him elude capture. But his fascination with the local clock tower may prove his undoing.

As a director, Welles strains a bit too hard for effect in this film—and much too hard in everything but "Kane" and "Ambersons." In those two films all of his technical effects, striking as they are, seem effortless and exactly the right choices. Here, he has imperfect moments—such as the scene where his character is frantically, and inexplicably, trying to pick up pieces of paper—but everything else is splendid, especially the climax.

As an actor he's always compelling, but I think he makes one bad choice here. He's too guilty-looking in the early scenes. It makes us wonder why no one suspects him; and it robs us of a dramatic contrast when he begins to realize he's in imminent danger.

Loretta Young is generally a dull actress. She doesn't have enough skill to make an impression in the early scenes; but once the part requires histrionics she performs her duties well enough. Certainly her character is morally dubious and therefore fascinating in itself.

The best performance by far is Edward G. Robinson's. One of the great actors of his time, this ugly man has enough talent and star quality to underplay his role to great effect.

Orson Welles fans might find this exciting, well-plotted thriller too un-Wellesian to suit them. Otherwise, this is highly recommended.

The Stranger was directed by Orson Welles but he did not adapt it to the screen. Although this is seen as a detraction from the whole by some who have seen it, I believe that Welles' deft directing and penetrating acting is what makes this a Welles film for my taste. He was never a facile actor - but he uses his usual wooden countenance here to the advantage of this role.

Another thing that fascinates me is the underrated status of this engrossing thriller. The action and suspense builds and builds to a peak of excitement that few movies can reach without lots of special effects and Foley work these days. This movie fascinates at every turn without ever seeming as if we are watching art. But art it was in Welles' direction and gentle handling of the unravelling.

Edward G. Robinson is the subtle but welcome prize we receive from this outing. The undercurrents of the horrors that have just come before this movie was made and its actions can be seen seething within his duty to find hidden Nazis. He is methodical and intelligent, it so difficult to see the difference between Robinson the man and Robinson the actor here. He is such a talent that we often mistake his ease for something else but acting -- and of acting he was a master. Plainly seen here as a gift to all of us.

What I like about this and many other good films is how facts are revealed slowly, layer by layer.

Loretta Young was good as the innocent young girl who believes that marriage is a sacred institution, that life has a course to follow which will not be derailed and finds it hard to accept the truth of the horrors behind her marriage.

It was mildly amusing to see a very young Richard Long as the open-minded young man with whom Robinson's character confides certain facts.

I recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers, mysteries and of course, of Mr. Orson Welles. So sad that the studio heads were such disingenuous towards this utter genius of a man who deserved more earnest accolades in his life.

THE STRANGER is not glittering masterpiece but it's a hell of great story that I do not tire of watching...and seeing each piece of the puzzle fall into place.

What MORE could an intelligent person want from a movie?

It's quite interesting to see two acting legends like Orson Welles and Edward G. Robinson working together, and with a cast that includes those two plus Loretta Young, along with an interesting story, "The Stranger" is a pretty good thriller.

Welles and Robinson play an interesting cat-and-mouse game in the search for a former Nazi who is hiding out in a peaceful Connecticut town. It's fair to point out, as others have done, that the dialogue at times leaves a little to be desired, but Welles and Robinson have more than enough ability to carry it off anyway.

Loretta Young has a difficult role as the wife of Welles's character. The script does her no favors, either, but she gives a creditable performance as a character who is important to the story. Among the supporting cast, Billy House particularly stands out, getting surprisingly good mileage out of his role as the store-keeper.

Perhaps the most creative aspect of the movie is the effective use of the clock tower, both as a plot device and as an idea, along with the related themes of clocks and time. The tense climax makes good use of all of these elements.

Welles and Robinson were both parts of so many outstanding movies that sometimes their merely good movies can seem to suffer by comparison. As long as you don't try to compare "The Stranger" with some other film, but just watch it for itself, it's a good thriller and an entertaining movie.