The Stranger (1946)

Director:

Orson Welles

Writers:

Anthony Veiller (screenplay)
Victor Trivas (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

25 May 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Most Deceitful Man A Woman Ever Loved !

Plot:

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.

Plot Keywords:

Connecticut | War Crime | Clock | Nazi | Professor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	Mr. Wilson
Loretta Young	...	Mary Longstreet
Orson Welles	...	Professor Charles Rankin
Philip Merivale	...	Judge Adam Longstreet
Richard Long	...	Noah Longstreet
Konstantin Shayne	...	Konrad Meinike
Byron Keith	...	Dr. Jeffrey Lawrence
Billy House	...	Mr. Potter
Martha Wentworth	...	Sara

Also Known As:

Date with Destiny (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Hungary:14 | Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #11353) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

United Artists Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

International Pictures (I)

Trivia:

A lengthy scene of Meineke trying to find Kindler was filmed but cut by the studio. The footage (between 20-30 minutes) is believed lost as even the original negatives have gone missing. (see alternate versions)

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The swastika that Kindler is drawing on the notepad is running in the wrong direction.

Quotes:

Wilson: Well, who but a Nazi would deny that Karl Marx was a German... because he was a Jew?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Prodigal Sons (2008)

Plotting War Criminal Stalked by Savvy Investigator, Chilling and Dramatic

Orson Welles portrays the character of Franz Kindler, a Nazi who, not long after the war, has taken a guise as an American professor. Edward G. Robinson portrays Mr. Wilson, the war crimes official who hunts him by releasing one of his former underlings to find the way back to his master.

Kindler is unrepentantly evil and deceptive. There is no conflict or remorse in him about his past, and his professed love for his new wife Mary (portrayed by Loretta Young) is totally fake, though he is satisfied to live that way as it suits his purposes. The pressure on him builds steadily as Mr. Wilson eliminates other potential suspects and steadily tightens the noose. Kindler's calm and assured and intelligent demeanor increasingly falters.

I found that Loretta Young gave the finest performance of these three principal actors. She is torn in a long battle between the competing virtues of loyalty to her husband and honesty and responsibility as she begins to sense the truth. Loyalty compels her to lie and make excuses and deny, even to herself. Not consciously accepting or understanding anything at first she nonetheless begins to fret and anguish, and she recoils at her husband's touch.

The 1946 black-and-white movie, which I viewed on a DVD from one of the multiple-movie sets from St. Claire Vision that had video and audio of okay quality, had nice dramatic camera work and very few flaws in the story. It was a bit difficult for me to believe that Mr. Wilson could zero in on Kindler at a dinner table, yet walk away thinking he had not found the guy. The ending could be regarded as overly dramatic. But then either of those sequences could be regarded as highlights of the film.

In all, I think that this is an artistic and very fine film, chilling and suspenseful.