The Stranger (1946)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

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:

Continuity: When Wilson runs the Concentration Camp footage for Mary Longstreet we see several shots of her face with the flickering light from the screen reflected onto her face. When the film runs out of the projector the light on her face continues to flicker as if film is still being projected instead of being a bright white light.

Quotes:

Wilson: He was an obscenity on the face of the earth. The stench of burning flesh was in his clothes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Prodigal Sons (2008)

I like Harper just the way it is even without a clock....

Loretta Young intones her provincial view of a small Connecticut town, and how everything is perfect, nothing terrible can ever happen in Harper.

Orson Welles deserves credit for this underrated gem. Richard Long is Noah Longstreet and Richard Merrivale as Young's father, a Supreme Court judge.

Edward G. Robinson is the government official, tracking down former Nazi Franz Kindler. Could he be in this perfect American town?. Welles is undercover as a local professor. He marries Mary Longstreet (Loretta Young) but soon some terrible things start occurring in Harper. Mary's dog, Red is missing. Then the body of a mysterious foreigner is found in the woods.

The clock plays a backdrop; Franz Kindler is an amateur clock collector. There are several intriguing scenes, such as when Welles is discussing Nazis and warfare, in the context of history. This is a brilliant suspense film. 10/10.