The Stranger (1946)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Orson Welles

Writers:

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

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:

War Crimes | Connecticut | Nazi | Clock | Clock Tower

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Bond	...	Student (uncredited)
John Brown	...	Passport Photographer (uncredited)
Neal Dodd	...	Minister (uncredited)
Nancy Evans	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Fred Godoy	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Joseph Granby	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw	...	Todd, Customer in Potter's Store (uncredited)
Ruth Lee	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Lillian Molieri	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Isabel O'Madigan	...	Mrs. Lawrence (uncredited)
Gabriel Peralta	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Gerald Pierce	...	Kid throwing newspaper shreds (uncredited)
Robert Raison	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Rebel Randall	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Johnny Sands	...	Jogging Student in Woods (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Party guest (uncredited)
Pietro Sosso	...	Mr. Peabody (uncredited)
Brother Theodore	...	Fairbright (uncredited)
Josephine Victor	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Orson Welles

Writing credits
Anthony Veiller		(screenplay)
Victor Trivas		(adaptation) and
Decla Dunning		(adaptation)
Victor Trivas		(story)
John Huston		uncredited and
Orson Welles		uncredited

Produced by
Sam Spiegel	....	producer (as S. P. Eagle)

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper		(as Bronislaw Kaper)

Cinematography by
Russell Metty		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ernest J. Nims		(as Ernest Nims)

Production Design by
Perry Ferguson

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Michael Woulfe		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Robert Cowan	....	makeup artist (as Bob Cowan)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack Voglin	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Arthur Johns	....	sound
Corson Jowett	....	sound

Special Effects by
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
David Sharpe	....	stunts (uncredited)

Other crew
Gladys Hill	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• International Pictures (I) (presents)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent Releasing Organization (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Take 2 Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Master Movies (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• United American Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Roan Group, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Music (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• FOCUSfilm Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• FOCUSfilm Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Brentwood Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Questar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Roan Group, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Timeless Video (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Passport International Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Castle Communications (1993) (Finland) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD) (special edition)
• Ermitage Cinema (2001) (Italy) (DVD)
• Ermitage Cinema (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Finnkino (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Radio Filmes (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• St. Clair Entertainment Group (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• YLE Teema (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1979) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Screen Time Images  audio restoration
• Screen Time Images  film restoration

Also Known As:

Date with Destiny (USA) (working title)
Az óra körbe jár (Hungary) [hu]
Criminel (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Den fremmede (Denmark) [da]
Der Fremde (West Germany) [de]
Die Spur des Fremden (West Germany) [de]
El extraño (Spain) [es]
El extranjero (Spain) (DVD title) [es]
Främlingen (Sweden) [sv]
Främlingen försvan (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Ha-Zar (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Intruz (Poland) [pl]
Le criminel (France) [fr]
Lo straniero (Italy) [it]
Moordenaar (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Muukalainen katoaa... (Finland) [fi]
Muukalainen katosi (Finland) (reissue title) [fi]
O Estrangeiro (Portugal) [pt]
O Estranho (Brazil) [pt]

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:

In one of the final scenes, when Orson Welles lifts Loretta Young one-handed into the clock tower from a ladder, this is not a special effect. Loretta Young stated that this was actually filmed in the church with her dangling dangerously many feet above the church floor.

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)

Good Thriller With Welles, Robinson, & More

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.