The Stranger (1946) - Video On Demand

The Stranger - Movie Review

Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) of the War Crimes Commission is seeking Franz Kindler (Orson Welles), mastermind of the Holocaust, who has effectively erased his identity. Wilson releases Kindler's former comrade Meinike, a convicted Nazi war criminal, and follows him to Harper, Connecticut, where he is killed before he can identify Kindler. Now Wilson's only clue is Kindler's fascination with antique clocks; but though Kindler seems secure in his new identity, he feels his past closing in.

The Stranger is generally regarded by Orson Welles fans as a standard thriller done for money, undertaken to prove to studio executives that he could work within the system (it had been four years since his last directorial effort). He even said as much in interviews, and criticised the studio for cutting approximately 30 minutes from the beginning of the film. While only Anthony Veiller was credited with the screenplay, it had been rewritten by Welles and John Huston.

Seeking to avoid the expense and controversy of Welles' earlier films, producer Spiegel kept tight control of the project, and the result was comparatively more restrained work from Welles. Welles completed The Stranger under budget and on time. It was released in May of 1946 and performed quite well at the box-office, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

More importantly, it proved to Hollywood that Welles was a bankable director, and paved the way for his next film, The Lady from Shanghai. Even though Welles disowned The Stranger, it still contains enough of his personal touches and pre-occupations to elevate it above the generic thriller, to a movie that belongs alongside his other artistic successes.

The film features distinctive Welles touches like the use of German Expressionistic lighting (in particular, the use of silhouettes) that Welles used so effectively in Citizen Kane (1941). Welles also uses a swooping high-angle establishing shot to give a God's-eye-view that anticipates a similar shot at the beginning of Touch of Evil (both films were shot by Russell Metty) and also utilises low-angle shots (used effectively in Kane).

The Stranger - Cast & Crew

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