The Stranger (1946)

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1. 

   inhonoredglory

   Orson Welles always directs somber, dark films with meaning and irony. It's interesting how he directs his own villainy in this one -- as an escaped Nazi hiding in an innocent Connecticut town and marrying an equally virtuous woman (Loretta Young) as a part of his cover. Edward G. Robinson plays the War Crimes investigator that finds him in the town. There is definite tension in this one, and Welles' role is chillingly cunning. Irony is sharp, especially in the concluding scenes and in Welles' speech on German reform. Biblical allusions strengthen the theme. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I hope to see more Orson Welles pictures. 13 years ago
2. 

   steamRobot

   Fantastically nuts and wonderfully so. Even when he attempts a studio picture Welles creates something dark and twisted. 11 years 10 months ago
3. 

   dombrewer

   There's mastery of the camera as you'd expect from Welles - the B&W cinematography and the use of shadow in particular is brilliant - but the story doesn't hang together quite as well. Welles' Nazi war criminal, hiding out as a history teacher in Smalltown USA, is shifty and suspicious from the outset making you wonder how anyone didn't suspect there was something up with him from the start - it's not a subtle performance by any means, and with the cat out of the bag from the very beginning it doesn't make for great thrills. Loretta Young's Mary seems all the more foolish for not seeing the obvious, but Edward G. Robinson is excellent as the man sent to hunt him down. The denouement is preposterous in the extreme and

   so heavily foreshadowed it's quite comical when the clock-face angel finally does Kindler in with the sword of justice

   . For all that it's a diverting film noir, and bringing to the screen the horrors of the concentration camps, barely a year after Hitler was defeated, is impressive in itself. 12 years 5 months ago

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