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About this movie

Genres:
Mystery & Suspense, Crime, Drama
Language:
English
Running time:
1:31:13
Partner rating:
YELLOWV
Released:
Quality:
480 (DVD equivalent)

Cast & Crew

Cast

  1. Edward G. Robinson Wilson
  2. Loretta Young Mary Longstreet
  3. Orson Welles Franz Kindler/Prof. Charles Rankin
  4. Philip Merivale Judge Longstreet
  5. Richard Long Noah Longstreet
  6. Konstantin Shayne Konrad Meinike
  7. Byron Keith Dr. Jeff Lawrence
  8. Billy House Mr. Potter
  9. Martha Wentworth Sara
  10. Isabel O'Madigan Mrs. Lawrence
  11. Johnny Sands Student
  12. Pietro Sosso Mr. Peabody

Directors

  1. Orson Welles

Producers

  1. Sam Spiegel
  2. Sam P. Eagle

Writers

  1. Anthony Veiller
  2. Victor Trivas
  3. Decla Dunning
  4. John Huston
  5. Orson Welles

The Stranger


The Stranger is often considered Orson Welles' most "traditional" Hollywood-style directorial effort. Welles plays a college professor named Charles Rankin, who lives in a pastoral Connecticut town with his lovely wife Mary (Loretta Young). One afternoon, an extremely nervous German gentleman named Meineke (Konstantin Shayne) arrives in town. Professor Rankin seems disturbed--but not unduly so--by Meineke's presence. He invites the stranger for a walk in the woods, and as they journey farther and farther away from the center of town, we learn that kindly professor Rankin is actually notorious Nazi war criminal Franz Kindler. Conscience-stricken by his own genocidal wartime activities, Meineke has come to town to beg his ex-superior Kindler to give himself up. The professor responds by brutally murdering his old associate. If Kindler believes himself safe--and he has every reason to do so, since no one in town, especially Mary, has any inkling of his previous life--he will change his mind in a hurry when mild-mannered war crimes commissioner Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) pays a visit, posing as an antiques dealer.

Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes

Scored 'fresh' by Rotten Tomatoes

95%Tomatometer score: 95% positive reviews from professional critics.

percent positive reviews

  1. Positive review
    Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader Orson Welles's 1946 film reproduces his personal themes of self-scrutiny and self-destruction only in outline, though it is an inventive, highly enjoyable thriller. Full review External link
  2. Negative review
    Bosley Crowther, New York Times The whole film, produced by S. P. Eagle, comes off a bloodless, manufactured show. Full review External link
  3. Positive review
    Derek Adams, Time Out Welles' third film, often described as his worst, but still a hugely enjoyable thriller. Full review External link

Read more reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

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