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 ...
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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. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Seller's Description:
Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Philip Merivale, Richard Long, Konstantin Shayne, Byron Keith, Billy House,... Good. 1946 Run time: 95. NOT ex-library. Disc(s) present in box with original artwork. Quick dispatch from UK seller.
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Good. May have very light or no surface scratches. Case and artwork are included but may show minimal signs of wear. If applicable: Digital copy or ultraviolet codes may be expired or not included.
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Billy House, Byron Keith, Philip Merivale, Isabel O'Madigan, Edward G. Robinson, Johnny Sands, Konstantin Shayne, Pietro... Very good. Run time: 95. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Philip Merivale, Richard Long, Konstantin Shane, Byron Keith, Billy House,... Very good. Run time: 95. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Fair. Disc(s) have been resurfaced using a professional-grade machine. Case shows moderate wear and tear. If applicable, digital copy not included. May be missing liner notes/booklet. All items include original case and outer artwork. If applicable, slipcover may not be included. All items ship Mon-Fri.
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Seller's Description:
Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles. Very good. 1946 Run time: 95. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Loretta Young, Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles. Very good. 1946 Run time: 95. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
This 1946 film "The Stranger" is the first movie in which the Holocaust plays a role. About mid-way through the movie, there is some grainy, horrifying footage of Nazi atrocities at the concentration camps. More importantly, the film centers around efforts to bring a Nazi war criminal to justice who has escaped to a small New England town.
Orson Welles directed "The Stranger" and also played the villain a mastermind of the Holocaust named Franz Kindler who is passing Charles Rankin, a history teacher in Harper, Connecticut. Edward G. Robinson plays Wilson, an official of the United States War Crimes Commission who is determined to bring Kindler to justice. Loretta Young plays the lovely, innocent, and naive Mary Longstreet, the daughter of a Supreme Court Justice. Mary has married Rankin, blissfully ignorant of his Nazi past.
As the film opens, Wilson tracks down Kindler through releasing and following one of Kindler's associates, Meineke, who has been condemned to death for his war crimes. Kindler is forced to kill Meineke and buries his body in the woods. The cool, methodical Wilson gradually learns the truth and works cunningly to capture his man by allowing Mary slowly to understand the type of man she has unwittingly married.
The film builds in suspense throughout. The apparent peacefulness of the small New England town with it checker-playing proprietor of the general store is contrasted with Nazi brutality and treachery. Welles captures the sinister nature of the war criminal while Robinson's part, which requires him to pose as a connoisseur of art, almost allows him to play himself. Loretta Young is beautiful and understands her role. The supporting cast also is effective.
The film also features shadowy noir photography throughout. It is shown to best effect in the early scenes involving the tailing of Meineke through his arrival in the Connecticut town, in the climactic final scene on an old clock tower, and in scenes between Kindler and Mary in their ornate old New England home.
The May 1, 2020 issue of "The Guardian" included a review of this film by Andrew Pulver as part of a series of under-appreciated films to watch during the pandemic. In his review, "My Streaming Gem: Why You Should Watch
The Stranger" Pulver offered an appreciation of this rare film and pointed out how the film captured the essence of film noir in its depiction of the shadows of post -WW II American life. Pulver wrote:
"The Stranger, principally, brings home the enduring theme of noir: the devastation that the second world war wreaked on the American psyche, and the silent nastiness that proliferated behind the white picket fence. (Nothing new, of course, if you were African American or First Nation.) Unearthing a war criminal as he marries into the family of a supreme court justice is a fairly uncomplicated deployment of the motif - but in these dislocated times it's a reminder that once the American establishment took exception to Nazis. Somehow that seems a long time ago."
I was glad to have the opportunity to watch "The Stranger" and to enhance my appreciation and knowledge of film noir.
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