The Stranger

"The most deceitful man a woman ever loved!"

1946 1h 35m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 661

ThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi, who may be hiding out in a small town in the guise of a distinguished professor engaged to the Supreme Court Justice’s daughter.

“The most deceitful man a woman ever loved!”

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Cast

Edward G. Robinson
Federal Agent Wilson
Loretta Young
Mary Longstreet
Orson Welles
Prof. Charles Rankin
Philip Merivale
Judge Adam Longstreet
Richard Long
Noah Longstreet
Konstantin Shayne
Konrad Meinike
Byron Keith
Dr. Jeffrey Lawrence
Billy House
Mr. Solomon Potter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Anthony Veiller, Victor Trivas, Orson Welles
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Orson Welles, shot by Russell Metty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bronislau Kaper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ernest J. Nims shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young and Orson Welles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Orson Welles directs. Russell Metty behind the camera. Bronislau Kaper scores. Ernest J. Nims cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
380 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.
5Directed by Orson Welles, shot by Russell Metty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Bronislau Kaper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ernest J. Nims shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young and Orson Welles carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The most deceitful man a woman ever loved!".
10IMDB entry: tt0038991 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "nazi", "clock tower", "professor", "clock".
12Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Metty
Original score: Bronislau Kaper
Editing: Ernest J. Nims
Production design: Perry Ferguson
Makeup / hair: Robert Cowan
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,034,000
Box office: $3,220,000
Return: 311% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Stranger (1946)

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Orson Welles

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Community reviews

What people are saying

TheCakerBaker2013-07-03
★ 7.5/10
Excellent cinematography and camerawork as can be expected from Welles. Entertaining throughout. Watch if you're a fan of film noir
John Chard2018-12-13
★ 9/10
They searched the woods. I watched them, here, like God looking at little ants. We are in the college town of Harper, Connecticut, one day a man known only as Wilson arrives, he's a member of the War Crimes Commission, in short he's a Nazi Hunter. On his radar is the man thought to have invented the Nazi Death Camps, Franz Kindler, surely such a despicable and low human being is not residing in this lovely little place? The Stranger finds director (and star) Orson Welles fusing two rather interesting facts, fact one is that this picture, coming at a time when Welles was really struggling as a viable artist, is one of his most conventional pictures, fact two is that it's also one of his finest achievements. All Welles' traits are here, the expert use of shadows and lights, tricksy camera angles, buildings carrying auras. A clock tower at the centre of the piece is a foreboding character all by itself, listen out for the clock tower dongs and I swear to you they sound like a death knell beckoning us in to its belly, this is Welles crafting wonderful atmospherics to enhance the mood in this small and picturesque town. Yet it's probably with his acting performance that he achieves the best rewards, it's made clear to the viewers from the off that Welles is the villain of the piece, it's not in question, the issue is if he can avoid and escape the clutches of Edward G Robinson's determined Wilson?. Here Welles excels because this is no cartoon cut out Nazi portrayal, this is cold and calculating stuff, cynical with devilment seeping from his pores, he arrogantly believes that he is just and correct at every turn. Loretta Young (Mary Longstreet) plays off of Welles very well, on the surface it looked like she wasn't being asked to be anything more than a foolish love interest, but as the last quarter arrives she gets some meat to chew on and aided by Robinson in perfectly restrained form, gives us a finale that in true Welles tradition is as memorable as it is unfeasibly gorgeous. It's a fitting end to a truly great picture, highly recommended viewing, tight, tense and terrific. 9/10
CinemaSerf2022-07-07
★ 7/10
This taut and suspenseful thriller finds a devilishly clever Edward G. Robinson ("Mr. Wilson") on the trail of the Nazi who allegedly devised the whole concept of mass annihilation in the concentration camps. Having released one of his erstwhile minions "Meinike", he hopes that he will lead to him the big fish. Well he does, sort of - but suddenly disappears in a small town leaving "Wilson" with little to go on but his target's infatuation with all things horological. Enter a typical, recently married, couple - the "Rankins" (Orson Welles & Loretta Young) on the surface, a perfectly average pair but one whom "Wilson" suspects has a sinister past and so he sets out to prove this. Welles is not great here, but workmanlike with this acting performance (he directed this too); Young a little too over-the top an times, but the last 20 minutes are gripping and psychologically charged - there is a palpable feeling of evil and menace as "Wilson" cleverly manipulates the situation to try to reel in his catch. Welles fares better with the direction - he builds a tension that, even though we know fairly early on who is whom - keeps us interested right til the end.