The Stranger

Excellent cinematography and camerawork as can be expected from Welles. Entertaining throughout. Watch if you're a fan of film noir

John Chard

2018-12-13

⭐ 9

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 struggli…

CinemaSerf

2022-07-07

⭐ 7

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 pa…

r96sk

2024-05-23

⭐ 7

A good movie, albeit one that finishes weaker than it started. I really enjoyed the set up of <em>'The Stranger'</em>, though once the cat is let out the bag events do move along at a notch below. The final 30 feels a little drawn out, admittedly only in a relative sense because it is still perfectly watchable - but I personally wasn't as interested as I was across the opening chunk. There is a commanding showing from Edward G. Robinson, the best of those onscreen for my money. Orson Welles is good too, particularly visually. Loretta Young has a couple of impressive moments in there too,…