The Stranger (1946 film)

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The Stranger

Directed by	Orson Welles
Produced by	Sam Spiegel
Written by	Orson Welles, Anthony Veiller, John Huston (uncredited)
Starring	Orson Welles, Loretta Young, Edward G. Robinson
Distributed by	International Pictures/RKO
Release date(s)	1946
Running time	95 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Stranger is a 1946 film noir/drama starring Orson Welles and Loretta Young. Directed by Welles from a screenplay written by Victor Travis. Sam Spiegel was the film’s producer. It’s believed that this is the first film released after World War II that showed footage of concentration camps. The Stranger was the only film made by Welles to show a profit upon its initial release.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

It’s 1946 and Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) of the United Nations War Crimes Commission is hunting for Nazi fugitive Franz Kindler (Orson Welles). Kindler has effectively covered his tracks prior to his escape to the United States. He assumes a new identity, Charles Rankin, lands a job as a university professor and gets married to Mary Longstreet (Loretta Young).

Wilson releases Kindler’s former associate Meinike (Konstantin Shayne) and follows him to Harper, Connecticut, but Meinke is strangled to death before he can identify Kindler. Wilson must convince Mrs. Rankin, the only person to have seen Kindler and Meinke together, that her husband is a war criminal.

[edit] Cast

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Actor/Actress	Role
Edward G. Robinson	Mr. Wilson
Loretta Young	Mary Longstreet Rankin
Orson Welles	Franz Kindler AKA Professor Charles Rankin
Philip Merivale	Judge Adam Longstreet (Mary’s father)
Richard Long	Noah Longstreet (Mary’s brother)
Konstantin Shayne	Konrad Meinike
Byron Keith	Dr. Jeffrey Lawrence
Billy House	Mr. Potter
Martha Wentworth	Sara

Orson Welles
Citizen Kane (1941) • The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) • The Stranger (1946) • The Lady from Shanghai (1947) • Macbeth (1948) • Othello (1952) • Mr. Arkadin (1955) • Touch of Evil (1958) • The Trial (1962) • Chimes at Midnight (1965) • The Immortal Story (1968) • F for Fake (1974)