About The Stranger

The Stranger, released in 1946, is an American film noir directed by Orson Welles, starring Welles himself, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. The film revolves around a War Crimes investigator seeking out a Nazi fugitive, who has assumed a new identity in a small Connecticut town.

Making / Production

The Stranger was the only film Orson Welles directed in which he did not have a hand in the script. It was produced by Sam Spiegel (under the pseudonym S.P. Eagle) and released by RKO Pictures.

Actors

• Orson Welles as Professor Charles Rankin, a man living under a new identity in Connecticut. Welles played the role with depth, portraying a man grappling with his genuine affections for his new wife and his horrendous past.
• Edward G. Robinson as Mr. Wilson, War Crimes investigator seeking the Nazi fugitive. Robinson gives an engrossing performance as a man doggedly seeking justice.
• Loretta Young as Mary Longstreet, the unsuspecting new wife of Rankin. Young embodies the character's emotional journey from new love to horror and disbelief superbly.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• This was Orson Welles third completed feature film to be released.
• The Stranger was the first commercial film to use documentary footage from the Nazi concentration camps.

Quotes

• "You know, there's a school of thought that says everybody is a potential murderer." - Orson Welles as Charles Rankin.
• "Who but a Nazi would deny that Karl Marx was a German because he was a Jew?" - Edward G. Robinson as Mr. Wilson.

Music, Soundtrack

• The film's original music was composed by Bronislau Kaper, renowned for his work in several other film noirs.
• Two of the most prominent musical themes in the film are Franz Schubert's "Serenade" and "Die Forelle".