Having directed two undisputed masterpieces – Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons – Orson Welles delved into the suspense film for his third feature, crafting a post-war, psychological noir that laid the foundations for his later film noir classics, The Lady from Shanghai and Touch of Evil. Edward G. Robinson stars as a government agent tracking down a sadistic Nazi officer (Welles), who has evaded justice for running Nazi extermination camps. Rankin has crafted a new identity for himself in a quaint Connecticut town by marrying Mary (Loretta Young), the daughter of a local judge, but as his past begins to catch up with him will his wife side with the investigators or her husband? Largely only seen in its truncated edition, the film was one of the few Welles productions to deliver box office success on release.
The Stranger
Directed by Orson Welles