The Stranger

Orson Wells stars and directs The Stranger and doesn't rate it his best film. I can't argue with him about that.

Using the old (by now) trap of releasing a prisoner and following him, Wilson tracks through to Harper, Connecticut, the home of a retired Nazi. And there is absolutely no question about who it is, because the movie tells us immediately. And there is little doubt about will Wilson find out, because he does so pretty much immediately. And then the rest of the movie is just marking time while everyone waits for the truth to come out.

While this is a "thriller", it's a slow thriller... and not very thrilling. We know who all the players are, their true selves, so we just sit and wait for the movie to plot along. While Orson Wells doesn't seem terribly interested, Loretta Young gives a great performance opposite him. While I can't recall seeing Edward G. Robinson in other pictures, he seems to be doing solid pedestrian work here.

A rather flat movie, overall.

And this song kept going through my head:


The film society is taking a break while the NZIFF is on, so I'm sure I won't see any movies until it comes back...

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