The Stranger is a little slow to start. Edward G. Robinson, playing a war crimes detective named Wilson, lets loose one of the right-hand men of an important Nazi war criminal named Franz Kindler (Orson Welles) who escaped prison and managed to erase his identity. He was the mastermind behind the concentration camps. No photographs exist of him, and only this goon might know where he is. Wilson tracks the goon to a small town in Connecticut, where Franz Kindler is posing as a history professor about to marry the daughter of an important politician. Immediately the goon disappears, but the professor arouses Wilson's suspicion.

After the setup is over, The Stranger bolts ahead at a breathless pace. All the clues point to the professor, though there is nothing definitive. When his wife, Mary, finds out (played by Loretta Young),she refuses to believe it. Kindler feeds her a nice lie explaining everything, and she's desperate to believe it. He's not sure that he can trust her.

Welles pulls a ton of suspense out of the situation. He's so good at creating points of tension out of both the simplest means, like a group of college boys on a paper chase, a dog who won't stop digging in the leaves, or something much more gothic, like the ancient, broken-down clock in the church tower. Kindler was an expert on clocks (which is one of the biggest clues),and when he revives this old monster, an iron angel with a sword chases away the devil and then rings the bell to the hour. To get to the top of the tower, an extraordinarily tall ladder must be climbed. This leads to as much or more suspense as existed in the cognate scenes in Hitchcock's Vertigo. In fact, I'm sure Hitchcock watched and liked this film. Everyone knows he admired Welles' later Touch of Evil, which he mimicked in his own Psycho, so why not this film?

The acting is quite brilliant as well. We would expect it from Orson Welles, of course. This is actually one of his very best roles. He is amazing at telling believable lies to his wife and friends, but with the dramatic irony in which the audience is in possession, we see the depth and the nervousness and the evil. Edward G. Robinson has a pretty thankless role for a long time, but nearer the end he begins to expand. We cringe when he coldly suggests that Mary is in mortal danger. He is simply great in the climactic scene (which I won't mention except to say that it is one of the best in film history, although some might find it a bit silly). Loretta Young is also great as a naive wife who so desperately wants to be the perfect wife and believe everything her husband says. If this movie were to be remade today, her character would have been developed further psychologically, but what is here is good. She is also great in the climactic sequence.

Welles' films often have thriller elements, but this is his most thrilling. It's also probably his least philosophical, and almost certainly his most conventional. He made the film as a concession. I think he was allowed to make The Lady of Shanghai in return, which is an even better film than this. That is no matter, though. It's a masterpiece anyway. 10/10.

Any Orson Welles film is worth taking a look. It will surprise the viewer in many ways because of Mr Wells' keen sense of cinematic eye. The only thing bad with this movie is the fact that Orson Welles didn't adapt it for the screen. As a result, it suffers in many logical aspects, but doesn't detract from the over all enjoyment of the movie.

Mr. Welles' legacy is a treasure for the movie loving public. He was indeed a man ahead of his time. "The Stranger" wasn't one of his best films, but it has its rewards in the great cinematography, the acting by the magnificent cast assembled for this picture.

From the beginning we get to know who the real bad guy is. The story builds suspense as it goes along. The film is never boring and doesn't feel outdated at all. The last scenes at the clock tower are pure Welles. The interior of the clock tower scenes couldn't have been conceived by no other than Mr. Welles himself. The ending is amazing, to say the least.

Loretta Young, as Mary, the young bride is perfect for the part. Edward G. Robinson plays the war criminal hunter, Mr. Wilson. He is always effective, no matter what film he is in. Mr. Welles, is very intense as Dr. Rankin. Even the minor roles played by Billy House, Richard Long and Martha Wentworth are perfectly conceived and acted.

For fans of Orson Welles to enjoy.

This is a very good film--especially since it is very different and features some excellent performances. In particular, I enjoyed seeing an older Edward G. Robinson in the role of the Nazi hunter. Plus, while Hollywood did a lot of anti-Nazi propaganda films during the war, as soon as it ended, it was almost like the 3rd Reich hadn't existed except in war films. Other than a sensationalistic and generally dopey films like MARATHON MAN and BOYS FROM BRAZIL, I can't think of that many movies that dealt with post-war Nazis. And I really appreciated this type of film following the war.

About the only thing about the movie that just didn't ring true was the character played by Loretta Young. I doubt if the problem is her fault, but more the way her character was written. She seemed genuinely stupid and hyper-emotional and how she dealt with her husband at the end of the film just seemed ridiculous. Too bad, as otherwise this was an excellent film.