Orson Welles although he had to give in to studio demands in terms of casting still managed to direct himself and the rest of his players into a pretty good man hunt thriller in The Stranger.
The cast change was to put Edward G. Robinson in the role of the hunter of fugitive Nazi Franz Kindler played by Welles. Originally Welles wanted one of his Mercury Theater players Agnes Moorehead in the part. At that time it would have been quite a blow for feminism and probably would have made The Stranger a feminist landmark. As it is Edward G. Robinson brings his own truth and conviction to the role.
Orson Welles is the fugitive Kindler who is modeled upon the then at large Martin Bormann. We never learned that Bormann had in fact been killed by the Russians who just never bothered to tell us until the early seventies. Bormann in his time was the most wanted man at least in the capitalist world.
Bormann did not originate the 'final solution' mass extermination policy for Jews and other undesirables, but like Kindler in the film and unlike some of the others of Hitler's gang, he did have a passion for anonymity. It made hunting for him that much the harder.
Another one of the Nazi small fry Konstantin Shayne is allowed to escape jail and the hangman in the hopes that he'll lead the authorities to Welles. Shayne performs on schedule and Welles is forced to kill him in order to keep his his new identity as a teacher at an exclusive prep school for America's WASP elite.
Welles has also married Loretta Young, the daughter of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice to make his entry into the elite complete. Robinson had lost Shayne's trail before he was killed, but knows his man is in that small New England town. Robinson settles down in the town posing as an antique dealer and fishes for information as to who his prey is posing as.
Welles got a very good performance out of Loretta Young in the same year she won her Oscar for The Farmer's Daughter. It does slowly dawn on her, but she refuses to believe the man she married only married her for a respectable identity. Her slow realization is what makes her performance a good one.
Others noteworthy in the cast are a young Richard Long as Young's brother who Robinson takes into his confidence early and Billy House as the storekeeper/checkers hustler.
You can see traces of Welles's technique from such earlier work like Citizen Kane. One of my favorite shots, reminiscent of the deep focus cinematography of Citizen Kane is when Welles is in House's store playing checkers. He's got a hobby, clocks, that is one key to his identity. He is fixing a clock tower in the town square and loosens the peg on a ladder needed to get to the clock. It was meant for Young who was supposed fall and break her neck, but Robinson discovers it. As Welles is playing checkers with House, you can see the tower between the two men through the window of House's store. Then the camera moves in closer as Welles's voice keeps talking at about the time he figured Young would be falling from the ladder. It was setting a careful alibi for a crime that had been foiled, but of course Welles doesn't know that yet. Pure Citizen Kane.
The Stranger doesn't compare either to Citizen Kane, but it's still a much better than average noir thriller. And the ending is really outstanding. The sword of justice does indeed find its mark.
The cast change was to put Edward G. Robinson in the role of the hunter of fugitive Nazi Franz Kindler played by Welles. Originally Welles wanted one of his Mercury Theater players Agnes Moorehead in the part. At that time it would have been quite a blow for feminism and probably would have made The Stranger a feminist landmark. As it is Edward G. Robinson brings his own truth and conviction to the role.
Orson Welles is the fugitive Kindler who is modeled upon the then at large Martin Bormann. We never learned that Bormann had in fact been killed by the Russians who just never bothered to tell us until the early seventies. Bormann in his time was the most wanted man at least in the capitalist world.
Bormann did not originate the 'final solution' mass extermination policy for Jews and other undesirables, but like Kindler in the film and unlike some of the others of Hitler's gang, he did have a passion for anonymity. It made hunting for him that much the harder.
Another one of the Nazi small fry Konstantin Shayne is allowed to escape jail and the hangman in the hopes that he'll lead the authorities to Welles. Shayne performs on schedule and Welles is forced to kill him in order to keep his his new identity as a teacher at an exclusive prep school for America's WASP elite.
Welles has also married Loretta Young, the daughter of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice to make his entry into the elite complete. Robinson had lost Shayne's trail before he was killed, but knows his man is in that small New England town. Robinson settles down in the town posing as an antique dealer and fishes for information as to who his prey is posing as.
Welles got a very good performance out of Loretta Young in the same year she won her Oscar for The Farmer's Daughter. It does slowly dawn on her, but she refuses to believe the man she married only married her for a respectable identity. Her slow realization is what makes her performance a good one.
Others noteworthy in the cast are a young Richard Long as Young's brother who Robinson takes into his confidence early and Billy House as the storekeeper/checkers hustler.
You can see traces of Welles's technique from such earlier work like Citizen Kane. One of my favorite shots, reminiscent of the deep focus cinematography of Citizen Kane is when Welles is in House's store playing checkers. He's got a hobby, clocks, that is one key to his identity. He is fixing a clock tower in the town square and loosens the peg on a ladder needed to get to the clock. It was meant for Young who was supposed fall and break her neck, but Robinson discovers it. As Welles is playing checkers with House, you can see the tower between the two men through the window of House's store. Then the camera moves in closer as Welles's voice keeps talking at about the time he figured Young would be falling from the ladder. It was setting a careful alibi for a crime that had been foiled, but of course Welles doesn't know that yet. Pure Citizen Kane.
The Stranger doesn't compare either to Citizen Kane, but it's still a much better than average noir thriller. And the ending is really outstanding. The sword of justice does indeed find its mark.