The Stranger

Orson Welles held his baroque tendencies in check while directing The Stranger in 1946, wanting to prove to Hollywood that he could play by their rules, bringing in a movie that was on time, on budget, and profitable. All of these goals were met in this postwar film noir about a Nazi hunter named Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson), who tracks a conspiracy to a New England boys school where the respected Professor Charles Rankin (Welles) is actually a ruthless war criminal hiding under the cloak of respectability—a pose that will be complete when he marries the headmaster's daughter, Mary (Loretta Young). While it remains the most narratively conventional of Welles' films, The Stranger features some superbly directed sequences, including a thrilling murder scene that turns the idyll of fall in New England into a maelstrom of swirling leaves, and a dynamic climax set in a clock tower that looks over the innocent town. The Blu-ray debut in this two-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack is advertised as being “transferred from original 35mm elements” and “digitally restored in high definition.” While cleaner looking than most available editions, it does not appear to be mastered from first-generation elements, and the “digital restoration” is really a low-tech salvage job that has digitally scrubbed away the texture of the print along with the scratches and imperfections. As with Virgil Films' release of Kansas City Confidential (VL Online-4/11), both the Blu-ray and DVD discs are noticeably inferior to the superb DVD edition released by MGM in 2007. Optional. (S. Axmaker)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Oct. 22, 2013—Kino, 94 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and second bow on Blu-ray, 1946's The Stranger sports a fine transfer with extras including audio commentary by film historian Bret Wood, four of Orson Welles's wartime radio broadcasts: “Alameda,” “War Workers,” “Brazil,” and “Bikini Atomic Test” (88 min.), the 1945 Billy Wilder-produced Nazi death camp informational film “Death Mills” (21 min.), an image gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a lesser Welles film looks much better in its second outing on Blu-ray.][Blu-ray/DVD Review—Sept. 5, 2017—Olive, 95 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1946's The Stranger features a fine transfer and an LCPM 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary with film blogger Nora Fiore, and a “Murders Among Us” essay by Dr. Jennifer Lynde Barker. Bottom line: if you already own the Kino release of this lesser film by Welles, you don't need this one.]