The Stranger ...1946

[whitehall]

I watched it again recently and it is my favorite Orson Welles movie starring and directed by Welles. Edward G. Robinson takes a break from portraying a gangster and is a federal agent hunting down Nazi war criminals including the most notorious played by Welles hiding out in a Conn. town. . It's a tight B&W suspenseful drama and well worth watching today.

 

[MarathonMike]

I watched it again recently and it is my favorite Orson Welles movie starring and directed by Welles. Edward G. Robinson takes a break from portraying a gangster and is a federal agent hunting down Nazi war criminals including the most notorious played by Welles hiding out in a Conn. town. . It's a tight B&W suspenseful drama and well worth watching today.

Oh, so I gather it's not based on the book by Albert Camus.

 

[whitehall]

Oh, so I gather it's not based on the book by Albert Camus.

Lots of screen dramas were based on books. What's the point again?

 

[MarathonMike]

Lots of screen dramas were based on books. What's the point again?

Albert Camus wrote a book called The Stranger, so I thought it might be based on that book. But from your description it doesn't sound anything like what I remember about the book, that's all.

 

[progressive hunter]

 

[Flopper]

I watched it again recently and it is my favorite Orson Welles movie starring and directed by Welles. Edward G. Robinson takes a break from portraying a gangster and is a federal agent hunting down Nazi war criminals including the most notorious played by Welles hiding out in a Conn. town. . It's a tight B&W suspenseful drama and well worth watching today.

The Stranger was made, in part, to prove to Hollywood that Welles could be profitable after his string of financial disappointments at RKO, and to live up to his promise and reputation.

Some will say it is his best while some will say it's his worse, primarily because it is far more conventional than Citizens Kane, The Magnificent Ambersions, The Third Man, Touch of Evil, or Lady from Shanghai.

I've seen it serval times and really enjoyed it. It is a very simple thriller with few undertones. It lacks the camera work that Wells is famous for but other than that, it is a fine movie.

 

[Flopper]

Oh, so I gather it's not based on the book by Albert Camus.

No it's not. Wells and Anthony Veiller co-wrote it. Well's claimed the story was his idea.

 

[themirrorthief]

Albert Camus wrote a book called The Stranger, so I thought it might be based on that book. But from your description it doesn't sound anything like what I remember about the book, that's all.

Camus was a genius...his Stranger was monumental... l loved it

 

[MarathonMike]

Camus was a genius...his Stranger was monumental... l loved it

I agree, I read that book in high school and passages and imagery from that book still come back to me today.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Orson Welles is one of the greats. Pretentious in his real life, but he was a talented actor who always seemed to be selective (before he was blacklisted, I keep his politics out of my enjoyment of his movies) in his scripts and a perfectionist as a director. I enjoy media before my time as I find they relied on substance to catch the eye of the consumer, be it music of movies.

I haven't seen all his movies, but I am willing to watch any of them. "The Lady From Shanghai" is on TCM right now.

My fave from him is probably a Touch of Evil. His portrayal of police captain Hank Quinlan was as convincing as any. Anyone looking to play a detective in a movie should watch his role in this movie.

 

[Seymour Flops]

I watched it again recently and it is my favorite Orson Welles movie starring and directed by Welles. Edward G. Robinson takes a break from portraying a gangster and is a federal agent hunting down Nazi war criminals including the most notorious played by Welles hiding out in a Conn. town. . It's a tight B&W suspenseful drama and well worth watching today.

I'll find it, thanks!

 

[whitehall]

The Stranger was made, in part, to prove to Hollywood that Welles could be profitable after his string of financial disappointments at RKO, and to live up to his promise and reputation.

Some will say it is his best while some will say it's his worse, primarily because it is far more conventional than Citizens Kane, The Magnificent Ambersions, The Third Man, Touch of Evil, or Lady from Shanghai.

I've seen it serval times and really enjoyed it. It is a very simple thriller with few undertones. It lacks the camera work that Wells is famous for but other than that, it is a fine movie.

Can't say I liked "Lady from Shanghai". The plot was so convoluted and Welles fake Irish accent was distracting. Maybe it was an excuse for Rita Hayworth to go blonde.

 

[Flopper]

Orson Welles is one of the greats. Pretentious in his real life, but he was a talented actor who always seemed to be selective (before he was blacklisted, I keep his politics out of my enjoyment of his movies) in his scripts and a perfectionist as a director. I enjoy media before my time as I find they relied on substance to catch the eye of the consumer, be it music of movies.

I haven't seen all his movies, but I am willing to watch any of them. "The Lady From Shanghai" is on TCM right now.

My fave from him is probably a Touch of Evil. His portrayal of police captain Hank Quinlan was as convincing as any. Anyone looking to play a detective in a movie should watch his role in this movie.

Touch of Evil was excellent. Charleton Heston was surprising good.

Welles was a fine actor but his ability to compose scenes that set the mood and supported the storyline made his pictures different from anything Hollywood had to offer at the time. Welles was know for his cameras work, shooting scenes two inches off the floor, overhead shots that drove the scaffolding riggers nuts, and extreme closeups of actors faces, much to their dismay. When watching his movies pause on some the striking images and you will find many of them suitable for framing and hanging in a museum. He designed and sketched the entire ballroom scene including the art in his film "The Magnificent Ambersons" Commenting, Welles said, "When they won't let me make films, then I can design sets."

"I am essentially a hack, a commercial person,” Orson Welles once said. “If I had a hobby, I would immediately make money on it or abandon it.” Self-deprecation aside, this most creatively ambitious and restless of US directors was hardly a hack. Welles did have a hobby, though – one he never abandoned or monetised, and one that is now shedding fresh light on a mighty career."


"For in private, the great man worked quietly as an artist – yielding a vast, varied collection of paintings, drawings and doodles that has rarely been given serious scrutiny. That output is the subject of The Eyes of Orson Welles, a whimsical documentary by film critic, historian and lifelong Welles devotee Mark Cousins. An exhibition of the artworks, on which Cousins advised, is also now running at Edinburgh’s Summerhall galleries."

Welles was a man of many talents. Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to deal with the politics of movie making. He was constantly in trouble with the studio heads, investors, and Hollywood columnists. He was blackballed by the major studios and spent years abroad making low budget foreign films.

Here are some his best shots from two of his best films.
Citizen Kane:

Magnificent Ambersons

 

[shockedcanadian]

Touch of Evil was excellent. Charleton Heston was surprising good.

Welles was a fine actor but his ability to compose scenes that set the mood and supported the storyline made his pictures different from anything Hollywood had to offer at the time. Welles was know for his cameras work, shooting scenes two inches off the floor, overhead shots that drove the scaffolding riggers nuts, and extreme closeups of actors faces, much to their dismay. When watching his movies pause on some the striking images and you will find many of them suitable for framing and hanging in a museum. He designed and sketched the entire ballroom scene including the art in his film "The Magnificent Ambersons" Commenting, Welles said, "When they won't let me make films, then I can design sets."

"I am essentially a hack, a commercial person,” Orson Welles once said. “If I had a hobby, I would immediately make money on it or abandon it.” Self-deprecation aside, this most creatively ambitious and restless of US directors was hardly a hack. Welles did have a hobby, though – one he never abandoned or monetised, and one that is now shedding fresh light on a mighty career."


"For in private, the great man worked quietly as an artist – yielding a vast, varied collection of paintings, drawings and doodles that has rarely been given serious scrutiny. That output is the subject of The Eyes of Orson Welles, a whimsical documentary by film critic, historian and lifelong Welles devotee Mark Cousins. An exhibition of the artworks, on which Cousins advised, is also now running at Edinburgh’s Summerhall galleries."

Welles was a man of many talents. Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to deal with the politics of movie making. He was constantly in trouble with the studio heads, investors, and Hollywood columnists. He was blackballed by the major studios and spent years abroad making low budget foreign films.

Here are some his best shots from two of his best films.
Citizen Kane:

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View attachment 678761

View attachment 678766

Magnificent Ambersons

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View attachment 678769

I loved his quote at the Academy Awards when he basically told everyone in the crowd that he was unapologetically a "maverick", a rare breed and he admired others of the same cloth.

As you alluded to, it is part of the reason he had problems in Hollywood but not the only reason, maybe not even the primary reason. From what I understand there was the unfair assessment that he must be a communist since he seemed to attack an ardent anti-communist Randolph Hearst in the movie Citizen Kane. The powers that be pressured studios to 86 him.

If true, this was a sloppy and lazy association first and foremost if it resulted in his his creativity and final products were the type of magic that those of other nations would admire from him, an American.

As an example, there were anti-communist movements in East Germany that were principled driven by the music of the West. The youth there would hear how good the Beatles and other musicians were and it inspired them to yearn for the freedom to listen to such creativity.

There are plenty of his works partially complete as he was a workaholic, I believe recently a movie that he had worked on was completed and released.

Creativity, innovation and an obsession with perfection should have been celebrated. His career so much more impactful even though it clearly was.

 

[whitehall]

The 3rd Man was OK. The plot was convoluted but the filming was top notch post War stuff. Smirking Harry Lime caught in the light is a classic.

 

[Flopper]

Can't say I liked "Lady from Shanghai". The plot was so convoluted and Welles fake Irish accent was distracting. Maybe it was an excuse for Rita Hayworth to go blonde.

Yes it is convoluted because the Studio cut the film from 155 mins to 89 mins. We don't know exactly what was lost but some it has been restored.. The restored version we see today in 128 mins. So when you watch the film check to see the actual run time. There is lot of difference between the two versions.

From the very beginning it appeared the movie was doomed to failure. Orson had 3 directorial credits at the time, Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and The Stranger. The first two lost money and third, The Stranger was successful. Welles was perceived as being a loose cannon who ignored the studios and overran budgets. As a result, finding backers was almost impossible. However, Harry Cohn agreed to back the film provided Orson would only act in the film. Another director and scriptwriter were hired by the studio in order to keep Orson under control. Orson had no plans to play ball with the studio. He wrote the script handed it to the director and told him this is the movie we are going to make. From that point on it was Welles movie. Welles remained uncredited as the director and screenwriter.

Rumors that Welles was a communist, Hollywood columnists attacks on Welles concerning his treatment of Rita Hayworth, ex wife and costar in the movie, and the studio cutting out 1/3 of the movie pretty well guaranteed it would fail. In fact, it was a disaster at the box office.

However, this did not stop Welles. He managed to raise enough money to bring two Shakespearian plays to the screen, Macbeth and Othello which is another story.

 

[Flopper]

I loved his quote at the Academy Awards when he basically told everyone in the crowd that he was unapologetically a "maverick", a rare breed and he admired others of the same cloth.

As you alluded to, it is part of the reason he had problems in Hollywood but not the only reason, maybe not even the primary reason. From what I understand there was the unfair assessment that he must be a communist since he seemed to attack an ardent anti-communist Randolph Hearst in the movie Citizen Kane. The powers that be pressured studios to 86 him.

If true, this was a sloppy and lazy association first and foremost if it resulted in his his creativity and final products were the type of magic that those of other nations would admire from him, an American.

As an example, there were anti-communist movements in East Germany that were principled driven by the music of the West. The youth there would hear how good the Beatles and other musicians were and it inspired them to yearn for the freedom to listen to such creativity.

There are plenty of his works partially complete as he was a workaholic, I believe recently a movie that he had worked on was completed and released.

Creativity, innovation and an obsession with perfection should have been celebrated. His career so much more impactful even though it clearly was.

I think you are correct about Hearst. He did not want the movie Citizen Kane made because Kane was clearly modeled after Hearst. Also, Welles treatment of Marion Davies was the straw that broke the camels back.

Marion Davies was a protégé or mistress of Randolph Hearst during the 30's and 40's. Welles gave her a part in Citizen Kane in hopes of pacifying Hearst. However, the role in the movie was that of an untalented, dumb blond entertainer who was supported by Kane. When the movie came out most people believed Davies was just as portrayed in the movie an untalented dumb blond supported by Hearst which was far from the truth. Hearst retaliated by denying advertising of Citizen Kane in any of his 100+ newspapers and blocked any showing of the film in his 66 theaters. He also approved of stories of Welles refusal to fight for his country and his activities as a communist. He also enlisted Hollywood columnist Header Hopper in a smear campaign that lasted months. A number of theaters not associated with Hearst including Radio City Music Hall refused to show the movie on it's opening date. It opened in May 1941, in 6 cities and lost money in 5. 9 weeks later, RKO pulled the film and sent it to achieves with no intention of re-releasing it.

 

[Flopper]

Can't say I liked "Lady from Shanghai". The plot was so convoluted and Welles fake Irish accent was distracting. Maybe it was an excuse for Rita Hayworth to go blonde.

In some scenes his accent hardly exist. However, the movie did have some high points. Despite the complicated plot and Orson's fake accent, Lady from Shanghai had some fascinating visuals, brilliant camerawork, numerous sub-plots and some confounding plot twists. The film was shot on locations including Acapulco and San Francisco (such as the Sausalito waterfront and the Valhalla Bar and Cafe, Chinatown, the Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate Park, and Whitney's Playland amusement park at the beach), and on Columbia studios sets, and features numerous classic set-pieces including: the aquarium scene, and the funhouse and Hall of Mirrors climax. The Hall of Mirrors scene is considered to be one of Welles best.