Film Journal | The Stranger (1946)

Information & Storyline

The Stranger (1946) is an American film noir. Its director is Orson Welles and the writer is Anthony Veiller. The main characters of this movie are Edward G. Robinson as Wilson, Loretta Young as Mary Longstreet Rankin and  Orson Welles as Franz Kindler, also known as Professor Charles Rankin (AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS , n.d.).

This movie is narrating Mr Wilson, the war crime detective who is hunting for the Nazi Fugitive, Mr Kindler. Mr Kindler disguises himself as Charles Rankin, a lecturer of a university and has a marriage with Mary, the daughter of Supreme Court Justice. When Mr Kindler knows that his former cooperative partner, Mr Meinike was released by the authority to meet with him, he kills Mr Meinike and buries his dead body in the forest. Although Mary slightly feels his husband is weird, she still believes in him, putting a lot of efforts into their relationship. Through assistance from Mr Wilson, Mary accepts the reality and try to kill Mr Kindler. While Mr Kindler on his way to escape, he is killed by the moving  Jesus statue on the belfry.  

THEMES

Evil

This movie is conveying the evil of the Nazi and its fugitive, Franz Kindler. Through the video that plays by Mr Wilson, it shows the merciless and inhumanity of Nazi. The mass grave full of dead bodies and gas chamber becomes the pieces of evidence of war crime. Mr Kindler is the incarnation of evil due to the offences that he committed in Harper Town. He even killed his former cooperative partner and Mary's dog.
 

CHARACTERS

Detective

Mr Wilson is the detective in this movie. He is an expert in psychological tactics since he manages to make Mary accept the reality that his husband is a fugitive. A strong observation ability is vital for a detective as the murder case of Mr Meinike was exposed by Mr Wilson through observing the subtle movement and facial expression of Mr Kindler and Mary.    

Protagonist

Mr Kindler is the protagonist of the Nazi. Although he doesn't indicate his identity as a Nazi in the Longstreet house's lunch, the thought of believes  Karl Marx is a Yahedim exposes his Nazi identity to Mr Wilson.


SETTINGS

The setting of this movie is the luxurious living of Harper Town located in Connecticut, United States.  Mary is the daughter of Supreme Court Justice. Hence, the money will not become a problem in her family. The hiring of Sarah, the housekeeper in Longstreet house is the most conspicuous evidence of luxurious living. The purpose of Mr Kindler marriage with the daughter of Supreme Court Justice is to disguise his fugitive identity, refraining from the doubt of town residents. 



LIGHTING

Shadowing

Shadowing is applied in this movie quite frequent. The shadowing is showed in the scene that Mary is having a nightmare while Mr Kindler is coming back from the forest. An unknown's shadow clearly illustrates on the wall, creating a mysterious atmosphere for the audiences. 



Besides, the scene that Mr Kindler come back home when he thinks that Mary was killed by the broken stair trap. The shadow that reflects on the wall enables audiences to foresee Mary is still alive and waiting for the return home of Mr Kindler. 


Dark

Dark lighting is applied in the scene that Mr Kindler telling a deceptive story to Mary. Mr Kindler said that he was blackmailed by someone and manage to overcome it. When Mary chooses to believe the story told by Mr Kindler and hug him, the lighting of the scene suddenly darken. In this scene, dark lighting metaphor as the villain's immoral personality. Mary hugs Mr Kindler and enters the dark section metaphor as she believes in her husband personality without any hesitation.



CINEMATOGRAPHY

Extreme Close-up

The most impressive extreme close-up shot is the shocked eyes expression of Mary. Mr Wilson has told Mary all the offences of the Nazi and its fugitive, Mr Kindler. Mary refuses to accept the truth since she has put a lot of efforts into their relationship. After knowing the truth, Mary becomes extremely edgy as she is only the one who can verify the real identity of Mr Rankin. The extreme close-up shot is applied when Mary is terrified by the sound of the doorbell.


EDITING

Quicker Cuts for Action Scene

This film has applied a  quicker cut for the conflict scene between Mr Wilson, Mary, and Mr Kindler. After Mary wakes up from the coma, the first thing she does is meet Mr Kindler in the belfry and execute her revenge since a death almost happens to her. The arrival of Mr Wilson helps Mary to snatch Mr Kindler's gun and launching her attack. There are 15 editing scenes in 23 seconds while Mary is trying to shoot Mr Kindler, creating tension for audiences.


CONCLUSION

In my perspective, this movie is anti-heroic since no character manages to kill or arrest Mr Willson. There are two statues on the belfry, one is a demon and another is a Jesus with a sword.  As the saying goes, justice will not be absent. Although he has managed to sheer off the demon statue on the belfry, he was killed by the sword of Jesus statue, indicating he was defeated by justice.

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