"The Stranger 1946 is an American film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. The film was based on an Oscar-nominated screenplay written by Victor Trivas. Sam Spiegel was the film's producer, and the film's musical score is by Bronislaw Kaper It is believed that this is the first film released after World War II that showed footage of concentration camps...The film was made by International Pictures, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The copyright on the film originally belonged to The Haig Corporation, but the film is in the public domain because the producers failed to renew the copyright in 1973.
PLOT
In 1946, Mr. Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) of the United Nations War Crimes Commission is hunting for Nazi fugitive Franz Kindler (Orson Welles), who has effectively concealed all evidence which might positively identify him. He has secretly assumed a new identity, Charles Rankin, and landed a job as a prep school teacher in a small town in the United States. There, he marries Mary Longstreet (Loretta Young), who is the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Adam Longstreet.
Wilson releases Kindler's former associate Meinike (Konstantin Shayne), hoping the man will lead him to Kindler. Wilson follows Meinike to the town of Harper, Connecticut, but loses him before he meets with Rankin. When Rankin and Meinike do meet, Rankin realizes that his secret is threatened by Meinike's presence and strangles him.
Eventually, Wilson deduces that Rankin is Kindler, but without having witnessed the meeting with Meinike, he has no proof. Mrs. Rankin is the only person who knows that Meinike had come to meet with her husband. To get her to admit what she knows, Wilson must convince her that her husband is a war criminal — before Rankin decides to do her in to eliminate the last remaining threat to him.
Rankin's world begins to unravel during a walk with Red, the family dog. The dog discovers the body of Meinike, and is attacked by Rankin. In order to protect his secret, Rankin goes to the lengths of poisoning and killing Red.
Meanwhile, Rankin's wife Mary begins to suspect the worst of her husband, but is too blinded by love to accept the facts. She is torn between her desire to learn the truth about her husband, and torn by the idea of helping Rankin create his new life. It is not until Mr. Wilson shows her graphic footage of Nazi concentration camps, and explains how Kindler, now known as Rankin, developed the idea of genocide. It is not until Mary discovers Rankin's plot to kill her does she finally breakdown and in a tense moment, dares Rankin to kill her.
The Stranger was the only film made by Welles to have been a bona fide box office success on its first release (Citizen Kane had made back its budget and marketing, but not enough to make a profit). It earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The Stranger currently holds a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes." ~Excerpted from Wikipedia
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