A Carthaginian Peace? See The Stranger (1946), One of the Great Thrillers, Starring Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young, and Directed by Welles--Not at Noir Alley!

Re-posted by N.S.

This is one of those pictures that led to the question, How was it possible that Edward G. Robinson was never up for an Oscar? He was even better than I remembered him.

This was also the picture where I first heard of "a Carthaginian peace." (No, not the "Morgenthau Plan," though that was close.)

Welles is Franz Kindler, a high-ranking Nazi who escaped with false identification and a new identitty, as a Swiss classics professor (alright, that takes a suspension of disbelief, but he couldn't be a Gerry or an Austrian).

Robinson is the fed who is doggedly tracking down Kindler, come hell or high water.

Young is Kindler's unwitting fiance.

Director of photography Russell Metty has all sorts of wonderful stuff going on, and he had some kind of wonderful career going on. Mixed in with all manner of pictures you never heard of were classics (Wellman's The Story of G.I. Joe, 1945), masterpieces (Bob Montgomery's Ride the Pink Horse, 1947), and Top 50 masterpieces (Hawks' Bringing Up Baby, 1938).

The Stranger has a clever, taut script by Anthony Veiller, who the same year scripted the Robert Siodmak masterpiece, The Killers.


1,373,916 views Sep 28, 2012
Director: Orson Welles
Stars: Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young

"A Federal Agent poses as an antique dealer to snare a Nazi war criminal living in a small Connecticut town with his unsuspecting American fiancee. Best-known for Citizen Kane, this was Orson Welles’ most popular film at the box office"

"Movie Class by PizzaFLIX: Orson Welles’ CITIZEN KANE (1941) is a cinema masterpiece that flopped at the box office. Shocking yes, but THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942) fared even worse. Behind schedule and over budget, it was a critical success but a financial disaster. Welles needed to prove himself on his third project as director and star. THE STRANGER (1946) is a top-notch thriller and the only film he directed that was a bona fide box office hit!"