This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This popped up on Netflix--so, I gave it a try. The setting for this noirish yarn is post World War II & Edward G Robinson is attached to an American 'War Crimes' group hunting escaped Nazis, in this case, Orson Welles. Welles plays a guy who has covered his tracks pretty thoroughly, and ended up in a small American town as a Professor, of sorts. He marries the pretty daughter (Loretta Young) of a judge, and looks to be scot-free. Welles is compelling, as usual, always bringing something unique to his roles, esp. as a bad guy. I loved his brief but outstanding contributions to another film noir, THE THIRD MAN. Robinson plays a friendly, but determined, investigator, in this entry after his 'tough hood' portrayals of the 30's but before his classic 'Johnny Rocco' role in the mid-fifties classic KEY LARGO. (Robinson was one of those who found his workload dwindling after accusations by the House UnAmerican committee, post WWII. Jimmy Stewart came to his aid to see that he got work in 10 COMMANDMENTS. I read this in Stewart's bio). This unusual role for Robinson was probably one of the few decent ones all he could pick up in this era, and he does a fine job.I enjoyed this unique yarn, but, whereas I could watch Third Man many times, the Stranger is kind of a 'one-off'. 7/10

This film has a lot of details to how it's crafted that are sure to hook you from start to finish without even needing to be particularly fond of the plot. The extremely low key lighting throughout most of the movie makes the focus of a shot stand out while also looking like some sort of near-abstract painting. The characters' voices all have this strange, hypnotic bravado to them that forces you to pay attention to every word spoken. The camera is given very unique vertical placement as well as horizontal: in any given scene, you'll likely be looking up or down at something rather than being on even level with it. It's a surreal yet satisfying experience that I'd recommend to pretty much any Film Noir fan.

Another terrific film and performance by Orson Welles, as he plays a sinister criminal in this film. Welles utilized fade in and out, as well as dissolve cuts for his transitions. Since this is a noir film, there was a great amount of low key lighting, but high key was used too. Welles really likes to use the low angle and high angle shots, as the shadows on the character's faces that are created from these shots gives them a more evil presence. His usage of music was great as usual, with the more non-diegetic intense music picking during action sequences. There was a lot of close ups and medium shots, over shoulder shots, as well as tracking shots. One scene in particular used a crane for a tracking shot, following the detective as HE follows a man from a distance. Overall, the performance by Welles was phenomenal, with the sinister and calm nature of his delivery when describing how he just killed a man, and very intense sound of tick-tock to add the suspenseful notion that time is running out during a pivotal scene. If you are a Welles fan, no reason to skip this one.

The Stranger (1946), Orson Welles tells the story of a detective on the hunt for a Nazi war criminal. I thought The Stranger had a captivating story with rather dark themes. Welles, as I've learned, is a pro when it comes to directing cinematography and making exceptional use of cleaver camera angles and shots, The Stranger is no exception. All in all, I thought this was an excellent noir thriller and would certainly watch this again.