“Welles’s feverish, politically uneasy noir remains an outstanding achievement…. Released a little over a year after the cessation of fighting between the Allied Forces and Germany, The Stranger offers haunting insight into the fascist mind and never shies away from the reality that the National Socialist party was fascism’s most successful and devastating incarnate but certainly not its last.” – Slant Magazine

Orson Welles’ only true-blue box office success as a director has, paradoxically, remained one of the most under-seen and under-discussed entries in his oeuvre. But as the tides of Trumpian fascism wash over America, there’s no better time to (re)discover this searing thriller, a gripping noir thriller that doubles as an indictment of Nazi criminality and American complicity. Edward G. Robinson, an anti-fascist in his own life, plays a UN war crimes investigator tracking high-ranking Nazi fugitive Franz Kindler (Orson Welles), who’s taken refuge at a small Connecticut prep school. Anticipating the stories of Nazi officials recruited to the US under Operation Paperclip, THE STRANGER is perhaps Welles’ most nakedly political work, eschewing the stylistic swagger of his best-known masterpieces in favor of a blunt paranoia that reflects the post-War cynicism among many Americans that while the Allies may have won the War, the hideous allure of fascism had not been fully defeated.

Come out early for a pre-show of anti-Nazi cartoons starting at 2:30 pm!

This film is screening as part of Arkadin’s NOIRVEMBER series, $3 Sunday matinees of film noir classics that spotlight the broken dreams and bitter paranoia of this distinctly American genre.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.