The most deceitful man a woman ever loved!

Nazi hunter Robinson arrives in a small, American town looking for a brutal war criminal (Welles) who has created a new identity for himself as a teacher. Director Welles never liked this film, probably because of the way the studio handled it. It was his first film in four years and it looks as if Hitchcock made it; a nicely produced, exciting thriller with a typically Hitchcockian ending in a bell tower. Mr. Welles is entertaining as the psychopath who is waiting for the Third Reich to rise again, and Robinson is also worth a look as the suspicious agent. The script is not too believable, though.

1946-U.S. 95 min. B/W. Produced by Sam Spiegel. Directed by Orson Welles. Cinematography: Russell Metty. Cast: Orson Welles (Franz Kindler/Charles Rankin), Loretta Young (Mary Longstreet), Edward G. Robinson (Wilson), Richard Long, Martha Wentworth.

Trivia: Mr. Welles allegedly wanted Agnes Moorehead to play an FBI agent.

Quote: “He was an obscenity on the face of the earth. The stench of burning flesh was in his clothes.” (Mr. Robinson, on Mr. Welles)

Published 2007-02-20 16:32