Love from a Stranger (1947)

A newly married woman begins to suspect that her husband is a killer. Even worse, she soon comes to believe that she will be his next victim.

Director:

Richard Whorf

Writers:

Philip MacDonald (screenplay), Frank Vosper (play),

Stars:

John Hodiak, Sylvia Sidney, Ann Richards

Cast

Cast overview:
John Hodiak	...	Manuel Cortez
Sylvia Sidney	...	Cecily Harrington
Ann Richards	...	Mavis Wilson
John Howard	...	Nigel Lawrence
Isobel Elsom	...	Auntie Loo-Loo
Ernest Cossart	...	Billings
Philip Tonge	...	Dr. Gribble
Anita Sharp-Bolster	...	Ethel
Frederick Worlock	...	Inspector Hobday (as Frederic Worlock)

Storyline

Cecily Harrington, struggling along on a small allowance, wins a fortune in a lottery. She decides to travel rather than marrying her fiancé Nigel Lawrence. A stranger, Manuel Cortez, comes to rent her flat and she falls in love with him, and they are married. For their honeymoon, they go to an isolated English college where she, unlike the audience, doesn't realize she has married a fortune-hunting Bluebeard with a few murdered wives in his past. The question is will she be able to repent in leisure her decision to marry in haste.

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Plot Keywords:

killer | murder | remake | based on play

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Taglines:

He lied, cheated, and killed all in the name of love.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hideout for Horror

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

User Reviews

Looks good but never quite takes off

I saw this as a fan of Agatha Christie and I'd see any film adaptation of her work. Not all the adaptations of her work have been successful, there are some truly great ones out there but there are some that just don't work. A Stranger Walked In doesn't fit in either of these categories, it's not a bad film but it's not a good one either. It does look good, it is lavishly photographed and the period detail is evocatively and beautifully rendered. The music has the romantic melodrama feel but also a psychologically haunting quality, not an amazing score by all means but one that fits within the film. Sylvia Sidney gives a poignant performance while bringing some edge to her role, and Ann Richards plays it straight very effectively. John Hodiak however overacts quite badly particularly in the latter part of the film, more subtlety was needed, and his chemistry with Sidney never convinces. The script is trite and does get very overwrought, again it could've done with more subtlety, a little less talk and more of Christie's writing style which would have given that. The story and pacing were also major issues. The story feels very undercooked dramatically as well as dull, and the psychological aspects that would have added to any suspense was on mute, as was the suspense. The pacing is also very pedestrian, making some of the less eventful scenes a bit hard to sit through. And the ending is more ridiculous than it is satisfying, I wasn't surprised by the outcome, it was underdeveloped and it also felt unnecessarily melodramatic. All in all, not terrible not a disappointment. 5/10 Bethany Cox