Had it been written in the 50s, Three Strangers might have been perfect as an episode on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The story features just the kind of dour characters involved in foul play coupled with an offbeat "twist" ending of the fateful variety which the "Master of Suspense" was drawn to.
Surprisingly the script was written by film luminary John Huston. It's set in pre-War Britain in 1938 and is highlighted by an implausible opening in which an unhinged woman Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald) invites two strangers off the street into her apartment, an alcoholic intellectual Johnny West (Peter Lorre) and crooked solicitor Jerome Arbutny (Sidney Greenstreet). The two are not exactly youngsters looking for a score but nonetheless accept Mrs. Shackleford's invitation.
The wacky and vengeful Mrs. Shackleford has a small Chinese idol, Kwan Yi, sitting on her mantelpiece and believes this Chinese Goddess of fortune and destiny will bring everyone in attendance good luck. So she proposes everyone go in on a sweepstakes ticket for the Grand National horse race she's already purchased. The way it works is that you select a horse in the race and if your ticket is drawn, then you have the opportunity of winning a large amount of money if your horse wins. If you have one of the tickets that's selected, then you can either sell the ticket before the race for a price for more than you paid for it, or take a gamble and win a fortune if your horse comes in.
Mrs. Shackleford, West and Arbutny all agree to go partners and sign the ticket making it official. The story then veers off covering the separate fates of each principal. The problem here is that at least two of the characters here (Mrs. Shackleford and Arbutny) are thoroughly unlikable and West only proves to be slightly sympathetic.
Mrs. Shackleford's story is that she's obsessed with her ex-husband who is now going out with another woman whom he met in Canada. Mrs. Shackleford won't grant him a divorce and she ends up meeting the girlfriend, lying to her that she's reconciled with her husband and is now pregnant. The girlfriend dumps the husband and returns to Canada much to the husband's chagrin.
Arbutny is just as despicable as Mrs. Shackleford as he's been embezzling funds from an eccentric woman who lives in his building and now becomes desperate after blowing most of her funds playing the stock market. West initially appears to be in a worse position than the other two. He's arrested for murder despite only being an innocent witness to the crime. Suffice it to say West is cleared due to a deathbed confession of the actual murderer, after he's stabbed to death by an accomplice on a train while he's being transported to prison.
Arbutny is on the verge of shooting himself when he learns that miraculously Mrs. Shackleford's sweepstakes ticket has been selected, with the favorite coming up in the Grand National race later that day. He runs over and demands that Mrs. Shackleford give up the ticket so he can sell it and obtain funds to pay off his debts. West arrives at Mrs. Shackleford's only to watch in horror as Arbutny bludgeons her with a vase resulting in her death. Sure enough Mrs. Shackleford's horse wins the Grand National but West tells Arbutny that he will have to destroy the ticket since it would implicate them both in Mrs. Shackleford's murder.
Arbutny goes mad, ranting on the street, confessing to the murder while West burns the ticket at a pub but joined by his girlfriend who had been pulling for him all along. Mr. Shackleford intending to murder her, finds her dead in her apartment and immediately leaves the scene.
The irony of course is that the two unlikable characters get their just desserts; had they trusted Crystal's Chinese goddess, they would have been home scot-free.
Good screenplays need to have characters that have some sort of charisma, whether they're good or evil. Unfortunately Fitzgerald and Greenstreet are saddled with parts that ensure you will not care for their characters-this is especially true of Fitzgerald's role in which she appears to be a stereotype of a maniacal femme fatale. Lorre's part isn't much better as he's a downbeat alcohol until luck intervenes toward the denouement.
Had John Huston crafted more sympathetic, multi-dimensional characters, Three Strangers might have ended up as a much more inviting potboiler.
Surprisingly the script was written by film luminary John Huston. It's set in pre-War Britain in 1938 and is highlighted by an implausible opening in which an unhinged woman Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald) invites two strangers off the street into her apartment, an alcoholic intellectual Johnny West (Peter Lorre) and crooked solicitor Jerome Arbutny (Sidney Greenstreet). The two are not exactly youngsters looking for a score but nonetheless accept Mrs. Shackleford's invitation.
The wacky and vengeful Mrs. Shackleford has a small Chinese idol, Kwan Yi, sitting on her mantelpiece and believes this Chinese Goddess of fortune and destiny will bring everyone in attendance good luck. So she proposes everyone go in on a sweepstakes ticket for the Grand National horse race she's already purchased. The way it works is that you select a horse in the race and if your ticket is drawn, then you have the opportunity of winning a large amount of money if your horse wins. If you have one of the tickets that's selected, then you can either sell the ticket before the race for a price for more than you paid for it, or take a gamble and win a fortune if your horse comes in.
Mrs. Shackleford, West and Arbutny all agree to go partners and sign the ticket making it official. The story then veers off covering the separate fates of each principal. The problem here is that at least two of the characters here (Mrs. Shackleford and Arbutny) are thoroughly unlikable and West only proves to be slightly sympathetic.
Mrs. Shackleford's story is that she's obsessed with her ex-husband who is now going out with another woman whom he met in Canada. Mrs. Shackleford won't grant him a divorce and she ends up meeting the girlfriend, lying to her that she's reconciled with her husband and is now pregnant. The girlfriend dumps the husband and returns to Canada much to the husband's chagrin.
Arbutny is just as despicable as Mrs. Shackleford as he's been embezzling funds from an eccentric woman who lives in his building and now becomes desperate after blowing most of her funds playing the stock market. West initially appears to be in a worse position than the other two. He's arrested for murder despite only being an innocent witness to the crime. Suffice it to say West is cleared due to a deathbed confession of the actual murderer, after he's stabbed to death by an accomplice on a train while he's being transported to prison.
Arbutny is on the verge of shooting himself when he learns that miraculously Mrs. Shackleford's sweepstakes ticket has been selected, with the favorite coming up in the Grand National race later that day. He runs over and demands that Mrs. Shackleford give up the ticket so he can sell it and obtain funds to pay off his debts. West arrives at Mrs. Shackleford's only to watch in horror as Arbutny bludgeons her with a vase resulting in her death. Sure enough Mrs. Shackleford's horse wins the Grand National but West tells Arbutny that he will have to destroy the ticket since it would implicate them both in Mrs. Shackleford's murder.
Arbutny goes mad, ranting on the street, confessing to the murder while West burns the ticket at a pub but joined by his girlfriend who had been pulling for him all along. Mr. Shackleford intending to murder her, finds her dead in her apartment and immediately leaves the scene.
The irony of course is that the two unlikable characters get their just desserts; had they trusted Crystal's Chinese goddess, they would have been home scot-free.
Good screenplays need to have characters that have some sort of charisma, whether they're good or evil. Unfortunately Fitzgerald and Greenstreet are saddled with parts that ensure you will not care for their characters-this is especially true of Fitzgerald's role in which she appears to be a stereotype of a maniacal femme fatale. Lorre's part isn't much better as he's a downbeat alcohol until luck intervenes toward the denouement.
Had John Huston crafted more sympathetic, multi-dimensional characters, Three Strangers might have ended up as a much more inviting potboiler.