The stranger.
A film not well regarded by Welles who directed it and stars in it. Nor seemingly well regarded by Welles scholars. The stranger was a case of the actor/director working as a gun for hire in order to raise funds. It was one of his most constrained films apparently and the end result is basically what the studio asked for.
However its not all that bad. Welles plays a small town guy with a dark secret. He is in fact Franz Kindler. An ex-nazi who ran one of Germany's most notorious concentration camps. His cover appears shattered one day when an old colleague appears in town warning him about a Nazi hunter, Not realising he's lad said Nazi hunter to town. Kindler kills his old friend and bury's him in the woods before the Nazi hunter, played by Edward G Robinson, can identify Kindler. What then follows is a mind game between Robinson's character and the increasingly edgy Kindler. Kindler's wife begins to work out something is going on and becomes a dangerous loose end for Kindler.
The film is a solidly constructed thriller with plenty of Noir elements and some great performances. Its not got the usual show boating from Welles and is somewhat restrained but not to the films overall detrement.
Lady from Shanghai
Another of Welles own pet projects, as usual slashed and altered by the studio against his wishes. Here Welles plays an Irish sailor who gets lured into a game of murder and deceit by a rich lawyers wife. The plot is rather outlandish and probably made more sense in the Welles cut. However its still a solid noir in spite of its troubles with a generally memorable finale in a fun house with a shootout in a hall of mirrors. Worth picking up the indicator blu ray if you get the chance.
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