The Stranger (1946) Dinner Scene

This clip begins as Mr Wilson (Edward G. Robinson) sets his sights on Professor Charles Rankin (Orson Welles). At the subsequent dinner party, Wilson attempts to get a feel for Rankin, and for whether he might be Franz Kindler (a fact already revealed to the audience). When Rankin argues that the Germans are so terrible that they should be exterminated, Wilson concludes that Rankin is "above suspicion". But something else that Rankin says later causes Wilson to reverse himself.

Note that, when Rankin advocates genocide, no one expresses horror. Wilson doesn't later tell his agency that Rankin is a crazed Germanophobe, but that he is "above suspicion". This scene is an artefact from an ill-remember era when preaching genocide was socially acceptable in America.

The argument given for Wilson's later reversal of opinion is itself worth commentary. Rankin denies that Karl Marx was a German because he was a Jew. Wilson rhetorically asks who but a Nazi could offer such an argument. The actual answer is that many people (including some grossly disenchanted Jews from Germany) had reached such a conclusion. There's a sort of civics lesson intended in this part of the script, but it's wretchedly unfair to a great many people.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• genocide
• American history
• Germany
• Orson Welles
• Loretta Young
• Edward G. Robinson
• Richard Long

[sshuisken]

"Marx wasn't a German, he was a Jew."

That line left everyone utterly speechless when I saw it in the theater. That was when everyone realized what was going on with Mr. Welles' character.

[Oeconomist]

@sshuisken— What year would that have been?

(And who were those awful people speaking in the theater up to that point?!?)

[KentAllard]

you must love Touch of Evil

[Oeconomist]

I'm afraid that the only version of Touch of Evil that I've seen is one edited for television from the original release, rather than the reconstruction of a few years ago.

[sshuisken]

@Oeconomist Well, the year was 2011, as I saw it in theaters last Friday. And the audience members weren't really talking, just commenting on the beautiful black and white cinematography.

[KentAllard]

it would still contain Vargas speeches about the roll of Police, and contrasting that with the actions of Quinlan