The Stranger

Orson Welles directed and stars as a Nazi war criminal hiding in a small Connecticut town, posing as a prep school teacher. Edward G. Robinson is the investigator who tracks him down. The film is the only Welles-directed film to be a commercial success during his lifetime. It is more conventional than his other work, which is why the studio let him make it. The clock tower sequence near the end is a strong set piece. Loretta Young plays Welles's wife, who slowly realizes who her husband really is. The film entered the public domain due to non-renewal of its copyright.