I See a Dark Stranger
Encyclopedia
I See a Dark Stranger is a British
1946 World War II
spy film
with touches of light comedy
, by the team of Frank Launder
and Sidney Gilliat
, and starring Deborah Kerr
and Trevor Howard
.
, when nationalistic Irishwoman Bridie Quilty (Deborah Kerr
) turns 21, she sets out to fulfill her lifelong dream. She leaves her small rural village and goes to Dublin. On the way, she shares a train compartment with J. Miller (Raymond Huntley
), but believing him to be English, she is very brusque with him. Once in the city, she seeks out a famous ex-radical her father had supposedly fought alongside, Michael O'Callaghan (Brefni O'Rorke), and asks him to help her join the Irish Republican Army
. However, he has mellowed as the situation in Ireland has improved and tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her from her overly romantic notion.
Miller turns out to be a secret agent assigned to break Nazi spy Oscar Pryce (David Ward) out of a British prison. When, by sheer chance, he runs into Bridey again, he recruits her for his task. She gets a job in a pub/hotel near the prison and becomes acquainted with a sergeant, who unwittingly provides her with information about the prisoner's impending transfer.
This is the opportunity that Miller has been waiting for. However, he is disturbed by the arrival of Lieutenant David Baynes (Trevor Howard
), a British officer on leave. Since there is little to attract anyone to the town, he suspects the newcomer of being a counter-intelligence
agent. He therefore orders Bridie to distract Baynes on the day of the transfer by allowing him to take her on a date. It turns out Baynes is merely there to gather material for his thesis on Oliver Cromwell
, whom Bridey loathes intensely.
Miller succeeds in freeing Pryce, but both are shot fleeing from a roadblock. Pryce tells Miller where he hid a notebook, then remains behind to delay their pursuers. Miller manages to make his way to Bridie and gives her the location to pass along. Unwilling to risk seeing a doctor, he tells her to dispose of his body after he is dead. Bridie does so, and afterward boards a train as instructed, but her contact, an elderly woman, (Katie Johnson
), is arrested before any exchange can take place. Not knowing what else to do, Bridie decides to return home.
However, she encounters David, who followed her aboard the train, and changes her mind, going to the Isle of Man
instead to retrieve the book. She is trailed by David and a German spy (Norman Shelley
). The Nazi and his cohorts eventually abduct her. When David tracks them to a boat, he is caught as well. Bridie has figured out that the information they want has to do with the imminent D-Day invasion, which would involve Irishmen, so she refuses to tell what she knows.
The two prisoners are taken to Ireland. The group ends up behind a funeral procession that is actually a smuggling operation transporting alarm clocks, among other things. When one goes off in the coffin at the border crossing to Northern Ireland
, Bridie and David escape in the resulting confusion. David phones for the police from a pub, mistakenly believing that they are still in Ireland, where Bridie would merely be interned. When he realizes that they are actually in Northern Ireland, and that Bridie is in danger of being shot as a spy, he tries to convince her to flee, but she insists on staying. Then, they hear on the radio that D-Day has begun. Her information now useless, she escapes across the border. David finds the Nazi spies in the same pub and a fight breaks out. The police arrive and arrest everybody.
After the war ends, Bridie and David get married, but their marriage gets off to a rocky start when David chooses the Cromwell Arms for their honeymoon lodgings.
Cast notes:
and Sidney Gilliat
, who were the writers for Alfred Hitchcock
's 1938 film The Lady Vanishes
, formed Individual Pictures in 1945, with the intention of taking turns as director on the films they produced. I See a Dark Stranger was the first of ten films released by the company.
I See a Dark Stranger was filmed at various locations, including Dublin, Dundalk
and around Wexford
in Ireland
, Devon
in England
and the Isle of Man
.
, the critic for the New York Times said that the film was "keenly sensitive and shrewd."
and I See a Dark Stranger.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
1946 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
spy film
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
with touches of light comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, by the team of Frank Launder
Frank Launder
Frank Launder was an English writer, director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat....
and Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat was an English film director, producer and writer.He was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes for Alfred Hitchcock, and its sequel Night Train to Munich , directed by...
, and starring Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
and Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
.
Plot
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when nationalistic Irishwoman Bridie Quilty (Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
) turns 21, she sets out to fulfill her lifelong dream. She leaves her small rural village and goes to Dublin. On the way, she shares a train compartment with J. Miller (Raymond Huntley
Raymond Huntley
Raymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
), but believing him to be English, she is very brusque with him. Once in the city, she seeks out a famous ex-radical her father had supposedly fought alongside, Michael O'Callaghan (Brefni O'Rorke), and asks him to help her join the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
. However, he has mellowed as the situation in Ireland has improved and tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her from her overly romantic notion.
Miller turns out to be a secret agent assigned to break Nazi spy Oscar Pryce (David Ward) out of a British prison. When, by sheer chance, he runs into Bridey again, he recruits her for his task. She gets a job in a pub/hotel near the prison and becomes acquainted with a sergeant, who unwittingly provides her with information about the prisoner's impending transfer.
This is the opportunity that Miller has been waiting for. However, he is disturbed by the arrival of Lieutenant David Baynes (Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
), a British officer on leave. Since there is little to attract anyone to the town, he suspects the newcomer of being a counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
agent. He therefore orders Bridie to distract Baynes on the day of the transfer by allowing him to take her on a date. It turns out Baynes is merely there to gather material for his thesis on Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, whom Bridey loathes intensely.
Miller succeeds in freeing Pryce, but both are shot fleeing from a roadblock. Pryce tells Miller where he hid a notebook, then remains behind to delay their pursuers. Miller manages to make his way to Bridie and gives her the location to pass along. Unwilling to risk seeing a doctor, he tells her to dispose of his body after he is dead. Bridie does so, and afterward boards a train as instructed, but her contact, an elderly woman, (Katie Johnson
Katie Johnson
Katie Johnson , born Bessie Kate Johnson, was an English actress who appeared on stage from 1894 and on screen from the 1930s to the 1950s...
), is arrested before any exchange can take place. Not knowing what else to do, Bridie decides to return home.
However, she encounters David, who followed her aboard the train, and changes her mind, going to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
instead to retrieve the book. She is trailed by David and a German spy (Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
). The Nazi and his cohorts eventually abduct her. When David tracks them to a boat, he is caught as well. Bridie has figured out that the information they want has to do with the imminent D-Day invasion, which would involve Irishmen, so she refuses to tell what she knows.
The two prisoners are taken to Ireland. The group ends up behind a funeral procession that is actually a smuggling operation transporting alarm clocks, among other things. When one goes off in the coffin at the border crossing to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Bridie and David escape in the resulting confusion. David phones for the police from a pub, mistakenly believing that they are still in Ireland, where Bridie would merely be interned. When he realizes that they are actually in Northern Ireland, and that Bridie is in danger of being shot as a spy, he tries to convince her to flee, but she insists on staying. Then, they hear on the radio that D-Day has begun. Her information now useless, she escapes across the border. David finds the Nazi spies in the same pub and a fight breaks out. The police arrive and arrest everybody.
After the war ends, Bridie and David get married, but their marriage gets off to a rocky start when David chooses the Cromwell Arms for their honeymoon lodgings.
Cast
- Deborah KerrDeborah KerrDeborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
as Bridie Quilty - Trevor HowardTrevor HowardTrevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
as Lieutenant David Baynes - Raymond HuntleyRaymond HuntleyRaymond Huntley was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s through to the 1970s...
as J. Miller - Michael HowardMichael Howard (comedian)Michael Howard was a British actor and comedian.He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and performed at various theatres in Britain and America...
as Hawkins - Norman ShelleyNorman ShelleyNorman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
as Man in Straw Hat, a German spy - Liam RedmondLiam RedmondLiam Redmond was an Irish actor known for his stage, film and television roles.-Early life:Redmond was one of four children born to carpenter Thomas and Eileen Redmond...
as Uncle Timothy - Brefni O'RorkeBrefni O'Rorke-Filmography:* The Ghost of St. Michael's * Love on the Dole * This Man Is Dangerous * Jeannie * Cottage to Let * Hatter's Castle * The Black Sheep of Whitehall...
as Michael O'Callaghan - James HarcourtJames HarcourtJames Harcourt was a British character actor. He was born on 20 April 1873 in Headingley, Yorkshire.He started work as a cabinet maker, and drifted into amateur dramatics...
as Grandfather - George WoodbridgeGeorge Woodbridge (actor)George Woodbridge was an English character actor in films and television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
as Walter - Garry MarshGarry MarshGarry Marsh was a British film actor. Marsh began acting on the stage at the age of fifteen. He started off in films as a leading man but later became a character actor playing self-important roles.-Filmography:* Long Odds...
as Captain Goodhusband, an inept security officer on the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is... - Tom Macaulay as Lieutenant Spanswick, Goodhusband's more astute subordinate
- Olga LindoOlga Lindo-Filmography:* The Shadow Between * Royal Cavalcade * Dark World * The Last Journey * A Romance in Flanders * Luck of the Navy * The Stars Look Down * What Men Live By...
as Mrs. Edwards - David Ward as Oscar Pryce
- Harry Hutchinson as Chief Mourner/Smuggler
- Harry Webster as Uncle Joe
Cast notes:
- Katie JohnsonKatie JohnsonKatie Johnson , born Bessie Kate Johnson, was an English actress who appeared on stage from 1894 and on screen from the 1930s to the 1950s...
was a veteran of many Ealing StudiosEaling StudiosEaling Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
comedies. She is best known for her role in The LadykillersThe LadykillersThe Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
. In both films, her character name is simply "Old Lady".
Production
Frank LaunderFrank Launder
Frank Launder was an English writer, director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat....
and Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat
Sidney Gilliat was an English film director, producer and writer.He was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes for Alfred Hitchcock, and its sequel Night Train to Munich , directed by...
, who were the writers for Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's 1938 film The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1938 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder from the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
, formed Individual Pictures in 1945, with the intention of taking turns as director on the films they produced. I See a Dark Stranger was the first of ten films released by the company.
I See a Dark Stranger was filmed at various locations, including Dublin, Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
and around Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Reception
The film was released in the United States under the title The Adventuress, to good reviews but modest box office. Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
, the critic for the New York Times said that the film was "keenly sensitive and shrewd."
Awards and honors
Deborah Kerr won a 1947 New York Film Critics Circle Award for "Best Actress" for her performances in Black NarcissusBlack Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 film by the British director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden...
and I See a Dark Stranger.