I See a Dark Stranger

1946 "The woman hunt is on... For the girl with the little black book."
7| 1h52m| en| More Info
Released: 03 April 1947 Released
Producted By: Individual Pictures
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Budget: 0
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Synopsis

Determined, independent Bridie Quilty comes of age in 1944 Ireland thinking all Englishmen are devils. Her desire to join the IRA meets no encouragement, but a German spy finds her easy to recruit. We next find her working in a pub near a British military prison, using her sex appeal in the service of the enemy. But chance puts a really vital secret into her hands, leading to a chase involving Bridie, a British officer who's fallen for her, a German agent unknown to them both, and the police...paralleled by Bridie's own internal conflicts.

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Reviews

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
HotToastyRag After a movie like this, it's no wonder Deborah Kerr became a big star! She was nominated for five Best Actress Oscars in eleven years, and while she played in small parts during the early 1940s, I See a Dark Stranger helped propel her to stardom and the first of her nominations in 1949's Edward, My Son. Deborah plays a young Irish woman born and raised in a slightly dated environment. While England and Ireland have mended their rift, she still has a strong fighting spirit within her, and when she comes of age, she tries to enlist in the Irish Republican Army. She's turned down, but shortly afterwards is approached by Raymond Huntley to become a secret agent spy! Deborah is a force to be reckoned with, as she plots and fights for love of her country, improvising when plans go awry and proving she can give as good as she gets! What's a young spy to do when Trevor Howard falls in love with her and won't let her out of his sight?Deborah Kerr does a very good job and keeps the film's plot alive with her high energy. I can imagine other actresses letting the script fall flat, or boring the audience with the internal monologues. If you like girl-power movies, you'll want to rent this obscure old movie during a girls' night with your friends. There's nothing too scary about it, and there's a little bit of romance that adds to the plot.
Jay Raskin Most of the things I felt about the film were nicely expressed by the favorable reviewers I read, especially the ones from the U.K.. I remember Deborah Kerr from "the King and I," and sort of remember Trevor Howard from "Mutiny on the Bounty," the excellent 1962 version with Marlon Brando. It was nice to see them much younger in this 1946 film. I agree with the viewers that said this movie was witty, full of surprises and twists and turns and had a beautiful performance from a younger and very beautiful Deborah Kerr. I agreed with the negative criticism of the film that it is a bit long and the plot gets muddled a few times. In its defense, the movie does manage to unmuddle itself the numerous times that it strays from the beaten path. If you like movies that break formulas so much that you can't trust the narration, this is a joy. Actually the narrator tells you in the very beginning of the movie what to expect from the film when he says that he has chosen the wrong place to start his tale and restarts it at a completely different place. Thanks to all the U.K. and other reviewers who filled us in on the many historical and other references in the film.
whpratt1 Enjoyed seeing how young Deborah Kerr appeared in this picture at the age of twenty-four years. Deborah plays the role as Birdie Quilty who works in her families pub in England and heard all kinds of stories told by people who visited the pub about how Ireland fought against the British years ago and she starts to form a hated toward the English Government. Birdie becomes of age and wants to go to Dublin, Ireland to live and work and she meets up with some very strange people who have listened to Birdie talk about England and they decide to utilize her hatred towards the British Nation for their own benefits. Birdie finds herself in some very difficult situations until she meets up with a British Lt. David Baynes, (Trevor Howard) who seems to fall madly in love with Birdie at first seeing her and on other dates, it becomes serious. However, Birdie has so many dark secrets that she does not want to show any affections towards David and this still does not stop David from following her from one country to another. This is a very great film with plenty of funny moments and at other times can be very dark and mysterious. Enjoy.
MartinHafer This is an interesting story about a young Irish woman who hates the British, so she's interested in becoming a spy for "the other guys" during WWII. She seems to know nothing about the Germans or what they stand for--she just knows that, as an Irishwoman, she hates the Brits and wants to help anyone they are fighting. Because her logic seems so simplistic, she seems very naive. However, despite this, she does get involved, somewhat by chance, in a German spy ring.How this all works out and her eventual revelation about what and why she was doing this make this a very interesting film. Also, an improbable but interesting romance that occurs with a British officer is pretty interesting. Overall, it's a very good drama and very original, but I was disappointed with the last 10 minutes of the film. While it had been a straight drama, the fight scene between the Brit and the spies really seemed slapstick inspired and just didn't fit the overall style of the film. Still, it's a relatively minor quibble and this still is a nice film--with a particularly good performance by a young Deborah Kerr.