I See a Dark Stranger

Bridie Quilty (Deborah Kerr) grew up on her late father's war stories about his battles in the Irish independence. It's 1944 before D-Day and Ireland is a neutral country. On her 21st birthday, she leaves her rural town for Dublin to seek out her father's war comrade Michael O'Callaghan. He's a little confused which confirms the unreliability of her father's tall tales. She wants to join the IRA and he politely dissuades her. She runs into her train mate Miller (Raymond Huntley) whom she assumed to be a haughty Englishman. In reality, he's a spy tasked with breaking Nazi Oscar Pryce out of British prison. He sees an opportunity to turn the naive idealist. Lieutenant David Baynes (Trevor Howard) arrives on leave but Miller suspects him to be a counter-intelligence agent.

Deborah Kerr is a little funny in this espionage film. All her interior monologues and confusions are funny. On top of everything else, it's a solid spy thriller. It does walk the balance between light farce and high drama. I do object to the screwball comedic climax. That scene puts this movie firmly into the farce side of the ledger when the climax should really lead more towards the drama side. The fight should not laughable. It should be thrilling instead. It's probably it's only flaw.

Deborah Kerr (as in star) as the trailer says is usually thought of in almost matronly fashion since she's brought strength and dignity to so many roles as a veteran performer. Here you see her in younger days. She's a wild and bewitching Irish rose, marvelous as the brassy Bridey Kiltie, hater of all things English. Buoyed by Kerr, Trevor Howard and a wonderful British-Irish cast,this film makes you feel like you're right back there in UK during the war. Only you're not flying off to punish the Germans. It's a homefront thing. The movie is more drama than mystery but it's enthralling all the same with humor and style to burn. Among the great characters are a pair of British officers, Captain Goodhusband (Garry Marsh) and Lt. Spanswick(Tom Macaulay)who come along to steal the film in their portrayal as oh-so-very-English middle-aged officers.

I SEE A DARK STRANGER depends heavily on the central performance of DEBORAH KERR to carry its story about a naive young Irish woman who has grown up hating the British, thanks to her father's romanticized view of the Irish rebellion. She travels to Ireland to volunteer her services as a spy for the IRA, is promptly rebuffed and reminded that "things are neutral now", but is spotted by RAYMOND HUNTLEY who wants to use her services for his own espionage purposes.

What's so wonderful about the film, called THE ADVENTURESS in the U.S., is that it combines humor with drama, mystery and suspense, always with Kerr's strong performance as Bridie Quilty as the center of attention. Kerr uses her facial expressions expertly, especially in close-ups where we can actually see what she is thinking. It's a performance on par with her work in BLACK NARCISSUS, where close-ups allowed her to fully reveal a character's intentions and motivations.

TREVOR HOWARD is the Englishman instantly attracted to her who gradually comes to understand that she's involved in something way beyond her scope and is soon just as involved in all the intrigue as she is. There are unexpected twists and turns throughout and some very droll moments of comedy when a funeral procession turns out to be something quite unexpected.

The weaknesses only are apparent during the last fifteen minutes with an extended fight scene that borders on slapstick before Kerr and Howard are allowed a quieter moment of romance. And then the final zinger involving a hotel sign that infuriates Kerr--but I'll let that remain hidden so you can enjoy the moment.

Summing up: Highly satisfactory British film which won Deborah Kerr a N.Y. Film Critics Award as Best Actress in 1947--also for BLACK NARCISSUS.

Trivia note: David TOMLINSON and JOAN HICKSON both have brief roles, but you have to be awfully quick to catch a glimpse of Hickson.

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.

'I See a Dark Stranger' was another film that sounded right up my alley, really loved the idea for the story and the film's genre mix sounded like the genres would go well together and not clash. Also have always really liked Deborah Kerr, two of my favourite performances of hers being in 'The King and I' and 'Black Narcissus' and wanted to see how she would fare in an early role. Trevor Howard has also been good in other things, 'Brief Encounter' is still a favourite and one of the most moving films ever made.

Although a lot of things work here, 'I See a Dark Stranger' doesn't completely succeed. It is not a waste of potential, a long way from that, but it is a case of great potential not being fully realised. Which was a little disappointing but not in a way that frustrated me massively. If you like Kerr, you'll like it. If you like the idea for the story and this mix of genres, you should mostly like it with reservations. If you like Howard, it's best to look elsewhere as to me this was not a great representation of him.

Will start with the good, which are many, quite big and outweigh the not so good. 'I See a Dark Stranger' is a very well made film visually, especially the photography which is both luminous and atmosphere. Which particularly excels in the more suspenseful scenes and how it captures Kerr, who the camera clearly loves. William Alwyn's score is typically moody without being too melodramatic while the direction is mostly very skilled until petering out at the end. The script is mostly quite sophisticated and thoughtful, with touches of witty humour.

The story generally compels, with some nice suspense, no over-obviousness and turns that aren't too convoluted. Plausibility is not always a strong suit but it is on the most part diverting and solidly paced. Kerr looks beautiful and is both feisty and dignified. The supporting cast are solid.

For all those good things, there are things that could have been better. Am going to agree with those disappointed in the final 20 minutes, which were too farcical and didn't fit with the tone of the rest of the film. Another big problem for me was Howard, who is disappointingly taciturn.

His romantic chemistry with Kerr wasn't really there either and lacked spark, and a big part of it was down to Howard and his character being underdeveloped. A shame because all the other tones are there and balanced quite well.

Concluding, well done generally but there was room for it to have been better. 7/10