Talk About a Stranger

An old dark house in a California orange-growing community gains a mysterious tenant, and, scared on Halloween, the kids take an instant dislike to him. When the mutt belonging to one of them, Bud (Billy Gray), is later found poisoned, Bud fixes on the strange neighbor as its killer. With a November freeze threatening the crop, already restive townsfolk start to gossip, egged on by the implacable Bud. His parents, George Murphy and Nancy (Reagan) Davis -- both actors to become major forces in California and national politics in the next decade -- find him careening out of control. The story starts out as a fairly routine thriller based on a courageous (for its time) caution against McCarthyist hysteria. But then it turns into something more complex and memorable. When Bud sets off to find incriminating evidence, the tone and the images grow more gothic and evocative. John Alton's superb cinematography conjures up masterful effects from the smoke rising from the smudge-pots, the twisted branches and dark foliage, and the beclouded moonlight. (There's much in this movie that steals the thunder from Charles Laughton's solo masterpiece, the 1955 Night of the Hunter). The script deserves credit, too, for resolutely retaining the young adolescent's point of view while never stooping to condescend.

A boy and his dog, let no man stand between them. It may not sound as common as the phrase "a man and his woman, let no man stand between them", but a boy and his dog always tugs at the filmgoers heart strings. The young boy Robert Fontaine Jr. is a single boy about 12 years old who lives on his parents farm whose dad is tending 24 hours a day to the families orange fields.

When Robert finds a stray dog his parents allow him to keep the cute dog and they quickly become inseparable. Shortly after the dog named "boy" is taken into the Fontaine family home the young Robert Jr. finds his dog dead in the pathway that leads between his parents farm and the strange next door neighbors home, a man called Matlock.

Quickly Robert Jr. comes to no other conclusion than his reclusive next door neighbor Mr. Matlock must have deliberately killed his dog so Robert Jr. reports his dog's murder to the local police station and when they don't take him seriosuly he decides to prove that Mr. Matlock killed his beloved dog named boy himself.

I think most reasonable people can remember more than one past incident in their own lives when they prematurely jumped to an incorrect conclusion about a friend or family member by blaming them for something that eventually was proven that their friend or family member were innocent of.

Although classified as a film noir I think the film Talk About A Stranger is more an educational film for both the young and old by reminding us that all things that appear in front of our naked eyes are not always how they appear to be.

I give it a 6 out of 10 rating

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Billy Gray played a horrible little boy in several movies--most notably the Doris Day films "On Moonlight Bay" and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon". This sort of character was quite a bit different from 'Bud' on "Father Knows Best". Here, Gray is up to his typical sort of character of the day...all boy...and all BAD boy!

The film begins with Bobby (Gray) and his friends tossing rocks through the windows of a supposedly abandoned house. Imagine their surprise when they see it's NOT abandoned! Bobby has a VERY active imagination (in other words he lies a lot) and tells his dad that the man inside was mean and attacked him!! Well, Bob Sr. (George Murphy) is mad but level-headed and goes to see what is up. Well, the new neighbor isn't very friendly...and slams the door in their faces.

Later, Bobby comes home with an adorable mutt and the kid loves the thing. However, when the pet dies, Bobby begins imagining that the neighbor poisoned the dog...and he begins telling everyone that he KNOWS this to be true. What's the sad truth? See the film.

This is a very well written slice of life film..nothing great but well done all around. Gray, though playing a brat, played him wonderfully and the film is well worth seeing. I also agree with another review where it pointed out how amazing the camera-work was in the film. It was almost film noir-like...very artsy and amazingly good for a B-movie.

Scapegoating brat with a persecution complex believes a a lie based on personal prejudice and nearly ruins a man's life.

Unfortunately, that's the history of the world. A good films for kids to see. It teaches about prejudice, rash assumptions, scapegoating, and people feeding off each others worst emotions.

Of course the idiot adults are as dangerous as the kid.

Surprisingly well-made and, at times, subtle and unpredictable Billy Gray vehicle released six months after the spectacular "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Billy was certainly on a roll.

Although there is a certain Bildungsroman aspect to the film, the emphasis is on plot and intelligent development. Several scenes introduced primarily to increase interest and suspense are brought off very effectively. Bradley's treatment of children is intriguing.

Photography and music are certainly above average for this era, genre, and budget.

Unfortunately, this movie does not appear to be available on DVD or video, although if you keep an eye out, you may catch it on TMC.