Love from a Stranger (1937)

A Masterpiece!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Ann Harding was capable of delivering as fine a dramatic screen performance as any actress of her generation. That is a big statement, but watch this film and you will be impressed with her performance every minute she is on screen. It is that good.Rathbone seemed to get a lot of roles requiring a lot of dramatic "flair", such as Dr. Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, and this role here. Within that context he always delivers what is required, which is to walk the fine line between overacting and "flair".While a bit slow developing, the good acting by all the cast in "A Night of Terror" will hold your attention, and will leave you wanting to look for more Ann Harding films.If you are a fan of good, straight, no-gimmick drama, watch this one.

This is a movie based on a Agatha Christie story.Basil Rathbone plays Gerald he is a great actor. Ann Harding who plays Carol wins the lottery. It show how easily she is fooled by sweet talk from a man, a stranger no less. She is a very generous and kind hearted soul. You want to kind of slap her and wake her up, she believes the best in someone she hardly knows. She breaks off her engagement with Ronnie and goes off on a trip where Gerald shows up on the same ship and befriends her. Gerald & Carol marry soon after. Gerald buys a house with her money where there are no neighbors, phones or regular contacts. He starts acting strange and shows his anger towards her that scares her & starts to make her question his sanity. He makes her read a story out loud of a criminal named Fletcher that killed 3 women from a book about criminals. He then tells her how he knows what women want and how he uses them. She gets a wake call. Gerald has an ending in store for his new bride Carol, and boy does she have one for him. It is kind of funny watching the two inter-re-act while she goes into detail and drama about how she killed someone. He is really into her story. Now go watch it!!

LOVE FROM A STRANGER sounds like a TV courtroom melodrama, yet it evokes the charm and spontaneity of the British between—the—wars cinema sometimes nostalgically evoked by Hitchcock—a sort of freedom and originality and unpretentiousness. Mrs. Harding—what a delicious woman and actress, what a funny blonde! …And the Hoffmanesque cellar scenes, brightly scored! The score is by Britten; the precarious technique affects the sound's quality, the dialogs are rather badly taken, sometimes hard to understand.Such movies are amusing almanacs of funny bits and small inventiveness.Rathbone was the villainous, threatening version of Flynn. A better actor, one might say.The hypocrisy of men was illustrated in cinema by Grant, Cotten, Mitchum, with roles in movies about women being manipulated and used,of trust betrayed, and Cave sang about the victims of others' malice.Mrs. Harding produces instantly a very good impression, as a most fine person.

Love from a Stranger (1937) *** (out of 4) A poor woman (Ann Harding) wins the lottery and soon she's swept off her feet by a nice man (Basil Rathbone) but after they're married she begins to think he has a few secrets including murder. Director Rowland V. Lee does a good job on this story by Agatha Christie and builds some nice atmosphere, which helps matters. Harding is very good in her role but the real key here is Rathbone who, as later in Son of Frankenstein, goes through a nervous breakdown, which is wonderful to watch. Some might call it over the top but I think he does a good job at showing the character losing his mind. Some slow segments hamper the film but the ending certainly makes up for that.