TheLittleSongbird That is saying a fair bit actually because the Sylvia Sidney version was dramatically underwhelming and not easy to get into. This film does take its time to get going, with the beginning moving rather slowly, and Bruce Seton is wooden. But there is so much to like about Love from a Stranger. The production values, from the period detail to the photography, is very pleasing to look at, and Benjamin Britten's(only 23/24 at the time) score has a haunting undercurrent as well as stylistically distinctive. The dialogue is snappy and adds intensity rather than falling too much into stodgy melodrama. And the storytelling is far more convincing, the middle is suspenseful, helped by a far more convincing exploration of the psychological and psychopathic aspects of the characters and story, and the somewhat ironic ending is very tense. In the later version, the ending was ridiculously done and what was suspenseful here was undermined by overwrought melodrama and real stodginess. Director Ronald V. Lee sets things up with a smooth and neat approach, and the cast are top notch, Joan Hickson and Binnie Hale stand out in support. But it's the leads who carry with a classy and dignified Ann Harding and a genuinely menacing Basil Rathbone. Overall, a very good film that starts slowly but rewarding once you stay with it. Comparing this with the later version with Sylvia Sidney and John Hodiak, there is no doubt that it's this one that is the far superior film version. 8/10 Bethany

classicsoncall I saw this film under the British title "Love From a Stranger", and I found it interesting to place Basil Rathbone on the wrong side of Scotland Yard for a change. That reference in the story didn't go very far, but putting the future Sherlock Holmes on the opposite side of the law seemed oddly satisfactory.Actually, Ann Harding has top billing in bold letters over Rathbone in the opening credits, and it IS pretty much her picture throughout until about the last half hour when Rathbone summons up his maniacal best. Personally, I would have been suspicious of him on the cruise ship when he offered Miss Howard (Harding) and Kate (Binnie Hall) a tray of hot chocolate, whipped cream, French pastry and pilchard sardines.Considering the tension in the build up to the finale, I thought the story had a pretty good mix of humor going for it. I would liked to have seen more of hypochondriac Aunt Lou, she seemed like quite the trip with her floating pains. And dim-witted English house maid Emmy (Joan Hickson) raised my eyebrows with a remark to Carol about her prospects for getting married, considering she 'ain't quite bright but I'm willing'. A bit of double entendre there.Actually, two key elements of the story can be interpreted in different ways, and since I haven't read the Agatha Christie short story this was based on, I don't know the definitive result. Presumably, the character 'Fletcher' was actually Gerald Lovell (Rathbone), but if you think about it, the criminal might have only been the inspiration for Lovell's madness. I tried mentally erasing the scruffy beard on the picture of Fletcher, and it didn't strike me that the resemblance to Lovell was there.Secondly, the verbal sparring between Carol and Lovell was explained as buying time for the poison in the coffee to kick in. However considerable pains were taken to establish Lovell's heart condition, so Carol's pressing of the argument could have been taken as providing the stress to cause a massive heart attack. Otherwise, guess what? - she's a murderer! How come no one else has considered that in the dozen plus other reviews posted on this board?

kidboots Beautiful Ann Harding was noted for her long silvery blonde hair and her melodious throbbing voice. Her looks and bearing meant she was only to play ladies and she played them to perfection but by the mid 1930s she was being ousted by stars who could play more down to earth heroines. Like many other stars whose box office power had dimmed she tried her luck in England and made "Love From a Stranger" in 1937. It was taken from an Agatha Christie short story and had a ripping, over the top performance by Basil Rathbone. Some of the critics of the day compared the shocking ending to James Cagney's ending in "The Public Enemy" (1931) - not quite!!Ann Harding at her most dignified was completely believable as English working girl Carol who finds she has won the lottery. She goes on a "wild" spending spree (she buys a hat she has had her eye on) and eagerly awaits the return of Ronnie (Bruce Seton), her fiancé, old "Mr. Reliable", who she hasn't seen for a few years (he has been working in the Sudan, saving for their marriage). Before he arrives she meets Gerald Lovell (Basil Rathbone) who has come to view her flat which she is going to let. Once Ronnie arrives and realises she has won the lottery - suddenly the thought of marriage turns him cold. He wants to be the man of the house, support them both on his salary etc, but Carol wants them both to travel to exotic lands, to places new and interesting. They quarrel and suddenly Gerald is back on the scene and Carol finds it hard to resist him. He follows her to Paris - where she has to pick up her winnings - and proceeds to show her the Paris he knows - all the out of the way places. Ronnie then turns up, he is sorry for the way he has behaved, but she has news for him - she is already married.Things, at first, seem wonderful but then a house deal falls through and Gerald's South American bank funds are late - he is more than happy for Carol to sign some papers. He has an evil glint in his eye - is she signing away her fortune??? They move into a beautiful country house but as in all these movies - the cellar is the master's domain and no one is to go down there but him!!! He gives Carol a beautiful scarf - and it starts to affect his mind. His behaviour becomes more and more erratic - he literally screams when he finds her near his "dark room", when the doctor examines him and when Carol's old friends come to visit. The screams are really bloodcurdling!!! He is particularly interested in "Fletcher", a master criminal who has murdered three women and successfully evaded the police. When he sees Carol looking at Fletcher's picture again - she realises not only is he mad but he is also Fletcher. The ending is tension filled but with a few holes. Lovell is supposed to have a heart condition - but can no one see he is stark raving mad!! There is a fine line between Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes and the madness of Gerald Lovell. Ann Harding gives a gripping performance as the lovely Carol who, in a huge surprise twist, turns the tables on Gerald - and wins. This could be Ann's best performance.Highly Recommended.

Cristi_Ciopron 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.