Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
AniInterview
Sorry, this movie sucks
FeistyUpper
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
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.
Neil Doyle
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.
Panamint
Deborah Kerr portrays every emotion, from hate to love to fear and everything in between, with consummate skill. Her range of emotion is astonishing. If you pay careful attention you will observe subtleties and range of performance that most actors cannot achieve.Few viewers in the USA may be able to relate to the Irish Problems or European WWII themes, however these themes are more interesting than you might expect, so give them a chance. This movie exploits the themes to provide a high level of tension, particularly a harrowing scene in a crowded train compartment where someone is about to be arrested. Also, there is a "corpse in a wheelchair" sequence that is very well done. The gritty, grimy world of wartime spies is also well-portrayed in this film. A British actor named Raymond Huntley is terrific in one of the best cool, ruthless, living-on-the-edge spy roles you will ever see. Trevor Howard is a perfect male lead to offset the high-strung, headstrong young woman portrayed by Ms Kerr.The plot itself is tense throughout. Forget about the film's age, its black-and-white filming, or any other concerns you may have. Watch this one and you will enjoy.
flowerboy
I don't usually go for old movies, but I saw this one today (I hadn't even heard of it before and the name sounded ridiculous). But I must say I eventually found the movie to be quite engaging. It's Deborah Kerr's show all the way. Trevor Howard was someone whose name I'd heard and I was a bit surprised at how he looked! I always thought leading men of the 50s were supposed to be very handsome, like Gregory Peck or Mongomery Clift. The best scene in this movie is where Deborah is wheeling this dead body from a hotel to the cliffs to dispose of it. On the way she passes by a cinema (or is it a play house) where the show's just finished and a stream of people come out. Then there's a cad who makes a move on her and then there's policeman who rescues her and then tries to talk to the dead body (who she's trying to pass off as her wheelchair bound grandfather).