A Stranger in Town (1957) User Reviews

Nice Directorial Debut For George Pollock

[boblipton · 6/10 · 4 December 2019]

An American composer living in a small English town commits suicide.... apparently. A month later, Alex Nicol shows up. He's a friend of the dead man's uncle, here to find out what happened, take a picture of the grave, that sort of thing. People are generally helpful, except for the local drunk, who picks a fight. He's about to leave, when something changes his mind. The locals realize he suspects murder, and they close ranks against him.

It's a nice atmospheric movie most of the way through, although the ending seems pretty random. There are a couple of nice performances: Mona Washbourne is a lot of fun as the local spinster who writes poetry and brew parsnip wine; Hal Osmond has a fine small role as a bored bar man who chats with Nicol and expresses regret at not having said something that might have prevented the presumed suicide. It's a decent first directorial effort by George Pollock, who had spent 20 years as an Assistant Director, including working for David Lean in the mid-1940s and as Second Unit Director of THE THIRD MAN. Pollock would direct for about ten years; his best remembered stuff was the Margaret Rutherford "Miss Marple" comedy-mysteries. He would work with Kubrick on special effects for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and die in 1979, aged 72.

A very enjoyable b movie whodunit.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 30 August 2016]

David Vernon, A moody and temperamental artist of genius kills himself, a brilliant, talented man who struggled with the everyday challenges of life, he's discovered by the beautiful young Vicky Leigh, but one day John Madison, a suave American turns up on her doorstep wanting information about David's death, not getting what he wants, he begins digging in the sleepy village.

Alex Nicol (John Madison) has a definite quality and presence, he helps add a touch of class to this top quality b movie. It moves along at a good pace, it's intriguing and full of twists, you cannot help but get into it. It becomes more intriguing as it develops, and the conclusion is very satisfying, it makes you think hard about the events in the film.

Watch out for a brief appearance of Dad's Army legend Arthur Lowe, he's working in the pawn shop.

7/10

Breaks The Rules Of The Game

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 23 September 2012]

This is a fairly routine British thriller from the 50s starring yet another has been American actor in the hope that the producers can find an American distributor.Many of the elements of this film are well worn not to say hackneyed.However my unhappiness with the film is due to the fact that it doesn't play fair.The audience should always have a clue as to whom the actual killer is.However in this film i had no idea who the killer was because he confessed to motives that were never revealed to us.There is nothing remarkable at all about this film and i guess that this would have ended up as the bottom half of a double bill which is where it belonged.

An unremarkable British quickie whodunit that does offer glimpses of a budding directorial talent at work.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 1 December 2016]

An American reporter called John Madison (Alex Nicol) arrives in a small English town to investigate the apparent suicide of a down on his luck composer, David Vernon, on behalf of his only living relative in the States who isn't satisfied with the coroner's verdict. Madison finds that the close-knit community closes ranks against 'A Stranger In Town' and he has to battle his way through a conspiracy of silence to discover that Vernon's death was anything but suicide. In addition, he discovers that he was not at all a nice person and that just about anybody had a motive for wanting him dead. For instance, Vicki Leigh (Anne Paige) was madly in love with Vernon, but her guardian a successful businessman and laird of the community, Henry Wylam (Colin Tapley), disapproved. Wylam's lay-about brother William (Bruce Beeby) fancies Vicki himself and had quarrelled with Vernon about it. But, when Vicki proposed marriage to him, he rejected her because under the terms of her father's will she isn't due to come into her inheritance for another four years: "No inheritance, no marriage" were his words as he snatched her engagement ring back from her. Madison discovers that Vernon had tried to blackmail and steal from just about the entire town's populace because he had been offered the chance of a prestigious career as a concert pianist back home and needed the money for the airline ticket back to America. During the course of the investigation, Madison and Vicki fall in love, but somebody else is killed and their own lives are put into jeopardy before the murderer is finally apprehended...

This long forgotten British quickie whodunit will be of interest to film buffs because it was the directing debut of George Pollock who is best remembered for his well loved Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple comedy detective thrillers. Although this is an unremarkable and rather humourless tale about love, ambition, blackmail and murder, it does have indications of a budding directorial talent at work that was yet to fully express itself. Pollock constructs some admirable nods to American film noir in the way he has Stanley Black's glorious piano forte play over the murdered man's many female conquests' recollections of him to the reporter turned sleuth. Especially impressive are the opening scenes in which a young woman battles her way through a storm to her lover's house. She enters through the French windows as he sits at a piano playing a romantic concerto like a man possessed. She begs him to discuss the future of their relationship, but to no avail. She eyes the shotgun that she brought in with her and placed beside the piano: "Will she, or won't she shoot?", we ask ourselves in a superb moment of tension and dark passion. Veteran cinematographer Geoffrey Faithful creates a nice sense of dark foreboding in these scenes too. The fact that we never see the murdered man's face is another nice touch since it is left to our imagination throughout to make a picture of him in our minds as Alex Nicol's investigation progresses and the true nature of his character is revealed.

For the remainder of the film things are content to simply amble along at the leisurely pace of rural small town life and there is rather a lot of chat too. Faithful's camerawork pleasantly captures the picture postcard English home counties locations, but Pollock fails to link that atmosphere with the premise of sinister deeds and deception emerging from the seemingly soothing setting of a country town. Some of the most successful thrillers have exploited that premise to the full and that is why they are so endearingly popular; and the solution to the case when it is finally revealed will not exactly have you gasping in shock.

In the acting stakes, Alex Nicol, the imported American leading man is quite good as the reporter turned detective and enjoys what little action he gets to do like an encounter with an angry farmer with a fierce dog and a 12-bore shotgun which he fires over his head yelling "Get off my land! Get off my land!" Anne Paige is also noteworthy as the murdered man's heartbroken lover who colludes in Nicol's investigation and finally falls in love with him.

A Stranger in Town

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 13 February 2023]

When a composer if found dead in his home in a sleepy English village, the coroner puts it down to suicide. Now nobody quite knows just why this man would have taken his own life and when his American journalist pal "Madison" (Alex Nicol) shows up, he decides to look into things and is soon highly suspicious as he gradually realises that the rose tinted windows and perfectly manicured lawns hide tensions amongst the outwardly butter-wouldn't-melt townsfolk. There are plenty of clues for us all here, the odd red herring and he even manages to pick a fight as he eventually manages to convince "Insp. Powell" (John Horsley) that this wasn't simply just the desperate, final, act of an eccentric musician. It features a workmanlike, rather than stellar, cast of British stalwarts - Mona Washbourne ("Agnes") is always reliable, as is Charles Lloyd-Pack and there's even a spot for Arthur Lowe before the denouement comes a bit from left-field. It's an interesting contrast this film - almost like a precursor of the hugely successful "Midsomer Murders" series: what really does go on behind the chintz curtains. The writing is distinctly bland - and Nicol is really just eye candy, but it is still a decent little mystery that is worth a gander.

Death in the Village

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 21 March 2020]

The directorial debut of George Pollock, who later made several more films about violent death in placid surroundings; but here the tone is much darker than in his Miss Marple mysteries and we get Chopin on the soundtrack rather than Ron Godwin's jaunty theme.

Mona Washbourne would have made a splendid Miss Marple, but instead of an eccentric old spinster stepping on the toes of the local constabulary the amateur sleuth is this time played by crew-cut yank Alex Nicol (who gets as warm a welcome from the locals as Spencer Tracy got in 'Bad Day at Black Rock'); although there are quite a few engaging performances by the other women in the cast (of whom I would like to have seen more of Mary Laura Wood & Betty Impey).

Watchable murder mystery, but rather staid at the same time

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 1 September 2016]

A straightforward murder mystery set in and around a sleepy English village, A STRANGER IN TOWN features imported American star Alex Nicol (who is much better than he was in THE GILDED CAGE) as a guy who shows up in the UK after his good friend, a composer, commits suicide. He's only there to gather a few belongings to return to the States but a mysterious note warning him of intrigue leads him to stay on and investigate the apparent suicide himself.

What follows is the uncovering of a hotbed of conspiracy and murder, with various characters hiding their true motivations. I quite like these gentleman detective films such as this and A STRANGER IN TOWN has a fairly good plot, although it lacks excitement and it cheats a bit by not allowing the viewer to work out the murderer's identity until the climax. Nicol's encounters with a volatile farmer are my favourite moments here.

The supporting cast is a solid one that includes Colin Tapley as a toff, Anne Paige as a would-be love interest, and Charles Lloyd Pack as a former army man. John Horsley is the usual dogged cop who adds little to the narrative other than to pad out the running time. Harry Towb and Arthur Lowe have bit parts.

decent murder mystery

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 9 February 2023]

When a young composer dies through violent means, his death is considered a suicide. It's not immediately obvious why the man would have wanted to commit suicide, but then, he was an artist and artists are supposed to be oversensitive. The arrival of an American visitor interested in the case shakes things up...

"Stranger in town" is a pleasantly watchable murder mystery with enough clues, suspects and red herrings to maintain interest throughout. Our protagonist, the American newcomer, discovers a small town (or perhaps a village ?) where evil passions seethe behind a picture-perfect surface. After a while it becomes clear that even the deceased, that struggling genius, was weaving his own unholy webs.

A good movie to watch during a rainy afternoon, although it might have contained more imagination and panache.

A very ploddy, lifeless and dreary whodunit

[geoffm60295 · 4/10 · 22 November 2019]

Alex Nicol plays the American journalist who gets caught up in a tale of intrigue and murder while gathering up the private possessions of a former friend who allegedly had committed suicide. What seems to be a promising film, fails to deliver. Slow tempo, weak storyline and a conspicuous lack of tension and energy, quickly had me yawning. I was longing for some action, and some emotionally charged scenes but it was all in vain. The director offers no gripping moments of suspense or sudden or twists and turns - instead the audience are left with our American hero simply wandering through the village looking for clues but ends up meeting no more than a collection of unremarkable, staid and starchy, one dimensional village characters. The main reason why the storyline is so unconvincing is that everyone is too nice, polite and well mannered! None of the characters reveal any menace. I was longing for an angry Dan Duryea to show up and play the bad guy. He would have injected much needed energy and gritty cynicism into the film, but sadly we are left with Colin Tapley, playing the toff, who comes across as a merely bitter and sad character. As for the love interest of Alex Nicol, Anne Paige, sounds bored and detached from what's going on. Her character has no 'edginess' or 'attitude.' Indeed, after watching this film, instead of watching a crime drama, I felt I was watching middle class life village life in the 1950's. I would give this film a miss.

If in doubt, go for the fist-fight.

[johnshephard-83682 · 2/10 · 11 August 2019]

Another enjoyable dud of the quota quickie type, with a plot like a sieve, characters who behave irrationally, and an imported American hero (Chuck Nobody) included to increase its marketability. Suffice to say that it features the mandatory punch-up in which the beefcake farmer, foregoing his handy rifle, inexplicably decides to jump our lightweight hero who, of course, overpowers him and pins him to the floor. But beefcake will not talk, he's far too tough, so hero slaps him around the face, forcing him to spill the beans, for fear of another slap. The denouement involves the murderer disturbing the heroine just as she discovers the clue that will expose him, so, rather than shooting her dead with his rifle, he takes the opportunity to explain the plot, for the benefit of slow-witted viewers. Our hero enters and saves the day by pushing the villain to the floor, a sure fire way to render a rifle-wielding man powerless, and enabling our couple to enjoy a well-timed hug. It's all good fun for an hour or so.

well-done British murder mystery with Alex Nicol

[django-1 · 9/10 · 28 October 2003]

An eccentric, anti-social American composer/pianist living in a small British town commits suicide...or does he? An American reporter on holiday in the UK who is from the composer's hometown agrees to bring some of his personal things back to the family in the US and to meet some of the composer's friends while in England. As he asks around, something doesn't seem right, and the mystery begins. The British have always been able to make excellent low-budget murder mysteries, and this one is yet another little-known gem. The supporting cast were unfamiliar to me, but all were convincing as the small-town folks who had some kind of dealings with the late composer. Alex Nicol, who did a lot of acting work in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, is a somewhat laid-back leading man, but that fits well here (actually, his performance reminds me a bit of John Agar). The resolution is somewhat unexpected but all the clues were there in hindsight, and I plan to watch the film a second time soon to see how the mystery is constructed and the clues are placed. If you like "B" murder mysteries, especially British ones, check this out.

Little-known British whodunnit

[last-picture-show · 8/10 · 6 January 2007]

There was a plethora of British films made in the 1950s with an American actor in the lead role. This was done primarily as a cynical marketing exercise in order to sell the titles to the Amercian market, but here it is believable with Alex Nicol as visiting American journalist trying to uncover the truth surrounding a fellow American who died in mysterious circumstances in a small English town. Basically it's a good old British whodunit with enough suspects to keep you guessing until the end, and it is refreshing that the victim turns out to be a rather unpleasant character who had as many enemies as friends. A lot of the film was made on location including a lengthy scene on a bus which takes the American on a mystery trip deep into the English countryside. There are some impressive performances, particularly Alex Nicol as square-jawed journalist John Madison, Charles Lloyd-Pack as Captain Nash and Harry Towb as a seedy cafe owner, also watch out for Arthur Lowe in an early role as a jeweller.