Three Strangers

1946

1h 32m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

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Thriller

Crime

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, three strangers, Crystal Shackleford, married to a wealthy philanderer; Jerome Artbutny, an outwardly respectable judge; and Johnny West, a seedy sneak thief, make a pact before a small statue of the Chinese goddess of Destiny. The threesome agree to purchase a sweepstakes ticket and share whatever winnings might accrue.

Directors

Jean Negulesco

Writers

Howard Koch(screenplay by)

John Huston(screenplay by)

Stars

Sydney Greenstreet

Geraldine Fitzgerald

Peter Lorre

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Videos1

Trailer
Watch Trailer for Three Strangers 1946

Photos16

Top cast

Jerome K. Arbutny

Crystal Shackleford

Johnny West

Icey Crane

Bertram Fallon

Janet Elliott

Prosecutor

Lady Rhea Beladon

Junior Clerk

Timothy Delaney aka Gabby

David Shackleford

Senior Clerk

Mrs. Proctor

Mr. Giesing (uncredited)

Edward Biby

Man on the Street (uncredited)

Benny Burt

Drunken Stranger (uncredited)

Woody Chambliss

Man in Pub (uncredited)

Tom Coleman

Pub Patron (uncredited)

Directors

Jean Negulesco

Writers

Howard Koch(screenplay by)

John Huston(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

7.5/10

Three strangers, one idol and one sweepstake ticket. Bad mix. Three Strangers is directed by Jean Negulesco and written by John Huston and Howard Koch. It stars Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Music is by Adolph Deutsch and cinematography by Arthur Edeson. A tricky movie in structure as it constantly shifts between three character arcs to lead us to its resolution. Plot finds Crystal (Fitzgerald) luring Johnny (Lorre) and Arbutny (Greenstreet) to her apartment to make a wish in front of a Chinese idol known as Kwan Yin. It’s believed that Kwan Yin will bring a wish true if requested by three strangers at midnight. They mutually agree on purchasing a lottery ticket and vow to split the winnings evenly. Naturally things don’t go as planned… The key issue here is that the three characters are tainted by their weaknesses, so as greed, paranoia, bad luck and jealousy grips their respective lives, Kwan Yin deals them the cards they deserve. Negulesco and his writers give the actors meaty parts, thrusting the characters into a world of embezzlement, murder, imprisonment and alcoholism. The vagaries of fate shows its hand as well, and with Edeson’s black and white photography cosying up to the thematics, pic rounds out as a thriller cum drama with added mysticism for good measure. Huston’s noir shadings are evident, and since it was written before it, this makes for a good appetiser to The Maltese Falcon. Good fun to be had here and the final outcome for our three strangers doesn’t disappoint either. 7.5/10

John Chard08 Feb, 2014