Love from a Stranger (1937)
Ann Harding plays a lovely but somewhat naive young woman who goes on a European vacation after winning a lottery. Swept off her feet by charming Basil Rathbone, Harding finds herself married before she is fully able to grasp the situation. Slowly but surely, Rathbone's loving veneer crumbles; when he casually asks Harding to sign a document turning her entire fortune over to him, she deduces that her days are numbered.
- Rowland V. Lee
- Frances Marion
- Frank Vosper
- Frances Marion
- Agatha Christie
Rating: 5.9/10 by 11 users
Alternative Title:
A Night of Terror - US
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 26 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: lottery, sudden wealth, fortune hunter
This is quite a superior little thriller with good performances from both Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone. The former wins a fortune on the lottery and must travel to Paris to collect her winnings. Her fiancé Ronnie (Bruce Seton) is a typical working class fellow who struggles to reconcile with her having more cash than he can ever hope to make, and simultaneously she meets the suave, debonair Rathbone who is looking to rent her flat. Next thing, "Ronnie" has been dumped and she and "Gerald" are on the grand tour of Europe with her substantial fortune. Essentially a two-hander, the relationship stinks from the start - you just know that he is up to something (it's an Agatha Christie story, after all) - and soon we learn just what, and that she is now in quite some peril. It's a well adapted and paced thriller with strong characters that keep this off the rocks of melodrama well. Rarely seen these days, but by all means give it a go.
