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Welles' most commercial and straightfoward film. As the movie starts imprisoned Nazi war criminal, Konrad Meinike (Shayne), is allowed to escape from prison. This is done with hopes that he will lead war crimes commissioner Wilson (Robinson) to the yet to be found mastermind of the Holocaust, Franz Kindler. Wilson is lead to the small town of Harper, where Kindler (Welles) is living incognito as a young Connecticut schoolteacher. Wilson arrives in Harper the day Kindler is to marry the dauhgter of a supreme court justice (Young). Frist, Wilson must discover if this schoolteacher is indeed Kindler and then he must convince Kindler's young wife of his dark past. Gripping yet predictable film-noir piece. Contains several of Welles signature bits, such as unusaul camera angles and deep focus shots, but it lacks his normal character ambiguities and stylized mood. Young is good as Kindler's wife and Robinson, though not at his best, is well cast in his role. Welles's acting seems dark and contrived, but it fits in well with the style of the movie. This was Welles' only film to make a substantial amount of money upon initial release.
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