Love from a Stranger
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Richard Whorf
John Hodiak
Sylvia Sidney
Ann Richards
John Howard
Isobel Elsom
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At the turn of the century, in England, a blonde South American fortune hunter named Pedro Ferrara kills his first, second and third wives for their money. Later, in London, middle-class Cecily Harrington wins £50,000 in the Calcutta sweepstakes. Determined to use her money to travel around the world with her roommate, Mavis Wilson, Cecily prepares to let their apartment. One prospective tenant is Manuel Cortez, a dark-haired adventurer. As soon as Manuel learns that Cecily has won the sweepstakes, he begins to court her aggressively. At the same time, Cecily awaits a reunion with her fiancé, Nigel Lawrence, whom she has not seen in two years. Over protests from her aunt Loo-Loo, Cecily breaks her engagement when Nigel arrives, and in a few days, she and Manuel are married. For their honeymoon, Manuel takes Cecily to a secluded cliffside cottage in Devonshire, and asks that she not give out the address. Upon their arrival, Manuel's charming facade begins to crack, revealing his furtive, volatile nature. He insists that his basement "laboratory" is off-limits to Cecily and the house servants, Ethel and Billings, and immediately begins digging a grave in the cellar, where he also keeps black hair dye to maintain his disguise. He methodically notes the date August 31st and time nine o'clock p.m. on his calendar. Soon, Cecily notices that her checkbook is missing, and Manuel tricks her into signing papers that give him control over her money. One day, Cecily sprains her ankle and is tended by local doctor Horace Gribble, who notices that, like him, Manuel has a collection of books on criminology. Dr. Gribble points out to Manuel that an article in a recent journal on wife-killer Pedro Ferrara contained a picture of the killer, which is missing from Manuel's copy of the journal. The article states that Ferrara always murdered his victims at nine o'clock, and reportedly died by drowning, although his body was never found. After a short visit with Mavis and Loo-Loo in London, Cecily returns to the cottage with Manuel to pack for their voyage to the Persian Gulf, India and Baghdad. On August 31st, while Manuel is out making arrangements to have their trunks picked up by a carter, Dr. Gribble drops off his copy of the Ferrara article to prove his point about the picture. Although Manuel had told her earlier that it is bad luck to open a steamship ticket envelope prior to a journey, Cecily opens theirs when she accidentally spills ink on it. Finding the envelope empty, she then opens a letter from a bank, which states that her fortune has been converted into bearer bonds that are now ready for Manuel to pick up in Scotland. Terrified, Cecily finds the key to the basement, and there discovers hair dye, her check book and a box of jewels, which Manuel had collected from other women. Next, Cecily opens the article on Ferrara and is horrified to see Manuel's likeness in the sketch. Meanwhile, Nigel has gone to Scotland Yard to report Cecily's sudden marriage and their secret honeymoon and subsequent voyage, for which he could find no steamship reservations. Inspector Hobday tells him that a murderer matching Ferrara's description recently escaped from South America. Loo-Loo then remembers Cecily's mentioning Dr. Gribble, and Hobday and Nigel search for the location of his practice. As a storm brews, Cecily runs from the cottage just as Manuel returns and forces her into the house. He soon discovers that she knows his true identity, and she bides her time until nine o'clock by making him dinner. When she tries to trick him into believing that she has poisoned his coffee, Manuel starts to strangle her. Nigel and Hobday arrive in time to rescue her, and Hobday pursues Manuel as he flees the cottage, and fights him. As the carter's carriage approaches, Manuel falls into the street and is crushed to death by the horses. Inside the cottage, Cecily embraces Nigel.
Director
Richard Whorf
Cast
John Hodiak
Sylvia Sidney
Ann Richards
John Howard
Isobel Elsom
Ernest Cossart
Philip Tonge
Anita Sharp-bolster
Frederic Worlock
Billy Bevan
Robert Cory
John Goldsworthy
David Cavendish
Keith Hitchcock
Phyllis Barry
Gerald Rogers
Colin Campbell
Clark Saunders
Eugene Eberle
Charles Coleman
Nolan Leary
Donald Kerr
Abe Dinovitch
Crew
Fred Allen
Del Armstrong
Leon Becker
Emil Cadkin
Alfred De Gaetano
Emmett Emerson
Eunice
Bryan Foy
Irving Friedman
Tony Gaudio
James J. Geller
J. N. A. Hawkins
Helene King
Philip Macdonald
Armor Marlowe
John Peacock
Hans J. Salter
Perry Smith
George J. Teague
Percy Townsend
Ern Westmore
Michael Woulfe
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film marked the first producing effort of James J. Geller, who had been the head of the story department at Warner Bros. since 1942. The Agatha Christie short story and Frank Vosper play were also the source for the 1937 United Artists British film of the same title, directed by Rowland V. Lee, and starring Basil Rathbone and Ann Harding (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40; F3.5389). In the earlier version, the wife does poison the husband's coffee, and he dies from a heart attack. Vosper, playwright and adaptor of Christie's story, starred in the London stage version of the play, as well as in the Broadway production, which opened September 29, 1936. Eagle-Lion borrowed Sylvia Sidney from William Cagney's company for this production, and according to Hollywood Reporter, Michael Woulfe was also borrowed from Cagney's company.
