I see a stranger

May 1944, Ireland (Ireland was formally neutral during the war, but its territory was a real base for the anti-British activities of the Nazi intelligence ^[1] ). Young woman Bridey Quilty lives by the romantic ideals of her country's independence, instilled in her by her father, a participant in the War of Independence . She turns 21, and she goes to Dublin . There she finds comrade father Michael Callaghan and asks to help her join the Irish Republican Army . He tries to dissuade her from excessive extremist actions, since in his opinion the political situation in the country is improving. Earlier in the train on the way to Dublin, she met Jay Miller . He is a secret agent sent to release Nazi spy Oscar Price from a British prison in Devonshire . By chance, he meets up with Bridie again and recruits her to complete his task. Miller arranges her to work in a pub . There she meets one of the guards, who inadvertently informs her that the prisoner is soon transported to London. For Muller, this is a good chance to complete the task.

Lieutenant David Baines , a British officer on vacation, resides in the city. Since in the wartime in the Devon resort there are few visitors, Muller assumes there is a counterintelligence agent in him. He instructs Bridey to captivate Baines and take him away from the city on the day the prisoner is transported. Müller manages to free Price, they are both mortally wounded, but Price Müller, and that Bridey, have time to tell the place where the notebook with some secret information is hidden. Not knowing what to do, she decides to return home. In the train, unexpectedly for her, she meets Lieutenant Baines and, having changed her mind, goes with him to the Isle of Man to a spy cache. After reading the encrypted information, Bridie realizes that it concerns the place, time and details of D-Day, a military operation related to the Allied landing in Normandy . Getting it by the Nazis will lead to the death of thousands of soldiers, among whom will be the Irish. The girl burns documents. She opens to David, he confesses her love. A couple cannot be together: for the British authorities, the girl is a carrier of secret information and, potentially, a Nazi spy. But on the radio, lovers will learn that the landing in Normandy took place. The secret information that Braidie Quilty was no longer relevant to both intelligence services. The police, with the help of Lieutenant Baines, are arresting spies. After the war, lovers marry, but their marriage is in jeopardy when, for the wedding night, David chooses the Cromwell Armor hotel ^{[K 1]} .

• Deborah Kerr - Brady Quilty
• Trevor Howard - Lt. David Baines
• Raymond Huntley - Jay Miller
• Michael Howard - Hawkins
• Norman Shelley - Man in the Hat, German Spy
• Liam Redmond - Uncle Timothy
• Brefni Orok - Michael Callaghan

Although the plot contains several film genres: the spy thriller, the comedy film, the dynamic adventure detective story, the elements of the noir are also well represented here. First, the picture looks grotesque, since most of it was shot using contrast lighting. The work of the operator and the editor also deserves special attention, especially in the heartbreaking (but comic) scene in the train compartment, where the girl must make contact with an unknown spy. Or in a situation where inexperienced Bridey tries to get rid of Muller’s body and drives him through the streets of a small town in a wheelchair disguised as a grandfather on an evening walk ^[2] .

Deborah Kerr, Claude’s sister from Black Narcissus , was recognized as the best actress of the year by the New York Film Critics Community for the roles of Bridey Quilty from the film. ^[3]

• The very fact of the film’s release is amazing: since 1921, the theme of any manifestations of Irish nationalism was under the strictest ban of British censorship ^[1] .
• In its review, the British Film Institute notes a strong influence on Hitchcock’s film The Lady Disappears , in which Frank Londer co-authored the script. The cash failure of the tape in the same place is explained by the viewer's unreadiness to present the material about the recently experienced tragedy in such an easy way ^[1] .

• " I see a stranger " (English) on the Internet Movie Database  
• I see a stranger on TCM (Eng.)
• I see a stranger (English) on the site allmovie  
• I see a stranger on the Rotten Tomatoes website