Stubs - Three Strangers

Three Strangers (1946) Starring Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre. Directed by Jean Negulesco. Screenplay by John Huston, Howard Koch. Produced by Wolfgang Reinhardt. Run time: 92 minutes. Black and White USA. Film Noir, Crime, Drama.

Even back in the golden days of the Hollywood studio system, the idea of sequels was nothing new. Take The Maltese Falcon (1941), as an example. Third time’s the charm with that film and afterward, Warner Bros was interested in making a sequel. The idea was to use a treatment written by John Huston, and bought by the studio in 1937 as the basis for it.

Inspired by a wooden figure he bought in an antique shop while working in London, a party in his flat suggested to Huston the story of three strangers sharing a sweepstakes ticket. Huston returned to Hollywood in 1937 and Warner Bros. bought the treatment. Several actors were considered but never cast in the original film they wanted to make based on it. Actors considered for the role of "Jerome K. Arbutny" were Lionel Atwill, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter and Claude Rains, while Miriam Hopkins and Kay Francis were considered to play "Crystal Shackelford". For the role of "Johnny West," Errol Flynn, David Niven, Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Robert Montgomery were considered.

However, no film materialized. After the success of The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. thought to rework it and Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor were to star. However, Warner Bros. discovered that the rights to the characters from that film had reverted back to Dashiell Hammett, author of the original novel.

By the time Three Strangers was set to go into production, John Huston had joined the war effort and was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The director’s chair was therefore occupied by Jean Negulesco, a Romanian director who had been in Hollywood since 1927 but had only been directing features since 1936.

Despite the fact the film was in production from early January--mid-February 1945, the film did not premiere until February 16, 1946.

The film starts with the following written foreword: "It has always been man's nature to invent idols on whom he could place the responsibility for his own actions. Perhaps these three strangers in this story, whose lives have really nothing to do with each other, would never have met except for a very ancient idol: the Chinese goddess, Kwan Yin. And perhaps their separate stories might have been different except for what happened that night. And then again, perhaps not."

Jerome K. Arbutny (Sydney Greenstreet) makes the acquainteance
of  Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald).

The story opens in 1938 London just before Chinese New Year. Crystal Shackleford (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is out walking through the streets and garners the attention of Jerome K. Arbutny (Sydney Greenstreet), who follows her back to her apartment. Without knowing his name, she invites him up and Jerome willingly goes.

Whatever ideas he might have had are dashed when he sees that there is another man already there, Johnny West (Peter Lorre). Like Jerome, Johnny had been lured to her apartment.

Crystal explains to Jerome and Johnny West (Peter Lorre) why they're there.

Crystal unveils why she brought them home. She has a statue of the Chinese goddess Kwan Yin, which, according to legend, will open its eyes and heart to three strangers at the stroke of midnight, and whatever they ask for, the goddess will grant.

The Chinese goddess Kwan Yin.

Even though Jerome is skeptical, they all agree to it. West suggests that the others buy into his sweepstakes ticket, and they agree that if their horse is chosen, they will not sell the ticket, but will hold it until the Grand National is run.

While they wait for midnight, Crystal says she will use her share of the money to get her husband back; Arbutny, a solicitor, hopes the money will ensure his election to the Barrister's Club; and West, an alcoholic, wants to buy a bar and move into it.

Still without knowing each other’s names, the three sign the back of the ticket as a contract to what they’ve agreed to.

However, just before the clock is finished striking, a breeze extinguishes the candle lighting the idol, making it impossible to determine if her eyes actually open. However, Crystal is adamant that the eyes opened and the two men agree to go along with the agreement.

Crystal's husband David (Alan Napier) asks for a divorce.

After they leave, Crystal's husband David (Alan Napier) arrives and, when she begs him to return, explains that he has fallen in love with Janet Elliott and has only come to ask her for a divorce.

Icy Crane (Joan Lorring) brings Johnny back to the flat
he shares with Gabby (Peter Whitney).

Johnny, meanwhile, returns to drinking. Icy Crane (Joan Lorring) comes to retrieve him and takes him back to the where he has been hiding after a robbery with his accomplice, Timothy Delaney aka Gabby (Peter Whitney). Unlike Gabby, Johnny was an innocent participant in the crime that ended in murder. But Gabby did help him escape from police custody.

Icy tries to get money for Johnny from Bertram Fallon (Robert Shayne),
who is on trial for murder.

Icy, who is to provide the alibi for Bertram Fallon (Robert Shayne), the murderer, goes to get more money from Fallon to keep Johnny in gin.

Jerome is in charge of the trust left for Lady Rhea Belladon (Rosalind Ivan) by her dead husband, with whom she believes she can still communicate. Turns out Jerome has been embezzling from the account and playing the stocks. He has second thoughts about the investment, since it’s been losing value, but the broker convinces him that he has it on good authority it will turn around.

At Fallon's trial, the statements of 'Major' George Alfred Beach (Stanley Logan), another witness supplying an alibi, are revealed to be a lie, so Fallon changes his plea to guilty and agrees to cooperate with the state and implicates Gabby and Johnny for the murder he committed.

Icy visits Gabby and Johnny when they literally go underground.

Feeling the heat, Gabby and Johnny hide underground. But Icy has a plan to get them to Aberdeen Scotland where they can hide better. The plan involves Johnny fetching a car from parking and meeting them out front of a bar he frequents.

Thinking it would be nice to give some violets to Icy, Johnny follows a seller into the bar. And while he keeps his word and doesn’t drink, he is arrested by an officer staking out the place.

When Icy tries to speak up for Johnny with the Prosecutor (Arthur Shields), she’s arrested for having committed perjury at Fallon’s trial.

Meanwhile, Crystal, a vengeful woman, visits her husband's superior and reveals that he has left her for another woman. This ruins the commission he had been promised.

Crystal then visits David’s girlfriend, Janet Elliott (Marjorie Riordan), and lies that David and her spent the night together and that she is now pregnant.

After losing £2000 of his client's money, Jerome is running out of options. 

Jerome finds that he’s lost £2000 of his client’s money. Fearing disgrace and with no way out, Jerome proposes marriage to Lady Rhea, but her dead husband advises her to have her books examined. She shows up the next day in Jerome’s office not to accept, but to start an audit.

Knowing he will be revealed as a thief, Jerome prepares to kill himself and in one of the newspapers he’s laid out to control the mess, he sees that his sweepstakes horse will run.

Meanwhile, Fallon is on his way to prison when Gabby gains entrance to his car and, in front of officers, kills him by throwing a knife, one of Gabby’s skills, into him. Gabby is arrested. However, in his final breaths, Fallon clears Johnny.

Upon his release, Johnny learns about the sweepstakes win and goes to Crystal’s, where Jerome is already trying to get Crystal to let him sell his third of the ticket, which before the race is worth £10,000. Even though Johnny is willing to let him sell his share, Crystal insists that he abide by his deal.

With a seller waiting and embezzlement charges pending, Jerome tried to forcibly take the ticket, which is in a drawer of the Kwan Yin statue. In the struggle, Jerome hits Crystal over the head with the statue, killing her instantly.

Johnny and Jerome share one last drink after Crystal is killed.

Ironically, their horse wins the race, but because as Johnny points out the ticket points to their involvement with her, he decides the only course is to destroy the ticket. While he doesn’t say so, one has to imagine Johnny isn’t  interested in getting charged in another murder.

They manage to get out of the apartment without being seen, but almost see David, who is on his way to see Crystal. He’s just come back after finding out that Janet, after talking with Crystal, has returned to Canada without him.

David is no doubt intent on killing her, but when he finds her already dead, he backs out.

Johnny tries to get Jerome away from the scene, but Jerome’s guilt confesses the murder to anyone who will listen. Police arrive and take him away.

Icy doesn't realize that Johnny is really burning the winning ticket.

Meanwhile, Johnny returns to the bar to get drunk. With Fallon dead, the authorities have gone easy on Icy and let her out. She has fallen in love with Johnny and joins him in the bar. She doesn’t realize he’s serious when he burns the winning ticket in front of her.

Made on a budget of $457,000, the film made $1,647,000 on release and would be considered a success. Reviews were more lukewarm.

Writing for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote, “Never so far away from reason that it is wholly incredible but obviously manufactured fiction, it makes a tolerably tantalizing show, reaching some points of fascination in a few of its critical scenes.” Variety’s review was in line with that, “Story jumps around uncertainly but Jean Negulesco’s direction is satisfactory.”

Satisfactory maybe a good way of describing the film. There is some good acting, though Sydney Greenstreet comes pretty close to chewing the scenery in his portrayal of Jerome K. Arbutny. Greenstreet, whose film career spanned the 1940s, had been better in his earlier films, which started with The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca.

Peter Lorre is better as Johnny West. He’s sort of laid back as a man who is more alcoholic than criminal. Crowley notes of his performance, “Peter Lorre acts a bit too fatalistic for the right nature of the black sheep…” However, I enjoyed that part of his acting.

Perhaps the actor who deserves the most praise is Geraldine Fitzgerald. Crystal Shackleford is a crazy lady and it’s not because she believes a Chinese idol can change her fate. She’s both delusional and devious. You almost feel like she gets her comeuppance at the end of the film as punishment for ruining the lives of her husband David and his girlfriend Janet through lying and innuendo.

Marjorie Riordan and Alan Napier play lovers Janet Elliott and David Shackleford.

The supporting cast includes Alan Napier, who would become best known later in his career for playing Alfred in The Batman TV series, and Marjorie Riordan. Riordan would have a very short career, making only nine films in just as many years. There isn’t really all that much for her to do in the film, but she does make a nice impression.

Robert Shayne plays a menacing, but sort of laid back villain of the piece. He’s only in a couple of scenes, but he is somewhat key to Johnny’s part of the story. Shayne would have a long career, starting on stage, in film and in television. One of his better known roles was playing Inspector Bill Henderson in the Adventures of Superman television series in the 1950s.

I was hoping for more when I sat down to watch this film than I got. The idea of three strangers meeting and having their lives intertwine is an interesting concept. The film has a great pedigree going in, as it is reunites some of those responsible for the success of The Maltese Falcon. However, Three Strangers doesn’t capture the same lightning in a bottle that film did.