Three Strangers

2nd tier

3.0

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MontgomeryClift

01/06/2026

In yet another Warner Bros attempt to recapture the magic of The Maltese Falcon, an uninteresting tale of three strangers is brought together on the flimsy pretext of a mythical idol that may grant riches. Besides the structure of bringing the three strangers together there really is nothing that ties their individual narratives together with the exception of individual crimes they have all committed. I find each tale lacking and uninteresting in their own right. Shame. Such wonderful stock Warner Bros actors involved. An odd transition editing choice made scenes seem as if they were flashbacks. But really they were normal scenes divided by an odd wavey transition. Confusing and unnecessary. No other visual flair is involved in the film. Noir or other. Somewhat drab viewing experience. Apparently this was actually a repurposed script by John Houston that was intended to be a true Falcon sequel. According to IMDB anyways. Feb 22nd 2021 3.5/10

Jean Negulesco

Wolfgang Reinhardt, Jack L. Warner

John Huston, Howard Koch

John Huston, Howard Koch (original screenplay)

Arthur Edeson

Adolph Deutsch

Ted Smith, Max Parker

George Amy

Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Joan Lorring, Robert Shayne, Ian Wolfe, Peter Whitney, Arthur Shields, Rosalind Ivan, Alan Napier

One of eight noirs and thrillers from the 1940’s to feature both Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, Jean Negulesco’s Three Strangers teams the duo with Geraldine Fitzgerald as the titular strangers who make a pact with each other (and maybe with the Devil) to split the winnings of a horse bet. On Chinese New Year’s Eve in London, Crystal Shackleford (Fitzgerald) coquettishly picks up Johnny West (Lorre) and Jerome Arbutny (Greenstreet) in the street and brings them to her apartment, where she explains that if three ordinary strangers make a wish to her idol of the Chinese goddess of fortune, it will be granted. They sign a contract to go in on a sweepstakes ticket for the Grand National horse race and split the money if their horse is chosen and wins. We then follow each character back to their personal lives and discover their moral failings, selfish behaviors, and criminal activities. These are not nice people. Their sins span jealousy, greed, lying, cheating, even murder. Edeson’s cinematography captures plenty of noir luminescence, most notably a scene in which Johnny and his adoring girlfriend Icey Crane (Joan Lorring) eat sandwiches in the dark under a bridge like trolls.