Stranger in a strange suburb

Classic movies are perfect for deciphering popular opinions and fears at the time of the film’s release. Take Orson Welles’ The Stranger, which was released in 1946. World War II was over, the Rosies stopped riveting, men returned home to address post-traumatic stress disorder and most baby boomers were just a twinkle in their parents’ eyes. Yet, Americans remained plagued with fears of Nazi war criminals still on the loose, organizing themselves to secretly infiltrate—dun, dun, dun—a college campus in Connecticut. Well, that’s what Orson Welles’ character Charles Rankin did in The Stranger. It’s a classic cat-and-mouse film noir. There’s a bad guy, a good guy and a pretty girl. It’s also a classic Welles’ film: directed, starring and co-written by the man himself. He apparently hated it, too. Typical.

The Stranger will show Saturday, March 6 at 1, 4 and 7 p.m.; free; Auburn Library, 350 Nevada Street; (530) 878-7938; http://auburnsilverscreen.com.