By RAY KELLY
“Sleeping With the Enemy” director Joseph Ruben will direct a remake of Orson Welles’ most commercially successful film, “The Stranger.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jack and Joseph Nasser of NGN Releasing (“For a Good Time, Call …”) will produce the film with the script penned by newcomer Alanna Belak.
The storyline has been altered for 21st century filmgoers. Instead of a Nazi war criminal featured in the original, the remake focuses on a reformed serial killer assuming the identity of a college professor in a small town.
Casting has not been announced for the remake. The original starred Welles as the fugitive Nazi war criminal, Loretta Young as his unwitting wife, and Edward G. Robinson as his pursuer.
“The Stranger” was produced in 1946 by International Pictures and released by RKO. Its copyright was not renewed and it lapsed into public domain 39 years ago. It is available on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.
This is not the first time Hollywood has taken on a Welles’ work. A&E remade “The Magnificent Ambersons” for cable TV in 2002.
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