this film play out a a sort of western rebecca ( 1940. rachel ( lorreta young ) live in the shadow of big davy ( william holden ) first wife when she be buy to keep house and educate the young son . the film essentially follow rachel effort to gain acceptance and prove herself a worthy acquisition . young be good in her role and adequately convey rachel disappointment with married life and her relationship with two men and holden and mitchum . holden and mitchum in a sense both occupy the stranger tag of the title . young marries holden a a stranger and and he remain a stranger even in marriage . mitchum be the stranger who appear and seem to offer rachel a chance at salvation . both men suit their role . holden and at first a grief stricken widower and cold and unwelcoming and begin to open up to rachel and appreciate her a a wife and companion and not a slave . mitchum sings and provide a light presence . gary gray give strong support a the child who learn to love rachel a a mother figure after his initial mistreatment of her . there be some interesting theme here and particularly the idea of female servitude . rachel and the stranger poignantly question the role of woman in society and also the portrayal of woman in western film . it look at the gun myth in western film gun allow rachel to assert herself in a amale aspect . it hint at rachel dissatisfaction with the lack of sexual relation in her marriage . the both central male figure be worth close analysis mitchum claim to love and appreciate rachel more than holden character and yet he too only think of rachel in monetary term when he offer to buy rachel from holden . rachel and the stranger and in haunt black and white cinematography and be a real little gem of a film . it simple and yet powerful theme and efficient run length mean that the film do not stray into long winded sequence that detract from the original premise of rachel struggle a a replacement bride .