Watch When Strangers Marry For Free

Sick Product of a Sick System

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

"When Strangers Marry" (not "When Cousins Marry" like the poster in the musical 'The Producers') is a good 1944 noir directed by William Castle starring Robert Mitchum, Kim Hunter, Dean Jagger, and Neil Hamilton.Hunter plays Mildred, who could have had Robert Mitchum but instead marries Dean Jagger after knowing him for four months and seeing him three times. Jagger was attractive, but I know whom I would have chosen. Millie's new husband, Paul, is supposed to meet her in New York City after their wedding, but when he doesn't show, she panics. An ex-beau, Fred (Mitchum) is also at the hotel and takes her to the police so that she can report him. Seems he left Philadelphia on the same date as the Silk Stocking Murder, so the police want to know more about him. When Paul does show, he acts mysteriously. Millie becomes frightened, but she's torn by her love for him.Though it's from poverty row Monogram Studios, Castle gives us an atmospheric movie with neat images. I know people have compared it to "Seventh Victim," a Val Lewton film, but some of it reminded me of the Jacques Tourneur "Cat People," particularly the photo used for the poster. The second-last scene is fantastic.The film's New York City references are a little off. It's not Bleeker Street and 7th Street, it's Bleecker Street and 7th Avenue; and why the car taking passengers to Louisville KY goes through Harlem instead of the other way is anyone's guess. But it gives us a great scene.Tense, exciting, with good performances and surprisingly short "When Strangers Marry" is highly recommended.

Back in the forties, it happened more often than not. People were quick to make their wants and themselves known and didn't mince words. Marriage was one of those subjects and comes up in the older movies. It was easier to go through life married making things more affordable if both continued to work and of course eliminate being lonely instantly. Meeting someone was no problem as eligible were all over the place. Using that as the story line, we got a nice clever who done what to whom and why movie going here. Nice to see the actors making their trade and this movie does a good job of capturing the viewer right to the end. The ending is delightful and caused me to laugh out loud in a most pleasing way for its originality and of course upbeat ending. Its a nice quick to the point little drama mystery. Settle in with your favorite candy and a tasty drink as we glimpse what life was like in the forties. Worth mentioning is a slice of the black culture back then as the actors visit a part of town and bar that caters to the black community. Little bit of history captured there as movies usually didn't do this but this one did. BTW...People were naive, simpler and easier going believing what they were told until they had reason to doubt otherwise. If you were burned back then, you became hard and stayed that way which is depicted in the movie in one of the scenes involving renting a room. Today, people doubt first and hesitate making for trust a hard thing to come by...

When Strangers Marry (1944)Also known as, "Betrayed."A rather tight, odd, compelling film. It's a B-movie, for sure, straight from William Castle territory (known for his sensational low-budget films). But it has Robert Mitchum in a strong early role, and Dean Jagger as a compelling bad guy. And the leading woman, played by the rather plain looking Kim Hunter, is good, too.There are a lot of small elements that make this click along. For one, it's edited with utter economy. Then there is the slightly offbeat settings, including near the end a wonderful club scene with simple stride jazz, all African American. That three minutes is almost worth it alone, low key and stripped of glamour. A touch of Harlem, via Hollywood.The plot, which has some conventional qualities, is also really odd at times, and it takes a minute to buy the idea of the title. That is, a naive woman marries a salesman she barely knows, and she hasn't seen him in a month. But he shows up just when a murderer has been making headlines, escaping from justice. You automatically connect the two, and yet there are tiny doubts. Maybe we're being set up.The drama here is part of the pleasure—mostly night stuff, strong angles, hard light. And of course a trusting woman who slowly realizes there might be true terror on her hands. There's nothing like worrying for an innocent. Mitchum plays the good guy here, and he's young but already has his familiar style in place, which I assume is basically the real man. And he worries, too.Jagger is actually pretty terrific. He plays an odd, difficult sort, covering up his apparent past (we aren't sure), but also showing real concern for this young woman, who is so utterly innocent. We eventually, slowly, feel for his situation. The turn of events at the end of the plot are a bit too much too fast, unfortunately. It undermines a solid progression up to then. Even so, watch this if you like the era, and crime movies. Well enough done. And fast.

Check out that unsettling scene in the lonely police waiting room. Little guy Houser (Lubin) sits on one side and vulnerable newly-wed Millie (Hunter) sits on the other with a big empty space between. It's a great visual metaphor for the danger facing our young stranger in the city. A hostile world appears on one side and poor Millie all alone on the other. Even little things work against her in the big, impersonal surroundings—the unhelpful news guy, streetlights suddenly going out. Then too, those spare sets from budget-minded Monogram fairly echo with undefined menace.From such atmospheric touches, it's not hard to detect the influence of Val Lewton's horror classic The Seventh Victim (1943). At the same time, the movie's director William Castle was a moving force behind the brilliantly unconventional Whistler series from Columbia studios. So the many imaginative touches here, like the lunging lion's head that opens the film, should come as no surprise.Despite the overall suspense, I had trouble following plot convolutions—who was where, when, and why. But then the screenplay did have four writers, which is seldom an asset. Still, the mysterious husband (Jagger) and Millie's suspicions does generate core interest. In my little book, the main appeal is in the players and the atmosphere, such as the winsome young Hunter, a virile young Mitchum, and the jazzy Harlem nightclub. All in all, the sixty-minutes remains a clever little surprise from poverty row Monogram.