When Strangers Marry

Millie comes to New York from Ohio. She married recently, barely knows her husband, and he was supposed to be waiting for her at a hotel. Nobody is there. She starts to wait. In the same days a murder has been committed in the city and the papers are full of it; the dead man had been staying at a hotel with a large sum of money. Millie starts looking for her husband, and every detail she finds frightens her more. An old acquaintance, Fred, helps her. William Castle directs. Kim Hunter, Dean Jagger and Robert Mitchum are in the cast. It was made at a very cheap studio and runs a little over an hour; even so it was noticed by the critics of the time and counted among the best low budget films of the year. Robert Mitchum is early in his career and the part is one of those that made him known. Its force comes from atmosphere. The narrative is simple while the spaces are tight, the light is low and the city is threatening; the hotels, subway stations and night streets of New York are the source of the tension. William Castle later made horror films known for showy promotional stunts; this early work is measured and unshowy. The idea is simple: a woman does not know who the man beside her is. Who it is for: viewers who like forties noir and short, tight productions. Who it is not for: the script is thin, there is little depth of character, and the ending is rushed.