L'esprit pervers

Anthony Mann's brief (56 mins!) is a lightly enjoyable thriller that is more old house mystery than strict Noir (even if it's often pitched as one). William Terry plays Sgt. Meadows, a WWII vet, who returns stateside to finally meet the girl of his dreams who he's only known through the letters they exchange while he was in the South Pacific. Virginia Grey plays a -- (better sit down for this) WOMAN doctor named Dr. Ross! They meet cute on a train. When the Sergeant gets to the secluded cliff side mansion of his pen pal, she's not home. Instead, he is met by her grumpy mother Hilda (Helene Thimig) and a mousy live-in housekeeper (Edith Barrett). At under an hour, there isn't much time for true intrigue (and the mystery isn't all that difficult to decipher), but Grey, Thimig and Barrett all deliver entertaining performances. Mann keeps it moving, the script based on a Philip MacDonald story is dotty fun and Reggie Lanning's camerawork is suitably moody. Mann made much better true Noirs like RAW DEAL and BORDER INCIDENT, but, STRANGERS isn't a bad time killer. And, a pretty good title song by Sinatra to boot. :)

This nifty little noir-gothic B picture throws everything but a "dark and stormy night" at you. WW2 combat, a train wreck, a foreign-accented scheming recluse, cliff top mansion, poisonings, booby traps and terrified female retainer. The dramatic action turns on what has happened to the mysterious pen pal daughter Rosemary? Returning Marine Johnny wants to know. The new lady doctor (Virginia Grey) is baptized by fire during a convenient train derailment just outside town, which occurs at the very moment when said Marine is about to tell the "Lady Doctor" about Rosemary. (Yes Director Anthony Mann moves the plot along quickly.) The wreck is dramatically presented then promptly forgotten about, as the marine-a combination of Van Johnson and Don DeFore- knocks on the cliff top manse door looking for Rosemary. Eventually we see a "Rebecca"-style boudoir, purportedly that of Rosemary.

This is not a criticism. The performances are very good, the sets well done, Virginia Grey is luminous as usual, Helene Thimig is very creepy in a proto-Dark Shadows role. It's an easy hour of entertainment.

Recently Released on Blu-ray, this Obscure Anthony Mann Film has been in the Shadows of His Top-Tier Film-Noir and James Stewart Series of Westerns.

Moving on From the 1950's Mann Chose Big-Budget Historical Epics Popular in the Early 60's like "Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) and "El Cid" (1961).

So the Trifecta of Film-Noir, the Neo-Realist Westerns, and Behemoth Blockbusters, Pushed this Little Film to the Back of the Pack in the Mann Filmography.

It's a Strange One that Features a Gothic, Psychological, Demented Story of a German-Accented, Cripple (Helene Thimig) well in Her 80's, Suffering from Numerous Disorders of the Freudian Nature.

She Dominates this Bizarre Movie as She is a Force of Nature Trying to Control the "Regular" People in Her Spinning Out-of-Order, Out-of-Sync Orbit.

Played Today it has a Familiar Vibe Utilized in many B-Movies and TV Anthologies.

Not So in 1944. It Displays its Unnatural Universe of Secret Worships and Devastating Dementia with Things Modern Audiences can Hardly Relate.

Pen Pals, Huge Painted Portraits over the Fire-Place, and Misdirected Manipulation by an Old Hag Destroyed by Nature's Unwillingness to Cooperate with Her Demands.

Virginia Grey as a Doctor Confronting Her Peers and Patients Double-Takes because of Her Profession does add a Modern Twist to the Feminine Mystique.

Edith Barrett as Ivy, the Live-In Spinster Companion Forced to Bow and Curtow to the Dynamic Personality of the Old Woman is Simply Superb in a Difficult Role.

A Wicked and Wonderful Movie that has Finally been Given its Due.

"Strangers in the Night" is a very unusual B-movie. It's a bizarre story about a seriously deranged old lady, Mrs. Blake and the weird secret she hides.

When the story begins, Dr. Ross (Virginia Grey) is introducing herself to the folks in the seaside community where she'll be taking over for the old doctor. However, when she meets Mrs. Blake (Helene Thiming), the old woman is overtly hostile towards her...inexplicably so.

Soon after this, Dr. Ross is on a train and meets Sgt. Meadows (William Terry). It seems he is headed to the same small town where Ross now works...and he's going to the Blake household to see Mrs. Blake's lovely daughter. It seems that when he was off fighting in the war, he corresponded with the lady and he's totally smitten with her. However, once he arrives at the Blake household, they inform Terry that she isn't there. And, they invite him to stay until she returns. However, days pass and it's obvious something is going on here...and the return of the girl seems to very, very vague.

In the meantime, Mrs. Blake's nervous housekeeper, Ivy (Edith Barrett) knows some sort of secret and seems to always be on the verge of telling the Doctor. What is the secret? And how does it relate to the missing daughter? And, what does a painting of the lady have to do with all this?

I really loved this film. While most folks think all B-movies are bad movies, they are not. A true B is a short film (about an hour in length) and is usually cheaply made. The purpose of the film is to be the second film in a double feature--with the A (or prestige picture) being accompanied by this B. But just because a film is short and often hastily made doesn't mean it's bad...and "Strangers in the Night" is simply terrific. In fact, it's one of the best Bs I have ever seen. The writing and acting and direction all work together perfectly and the solution to the mystery is sufficiently dark and sick to satisfy. Well worth seeing and Helene Thiming is simply terrific as this sick, disturbed and nasty old 'lady'!

My score of 9 is because the film is so good and because of how it compares to other Bs....and it's head and shoulders better than about 99% of them.

Sgt. Johnny Meadows (William Terry) and Dr. Leslie Ross (Virginia Grey) are "Strangers in the Night" when they meet on a train. During his time fighting his war injuries, Johnny fell in love via mail with a Rosemary Blake, whom he tells Leslie he's en route to meet.

Leslie doesn't tell him that he's met the very strange old Mrs. Blake (Helene Thimig) who seemed very put off that Leslie was a doctor, and a pretty one at that. In those days apparently a woman doctor was very unusual and off-putting.

Johnny visits Rosemary, but she's away. Instead he meets her mother and, while looking at Rosemary's portrait, he faints, still weak from not only his injuries, but an accident that occurred during the train ride. When the doctor is called, Leslie arrives. When Mrs. Blake realizes that Johnny and Rosemary know one another, she is visibly upset.

Mrs. Blake is odd, but the woman working for her, Edith (Edith Barrett) is a total wreck. She actually comes to see Dr. Ross, wanting to tell her something, but can't seem to get it out.

However when Johnny realizes that he's fallen for Leslie in Rosemary's absence, Mrs. Blake takes action.

This is quite a story, with Grey an absolutely beautiful, radiant young woman. I only have seen her as she was twenty years later, still beautiful but not as young. She is charming as the doctor.

Directed by Anthony Mann, Strangers in the Night is an atmospheric, absorbing film, short but entertaining.

Grey's story is a sad one - she had an on and off relationship with Clark Gable, and when Gable married someone else post-war, Grey was devastated and never married herself.

William Terry is affable as Johnny. Helene Thimig makes a terrifying Mrs. Blake.