Strangers in the Night

"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.

It's a dark movie - literally. At the first look at the vileness Hilda Blake (Helen Thimig) you will probably think: this is very bad acting. Than you realize Mrs Thiming is a great actress and that Hilda is a very scary character. There is an interesting romance between a soldier and a woman doctor suffering with a little community prejudice. All the action happens around a very big picture of a beautiful young woman, and the sinister Hilda give orders all the time to her submissive "friend" Ivy Miller (Edith Barrett). It's a pity that in the end the screenplay turns a little dumb in important details. This is the sixth film from Anthony Mann, and its style reminds me the very early Alfred Hichcock.

Sergeant William Terry (Johnny) survives WW2 by clinging to the hope of meeting up with Rosemary, the girl he has been corresponding with despite never having met her. On his return to the USA, he seeks her out in California. Well, he gets to see her portrait courtesy of Helene Thimig (Hilda) who is Rosemary's mother. But Thimig seems to be putting off a meeting between her daughter and Terry. Why?

This film is a nice discovery. It contains a disturbing story, a disturbing character (no need to guess who), other likable characters, an atmospheric setting and a short running time that keeps you watching from the beginning. You'll guess what is going on – sort of – but it doesn't take away the enjoyment of the film. A nice surprise.

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.

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.