Welles As a Noir Reviewer

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ChiO
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Welles As a Noir Reviewer

Post by ChiO »

Just ran across this today. Welles, who had a column entitled Almanac, wrote this on January 25, 1945:

Plant things that grow above the ground today and call up the man who runs your neighborhood movie house. Ask him to show a B minus picture called When Strangers Marry. It’s a “plus” entertainment. But because it’s a quickie without any names in it, When Strangers Marry hasn’t had much of a play, even in the smaller theatres, so you’ve probably missed it. Making allowances for its bargain-price budget, I think you’ll agree with me that it’s one of the most gripping and effective pictures of the year. It isn’t as slick as Double Indemnity or as glossy as Laura, but it’s better acted and better directed than either.

Two years later, William Castle, the director of WHEN STRANGERS MARRY, was the Associate Producer of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

Have you seen When Strangers Marry, ChiO? Is it on dvd?
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

As usual, Welles was not only correct, he was extremely correct. WHEN STRANGERS MARRY is one of the best of the so-called poverty row noir films. Very much in the Cornell Woolrich vein (but having nothing to do with Woolrich) it is an extremely stylish film which starred Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter and...Robert Mitchum in one of his first screen appearances. Produced through Monogram Pictures (of course!) it also went out under the title BETRAYED. Alas, it is not available on any home video format.
The director, William Castle, had quite an interesting run during the 40s as a hard-core noir director with this film and a handful of the WHISTLER films for Columbia. His later exploitation films like THE TINGLER and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, while fun, come nowhere near the intensity or stylishness of his earlier noir Bs.
A few years ago, the Mystery Channel had WHEN STRANGERS MARRY in their rotation for a while and I was fortunate enough to tape it. It is a film seriously in need of an official DVD release. It's owned by Warners, by the way, which makes it eligible for inclusion in one of their forthcoming Film Noir box sets.
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ChiO
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Post by ChiO »

Alas, MissG, it is yet another movie I have not seen. I was hoping that Welles was engaging in hyperbole, but feared that Dewey would post something that would shatter that dream.

Thanks, Dewey, you've done it again.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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MissGoddess
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Post by MissGoddess »

I guess we'll have to wait and see what Warners will do about it!
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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mrsl
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Post by mrsl »

I do wish someone would put out a DVD or someone would run it again on TV so I could tape it. This is the first movie Robert Mitchum made after a string of Hopalong Cassidy films and according to Lee Server, it showed all the potential for a great star, necessary for producers and directors to start calling him. But besides the fact that Bob is in it, I understand it is a really interesting and twisting plot that keeps you guessing until the end.

Anne
Anne


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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *

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klondike

Post by klondike »

Dewey1960 wrote: The director, William Castle, had quite an interesting run during the 40s as a hard-core noir director with this film and a handful of the WHISTLER films for Columbia. His later exploitation films like THE TINGLER and HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, while fun, come nowhere near the intensity or stylishness of his earlier noir Bs.
As I've posted elsewhere, I distinctly recall going to see The House on Haunted Hill when I was a little shaver (officially chaperoned, and swiftly ditched, by my teenage sisters), and remember quite clearly having the bubblin' bejeezus scared out of me by it.
Still, the film that the name William Castle best conjures for me is the original 13 Ghosts; didn't need to go to the Opera House for that one though - all the way through my elementary school years, it was one of the most frequently run movies on our local TV stations, for some reason, along with Lorna Doone, Northwest Mounted Police, Johnny Belinda, the animated Snow Queen, Shadow on the Wall, Code 2, Bomba the Jungle Boy, and any film featuring Richard Egan!
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

Here ya go, Klondike. Prepare to be scared!
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