"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.

When you think actresses, the name Helen Thimig doesn't pop right up. But here for a crippled old lady she's scary as heck. And what's this with her daughter Rosemary whose portrait looks like a dolled up version of Laura (1944). Poor Sergeant Johnnie, he's back from the war all bunged up, but can't wait to meet the portrait girl who sent him such beautiful letters but has since gone missing. Meanwhile he has to content himself with the lovely Dr. Leslie (Grey) who's got her own problems being a woman doctor in a man's profession. And finally there's poor Ivy (Barrett) who acts like a frightened bird, frightened even of herself let alone her employer Mrs. Blake (Thimig). Actually, Barrett and Thimig are alumni of the great Val Lewton's horror series, so it's not surprising that their compelling turns form the movie's gripping core. Director Mann's noirish touches are evident throughout and perfectly suited to the dark subject matter. Something's up with Blake and daughter Rosemary, but what. That's the crux of the plot. Also, I like the way we get a feel of how the war is affecting the home front, while the obscure William Terry makes a good happy-go-lucky GI in contrast to the sinister mansion. I expect the movie remains obscure because of its sub-60-minute runtime and lowly Republic pedigree. But there's a lot of talent involved in a suspenseful story, making this a minor noirish gem.

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.

This rarely seen film directed by Anthony Mann has an over-the-top performance and some artificial 'Gothic' atmosphere to recommend it. If the viewer doesn't expect a great, lost masterpiece it can be fun and amusing.After corresponding with a mysterious girl who shares with him an interest in Houseman's "A Shropshire Lad", Sgt. Johnny Meadows (William Terry) recently home from Guadalcanal arrives at the home of Hilda Blake. Here he hopes to finally meet the poetic girl. Hilda lives in an ornate Gothic-style mansion atop a cliff on the California coast. She is odd from the very beginning, but she only gets more weird as the story progresses. Living with her is a close friend Ivy Miller (Edith Barrett). The centerpiece of the mansion is a fairly kitschy portrait of a pretty young woman, Mrs. Blake's daughter. Hilda is convinced that Johnny is the destined true love of her daughter. She and Ivy extol the virtues of the girl, and convince Johnny that he will soon meet her and that the two will be very happy. However, on the train, by preposterous coincidence, Johnny had met a young woman doctor, Leslie Ross, played by Virginia Grey. That meeting introduces complications into Hilda's plans for her daughter's happiness. There are some unanswered questions that drive the plot, and it must admitted that the writers and director do a decent job of keeping the audience guessing. It's not really a bad idea for a story, but the execution here makes it more silly than serious. The main source of the silliness is the performance of Helen Thimig. With her Austrian accent and overly emotive eyes, Thimig invests Hilda with a bizarreness that should be a dead giveaway to Johnny. Something is very odd here. The film also has the kind of fake Gothic atmosphere that only exists in Hollywood films from this period. Several scenes look so artificial that they only work to remind the viewer that he's watching a movie. Definitely worth a look for Anthony Mann fans, but not one of his greatest efforts.