When Strangers Marry (aka Betrayed) (1944)

A young girl (Kim Hunter) from a small town marries a traveling salesman (Dean Jagger) she has only known a matter of days. When she goes to New York to meet him, he has disappeared. An ex boyfriend (Robert Mitchum) comforts her and helps her to try and find the missing bridegroom. Directed by William Castle (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL). A product of the poverty row studio Monogram Pictures (shot in seven days on a $50,000 budget), it's almost astonishing how much style and atmosphere the movie has. With Kim Hunter in the central role, one can't help but notice the similarities of her character from THE SEVENTH VICTIM (looking for her missing husband here, looking for her missing sister in SEVENTH VICTIM) as well as the noir-ish forbidding New York setting. The film had its admirers including Orson Welles and James Agee. It's a nifty little suspense film with noir trimmings although there's no way it would qualify as film noir. But mystery fans should enjoy it and its brief running time (barely over an hour) is an advantage. With Rhonda Fleming, Neil Hamilton and Lou Lubin.