Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Police Detective Film
Themes: Woman In Jeopardy, Serial Killers
Main Cast: Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter, Robert Mitchum, Neil Hamilton, Lou Lubin
Release Year: 1944
Country: US
Run Time: 67 minutes
Plot
Betrayed is the reissue title for the classic melodrama When Strangers Marry. In her third film, Kim Hunter plays a waitress who comes to New York to meet her husband Dean Jagger. Kim's marriage was a whirlwind affair, and as a result she barely knows her husband. She soon discovers that Jagger may be involved in a murder -- and that he very well may be a homicidal maniac. Designated by film-historian Don Miller as the finest "B" picture ever made, Betrayed is chock full of superb cinematic touches, courtesy of director William Castle. Best bits include the shot of Kim Hunter staring out her hotel window, her face illuminated by a flashing neon sign, and a "shock cut" straight out of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. Third-billed Robert Mitchum was elevated to star status on the reissue prints of When Strangers Marry, which unfortunately tended to give away the film's surprise ending; also in the cast in a tiny role is Mitchum's future Out of the Past co-star Rhonda Fleming. One of the most convincing performances is delivered by character actor Lou Lubin, who plays a shaking-in-his-boots murder witness. Filmed in ten days, Betrayed was another box-office winner for the canny King Brothers producing team. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
F. Paul Sylos - Art Director, Frank Fox - First Assistant Director, William Castle - Director, Martin G. Cohn - Editor, Dimitri Tiomkin - Composer (Music Score), Ira Morgan - Cinematographer, Clarence Bricker - Production Manager, Frank King - Producer, Maurice King - Producer, Al Greenwood - Set Designer, Tom Lambert - Sound/Sound Designer, George Moscov - Screen Story, Philip Yordan - Screenwriter, Dennis Cooper - Screenwriter
When Strangers Marry is a 1944suspense film directed by William Castle. The film, re-released under the title Betrayed, was called "the finest B-picture ever made" by film historian Don Miller. [1]
A naive woman comes to New York City to meet her salesman husband whom she only met months before, and discovers that he may be a murderer.
Reaction
A 1944 Variety magazine review was positive. "Only thing wrong with this film is its misleading title. Tag, When Strangers Marry, suggests another of the problem plays of newlyweds when in reality pic is a taught psychological thriller about a murderer and a manhunt full of suspense and excitement." [2]
According to Simon Callow's book Hello Americans, Orson Welles said of this movie, "It isn't as slick as Double Indemnity or as glossy as Laura, but it's better acted and better directed . . . than either."
