Mystery Street (1950)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (screenplay) and
Richard Brooks (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

28 July 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Plot:

A small town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor when the skeletal remains of a pregnant prostitute turn up on a Massachusetts beach.

Plot Keywords:

B Girl | Skeleton | Boston | Prostitute | Harvard University

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Ricardo Montalban	...	Peter Moralas
Sally Forrest	...	Grace Shanway
Bruce Bennett	...	Dr. McAdoo
Elsa Lanchester	...	Mrs. Smerrling
Marshall Thompson	...	Henry Shanway
Jan Sterling	...	Vivian Heldon
Edmon Ryan	...	James Joshua Harkley
Betsy Blair	...	Jackie Elcott
Wally Maher	...	Tim Sharkey
Ralph Dumke	...	A Tattooist
Willard Waterman	...	A Mortician
Walter Burke	...	An Ornithologist
Don Shelton	...	A District Attorney
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elsie Baker	...	Elderly Lady (uncredited)
George Brand	...	Man in Bedroom (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Douglas Carter	...	Counterman at The Dunes (uncredited)
Mack Chandler	...	Doorman (uncredited)
George Cooper	...	Reporter (uncredited)
John Crawford	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lucille Curtis	...	Mrs. Harkley (uncredited)
Bert Davidson	...	Dr. Thorpe (uncredited)
King Donovan	...	Reporter at Beach House (uncredited)
Mike Donovan	...	Porter (uncredited)
Robert Foulk	...	Detective O'Hara (uncredited)
Jim Frasher	...	High School Boy (uncredited)
Ned Glass	...	Dr. Ben Levy, McAdoo's asst. (uncredited)
Eula Guy	...	Mrs. Fischer (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Car Insurance Clerk (uncredited)
Bradford Hatton	...	Al - Grass Skirt Cafe Bartender (uncredited)
Jim Hayward	...	Constable Fischer (uncredited)
Perry Ivins	...	Alienist (uncredited)
William F. Leicester	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Arthur M. Loew Jr.	...	Sailor (uncredited)
Louise Lorimer	...	Mrs. Shanway (uncredited)
John Maxwell	...	Detective Kilrain (uncredited)
May McAvoy	...	Nurse (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Detective Garrity (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Matt Moore	...	Dr. Rockton (uncredited)
Melvin H. Moore	...	Oyster Shucker (uncredited)
Ernesto Morelli	...	Portuguese Fisherman (uncredited)
Virginia Mullen	...	Neighbor (uncredited)
Allen O'Locklin	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Frank Overton	...	Guard (uncredited)
John Payne	...	Law Student (uncredited)
Juanita Quigley	...	Daughter (uncredited)
Suzanne Ridgeway	...	Bar Girl at Grass Skirt Cafe (uncredited)
Maurice Samuels	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Fred Santley	...	Pawnbroker (uncredited)
Jack Shea	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Fred Sherman	...	Photographer (uncredited)
George Sherwood	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Mary Jane Smith	...	Daughter (uncredited)
Robert Strong	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Peter M. Thompson	...	Law Student (uncredited)
Charles Wagenheim	...	Baggage Clerk (uncredited)
Napoleon Whiting	...	Red Cap (uncredited)

Directed by
John Sturges

Writing credits
Sydney Boehm		(screenplay) and
Richard Brooks		(screenplay)
Leonard Spigelgass		(story)

Produced by
Frank E. Taylor	....	producer

Original Music by
Rudolph G. Kopp

Cinematography by
John Alton		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Gabriel Scognamillo

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup designer
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
Ethel Neejus	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Sam Palo	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Charles J. Hunt	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ralph S. Hurst	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording supervisor
Joe Edmondson	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Joe DeAce	....	grip (uncredited)
Otto Dyar	....	still photographer (uncredited)
A. Lindsley Lane	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Wes Shanks	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Other crew
Don McDougall	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Thanks
President and Fellows of Harvard College	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Murder at Harvard

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #14285) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Daily Variety had announced John Indrisano would appear in the film but there's no confirmation that he's in the final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Length of the chain connecting phone book to wall phone in boarding house varies from scene to scene.

Quotes:

Mrs. Smerrling: If there's anything I can do...
Lieutenant Peter Morales: I want a list of everything you sold and where you sold it.
Mrs. Smerrling: Of course. Well, that is, if I can remember. My memory, you know, isn't exactly my number one asset.
Lieutenant Peter Morales: Well, pull your assets together - I want the truth!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Easy to Love

Tight forensic murder mystery thriller - fine film noir.

This is a forgotten piece of film noir with a clever and educational forensic angle - find the murderer when all you have to go on is a skeleton. The screenplay is top notch (the Original Story was nominated for an Oscar) as is the black and white cinematography -composition especially. The plot whips along with some clever twists and turns. Altogether a very interesting and entertaining film. Elsa Lanchester turns in an Oscar nom-worthy supporting performance as a meddling and greedy owner of a boarding house. The effect on his marriage of the incarceration of an innocent suspect is well-handled for the time. Altogether first-rate and worth a look.