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:

Beach | Boston | Skeleton | Prostitute | B Girl

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

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:

Jim Black, tattooist: Know her? Sure, I knew her. I was never close enough to smell her perfume, but I knew her!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Easy to Love

The "CSI" Of Its Day!

John Sturges' taut, tense thriller combines a documentary style (including location shooting in Boston) with intense performances, striking photography, and a fresh-for-its-time approach to its murder mystery plot. When floozy Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling as the anti-Judy Holliday :-) hijacks grieving father Henry Shanway's (Marshall Thompson) car to go shake down James Harkley (Edmon Ryan), the rich father of her baby-in-progress, she's next seen as a skeleton washed up on a Hyannis beach. Lt. Pete Moralas (Ricardo Montalban) enlists the help of Harvard forensic criminologist Dr. McAdoo (an avuncular yet no-nonsense Bruce Bennett), and the results are as riveting as a good episode of one of the "CSI" series. I liked the way the investigation and forensic evidence rang true while the story (Leonard Spigelgrass got an Oscar nomination) kept me on the edge of my seat with twists and turns, including a monkey wrench thrown into the works by the late Vivian's blackmail-minded landlady, Mrs. Smerrling (a delightfully sly Elsa Lanchester). The details about the effect that the wrongly-accused Henry Shanway's incarceration has on his wife Grace and their finances were movingly and believably rendered. I found myself empathizing and thinking, "Man, why didn't you stay with Grace in the hospital when your baby died, instead of going off in your misery to get drunk at 'The Grass Skirt'? Sheesh, you think you're the only one mourning?!" The performances are uniformly excellent, although I was particularly pleasantly surprised by Montalban. Having grown up watching Montalban in relatively lighthearted fare like TV's FANTASY ISLAND, I was impressed at how good he was as tough, cynical Pete, the kind of cop who thinks a suspect is guilty until proved innocent. Even when I was annoyed with Pete for refusing to believe Grace when she insists that Henry's innocent, I could feel his frustration when he realizes that, after all his hard investigative work, his airtight case against the accused man isn't so airtight after all. There's also a great moment when the smug Harkley notices Pete's accent (smoothly explained away as Pete being from the Portuguese district) and starts trying to pull rank on Pete, class-wise. There are even some witty moments, like when Pete and his partner end up walking all over Harvard Square trying to find out where the heck the department of legal forensics is. This all-but-neglected post-war film noir gem turns up on Turner Classic Movies from time to time, and it's well worth watching for in the TV listings!