The Tattooed Stranger (1950)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Edward Montagne

Writer:

Philip H. Reisman Jr. (original screenplay)

Release Date:

9 February 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

The body of an unknown woman turns up in a stolen car abandoned in a New York park, and the only clue...

Plot Keywords:

Evidence | Killer | Tattoo | Tombstone | Investigation

Cast

John Miles	...	Detective Tobin
Patricia Barry	...	Mary Mahan (as Patricia White)
Walter Kinsella	...	Lieutenant Corrigan
Frank Tweddell	...	Captain Lundquist
Rod McLennan	...	Captain Gavin
Henry Lasko	...	Joe Canko
Arthur L. Jarrett	...	Johnny Marseille (as Arthur Jarrett)
Jim Boles	...	Fisher
William Gibberson	...	Aberfoyle

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #14116) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Det. Frank Tobin: He doesn't LOOK like a killer.
Lt. Corrigan: Neither does a toadstool.

For Old Police Buffs and Old New Yawkas

I picked up on this movie on a dull afternoon. I was intrigued by the title and didn't realize I'd seen it before. I'm glad I took another look.

I glanced at some of the reviews and, for the life of me, I can't understand why this movie was almost universally panned. It's not Detective Story, or The Naked City, and it was never meant to be. This is a little forgotten gem, rescued from obscurity by TCM. We get to see the cops processing evidence using methods that today seem primitive. The lab scenes take us back to pre-DNA days. It reminds us of a time when the police used logic instead of computers to work out a solution.

I admit that the acting is less than outstanding, but gee what atmosphere. The lunch wagons, the shoe repair shops, the tattoo parlors, and the seedier side of life in Brooklyn when it was still interesting.

My advice to some of my more critical friends would be: don't try to make a silk purse out of sow's ear. It is what it is.

Note: The part of Johnny Marseilles, the tatoo artist, was played by Arthur Jarrett who was a famous tenor in the 30's and 40's. He once sang with some of the famous early bands such as Ted Weems. You can see him in his prime as the singer in another TCM classic called Dancing Lady, with Joan Crawford.