Mystery Street (1950)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

This procedural is notable for a focus on forensics before that was a thing and for a solid script. But mainly it's notable for its women. The always-fascinating Elsa Lanchester is absolutely wonderful as a scheming landlady. Jan Sterling does well as a brassy bleached blonde while Sally Forrest, as sweet, unfortunate wife, has a terrific scene in which she blows up, in a defeated desperate way, at a cop.The men are a bit less interesting. While I like Marshal Thompson as Sally's hubby, the other main men strike me as a bit too generic in that way that was common in the 1960s. Still, Montalban's scene being talked down to by a privileged blue blood is pretty terrific.The story is generally solid, although the action in the last third feels a bit forced.A must-see for Lanchester fans, and worth watching for anyone who likes detective movies.

In Boston, the prostitute Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling) is pressed by Mrs. Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), who is the greedy owner of the boarding house when she lives, to pay the rent of the room that is late. She calls her wealthy lover and schedules a meeting with him at "The Grass Skirt", where she works. However he never appears and Vivian hijacks the drunken client Henry Shanway (Marshall Thompson) and drives his car to Cape Cod. She stops at a diner and calls her lover again to meet him in a spot. When Henry awakes, Vivian lures him and leaves him on the road. When Vivian meets her lover, he kills her with a 45 mm, hides her body and dumps the car in a lake. A couple of months later, her skeleton is found near the beach. Detective Peter Morales (Ricardo Montalban) is assigned to investigate the case without any clue; however the coroner Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) from Harvard gives technical support to Morales and he finds the identity of Vivian. His further investigation leads him to Henry that lied to justify the hijack of his car to his wife Grace Shanway (Sally Forrest) and to the insurance company. Now Henry becomes the prime suspect and only his wife believe in his words. Will Detective Morales proceed his investigation and find the real killer?"Mystery Street" is an engaging film-noir directed by John Sturges. Ricardo Montalban is excellent in the role of a relentless detective that finds a suspect with all the evidences pointing to him but continues seeking out the real killer. However Elsa Lanchester steals the show in the role of a greedy and despicable woman. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Noite de 23 de Maio" ("The Night of May 23rd)

This one really knocked me out. The screenplay is so tight. There is nothing unbelievable. The characters are all interesting and then there is Elsa Lanchester perfectly understanding how to make the most of every second. Ricardo Montalban was such a fine actor. He deserved a much better movie career. Then to see people like Jan Sterling and Betsy Blair in such good roles and offering such solid performances is such a pleasure. We kept saying, "This is Law and Order!" And what complement could be greater only this came about 40 years earlier. Of course you know it will have a satisfying ending but you won't believe the roller coaster ride you are given first. And Boston!!! When has that city ever been given such prominence. The movie is a knockout. Not a wasted second. How did this one get away? Masterpiece is overused but this is one.

John Sturges directed this interesting film that stars Ricardo Montalban as Lt. Pete Morales, a police detective from Boston who is investigating the death of a young woman, whose skeletal remains are found washed ashore on a Cape Cod Beach. In order to identify them, he takes them to Harvard professor McAdoo(played by Bruce Bennett) who helps Morales with a positive ID, which leads to the arrest of a young man(played by Marshall Thompson) for her murder. He claims he's innocent, and Morales is inclined to believe him, so further investigates this mysterious case. Montalban is good in unusual role for him, and film fascinating as an early example of forensics technology being used to solved crimes, which is quite popular on TV series today.