The Tattooed Stranger (1950)

One of the best films i have seen

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

"The Tattooed Stranger" is a sub-B quickie with the saving grace of being shot on the streets of post-war New York.The cinematography is very good. Unfortunately the script and acting is not. The acting seldom rises above the level that one would find in an Ed Wood movie. Ditto for the dialog.But the film's pacing is very good (as it would have to be to squeeze in the story in its brief running time) and the shots of New York City make the whole film worthwhile.Look quick to spot Jack Lord in the 1st reel, then later on speaking a few lines toward the end.Take off a star if you aren't a NYC buff.

A woman's dead body turns up in New York's Central Park. Two detectives with help from a lab technician track down the killer, using a tattoo and a blade of grass as telltale clues.A few years later and this 60-minutes would be an episode on the TV series Naked City (1958- 63). It's got all the earmarks, including heavy police procedure, location filming, and an elusive killer. One thing the movie is not is noir, contrary to the Film Noir encyclopedia. For example, there're no dark atmospherics, moral ambiguities, or conflicted protagonist. Instead, the narrative amounts to a garden-variety crime drama, likely influenced by 1948's docu- drama The Naked City.Despite the RKO pedigree, the New York filming is clearly done on a shoestring. It's best feature amounts to a good look at tenement areas, circa 1949. Unfortunately, John Miles is shaky in the lead role of rookie detective, and I can see why it was his last film. On the other hand, there's the de-glamorized Patricia Barry (billed as White here), an actress who would later prove so expert at being coy and seductive. But as a lab technician, there's none of that here. Then too, the narrative has gaps, especially the killer's stalking of Tobin (Miles). Nonetheless, some of the staging is imaginative, especially the shoot-out among gravestones, plus the opening sequence in Central Park. But on the whole, the movie's better suited to TV than the theatre.

The Tattooed Stranger is pretty much CSINY ala 1950. It's a police procedural shot gloriously on location in New York City about a woman who is found in car having been shot gunned in the face. The police then set about trying to solve the crime using both leg work and the latest scientific methods. This is a real lost treasure that is much more modern than many of its contemporary films of a similar bend. Actually it plays like a really good episode of CSI or NCIS. I can't recommend this film enough. If there is any flaw it's the introduction of romance between one of the cops and a female scientist he gets information from. Its naturally put into the story but its kept apart of the story a little to artificially.

This is a neat little crime drama which packs a lot into its 65 minute running time. It has all the right ingredients - a mystery corpse, a weary middle-aged cop Corrigan (Walter Kinsella) and his rookie sidekick Tobin (John Miles), a shadowy killer on the loose and even love interest for the Tobin in the shape of a female botanist Mary (Patricia Wright) who helps solve the crime. There's also a terrific shoot-out finale which takes place in a stone cutters yard.Watch out for a terrific goof near the start of this movie where Lt. Corrigan refers to the dead woman as 'Tatooed Tilly' BEFORE the coroner reveals that she had a tattoo (confusing huh?). Also later when Tobin is chasing the killer across the back yards he is suddenly shown going in the wrong direction at one point - no wonder he didn't catch him!