Mystery Street

Released Jul 28, 1950

1 hr. 33 min.

Crime

Drama

List

Reviews

68%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

When bargirl Vivian (Jan Sterling) discovers that her married boyfriend has refused to leave his wife, she steals a car and drives to Cape Cod to confront him. Several months later her skeleton washes ashore, and local police officer Peter Morales (Ricardo Montalban) must work with Harvard forensics expert Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) in order to piece together the twisted tale and discover who the murderer is before an innocent suspect pays the ultimate price.

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Bob W

Surprisingly hard and technical noir for 1950. The crime is cold, the snappy dialog isn't just to be clever, and the characters are pure noir.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/08/23

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Audience Member

Crime procedural fans will like this. Performances are excellent, especially Ricardo Montalban doing excellent work as a no-nonsense investigator, Jan Sterling the victim and Elsa Lanchester an unscrupulous landlady. Most of all, again, the cinematography of John Alton is reason enough to watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Ken R

Mystery Street - The Name Doesn't Do It Justice Another terrific example of tight noir drama – made on a superb professional level with quality oozing from every scene. These movies came and went and now we have the opportunity to re-discover them in re-masted DVD quality. This must be the first movie to incorporate the new investigative methods of modern CSI examinations. A terrific cast brings it perfectly to life with director John Sturges (Bad Day at Black Rock) and Hungarian born cinematographer John Alton (Elmer Gantry) keeping it looking good and fast moving. The major cast of professionals ensures we are carried along with this remarkable murder mystery to the very last frame. Ricardo Montalban makes a perfect switch from romantic song and dance man to a straight dramatic role, with Bruce Bennett (Tarzan) excellent as an early forensics expert. So powerful you will be left wondering how many people have been falsely accused (and sentenced) based on seemingly foolproof, circumstantial evidence. The WB Archive DVD is available as a Double Feature with the great "Act of Murder" offering good quality along with top value.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/12/20

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Audience Member

Crime procedural that was unexpectedly engaging (at least for me).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Ingenious plot. Worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

MGM low-budget film noir Mystery Street is years ahead of its time and will be an unexpected delight to fans of TV shows like the CSI franchise and especially, "Bones." It's a procedural whodunit shot on location in Boston starring Ricardo Montalban as a police lieutenant who enlists the help of Harvard medical scientists to identify a body and solve the crime. The wrongly-accused- man theme will interest any film noir fan. Other reviewers highlight Elsa Lancaster, famous as the Bride of Frankenstein, who hilariously steals every scene she's in. However I'm more interested in the youthful Montalban, and for other viewers who know him as Mr. Roark from TV's Fantasy Island or Khan from star Trek II, this film is a surprising treat. Considering his ethnicity, Montalban's character is ahead of its time also. I don't consider this a negative criticism per se, however this film is not a "film noir," as advertised. It's a crime drama but not noir-ish at all. That being said, check out this engaging whodunit.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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John Sturges

Director

Ricardo Montalban

Peter Moralas

Sally Forrest

Grace Shanway

Bruce Bennett

Dr. McAdoo

Elsa Lanchester

Mrs. Smerrling

Marshall Thompson

Henry Shanway

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

It is film noir that reliably uses the resources of the police procedural to offer an intriguing and consistent plot about the anatomy of a homicide. Full review in Spanish

Rated: 7/10

Mar 7, 2022

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Mystery Street is Hollywood's finest detective story in several seasons.

Oct 9, 2019

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Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Well done murder investigation with forensics from Harvard and a pioneering Hispanic policeman.

Aug 16, 2012

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An engaging film noir.

Rated: B+

Sep 5, 2003

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Synopsis

When bargirl Vivian (Jan Sterling) discovers that her married boyfriend has refused to leave his wife, she steals a car and drives to Cape Cod to confront him. Several months later her skeleton washes ashore, and local police officer Peter Morales (Ricardo Montalban) must work with Harvard forensics expert Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) in order to piece together the twisted tale and discover who the murderer is before an innocent suspect pays the ultimate price.

Director: John Sturges
Screenwriter: Sydney Boehm, Richard Brooks
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1950, Original
Release Date (DVD): Jul 31, 2007