The Tattooed Stranger
The Tattooed Stranger
NR | 09 February 1950 (USA)
The Tattooed Stranger Trailers

Detectives investigate the Central Park murder of a young woman with a Marine Corps tattoo.

Reviews
Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
fwdixon "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.
blanche-2 Two big kicks to be had out of "The Tattooed Stranger" for this viewer - spotting Patricia Barry, even though back then, she had another name and different colored hair; and seeing Jack Lord in an uncredited role. When those are the big whoops, you've got a problem.This is a B movie that concentrates on routine police work to uncover the identity of a woman's dead body found in Central Park and later, her killer. Bette Davis once said, "Real drama is larger than life." How right she was. This film is life in all of its step-by-step boredom. By the time there's anything to get excited about, it's too late.The cast is pretty blah, but the police detectives manage to show the camaraderie that people working together have, so the director had some idea of what he was doing. The script mentions and shows some New York locations and even shows two officers going into the 8th Avenue subway. Having lived in New York, that was fun.Today we have reality TV where the "real people" are a lot looser than these actors who were trying to be real. Very so-so.
jotix100 Director Edward Montagne does in a little more than one hour what other, more expensive and hyped films fail to do. Mr. Montagne shows us a police story written by Phillip H. Reisman Jr. that while, is not one of the best of the genre, it keeps the viewer involved in all that's going on.This is clearly a B type movie. In fact, the best thing going for "The Tattooed Stranger" is the opportunity to take a peek at the way New York looked in those years. The crystal clear cinematography by William O. Steiner, either has been kept that way through the years, or has been lovingly restored.There are great views of New York in the opening sequence. Later we are taken to Brooklyn to the Dumbo section and later on the film travels to the Bronx and the Gun Hill Road area with its many monument stores in the area.John Miles and Walter Kinsella made a great detective team. Patricia Barry is perfect as the plant expert from the Museum of Natural History. Jack Lord, who went to bigger things in his career, is seen in a non speaking role.It was great fun to watch a city, as it was, because it doesn't exist any more.
Neil Doyle Although the storyline is meager and the detective work is old-fashioned, this little "B" rates interest as a look at the seedier side of New York City in the '50s--a la THE NAKED CITY--but without the tight suspense of that "A" film. It's a strictly by-the-numbers police story with nothing more than a flat effect by the time it finishes.The low budget look is sometimes overcome by some excellent photography of New York sites but the storyline and the actors keep reminding you it's strictly an assembly line detective story. Leading man John Miles is too bland and laid back to be even mildly interesting and the same can be said for the lady botanist who helps him. None of the supporting characters come to life. As for Jack Lord--I must have blinked more than once. I didn't even spot him.