The Tattooed Stranger

(1950)
Directed by Edward Montagne
Written by Phillip H. Reisman, Jr.
Starring John Miles, Patricia Barry, Walter Kinsella, Frank Tweddell
IMDB Entry

Once again, I am fighting to keep the definition of "film noir" to be used for any black and white movie to with a crime in it. It's a losing battle, of course, but I'll still point it out. The Tattooed Stranger, though listed as "film noir," is something else entirely: a police procedural.

The film, set in New York City, opens with the discovery of a dead woman in a car, her face destroyed by a shotgun blast. Detective Corrigan (Walter Kinsella), a veteran of the force, is assigned the case, and with a new partner, Tobin (John Miles), a rookie who has a college degree. Corrigan is at first dismissive of the book learning but after they investigate the scene, he quickly begins to see how the book learning can be useful. The victim has no identification; the only mark is a tattoo on her arm. 

There is also some odd-looking grass on her shoes. Tobin goes to a botanist, Dr. Mahan (Patricia Barry) and is mildly surprised that she is a woman. They track down the grass, but it's something not native to New York. 

During the victim's autopsy, someone breaks into the lab and obliterates the tattoo. He is killed running from the police, but the police are convinced he was hired to do it. Tobin and Corrigan visit tattoo parlors to find someone who recognizes it. One does and gives them a name.  He is murdered soon after as the killer covers his tracks.

The movie shows the details of a police investigation and that is where the drama lies. It's not the first police procedural:  He Walked by Night and The Naked City had already shown the genre, but they were in a semi-documentary format. This one doesn't pretend to be a true story, but it's good in the way it shows the painstaking work of investigating a crime.

The film shot many of its outdoor scenes in New York city, so it's interesting to see the landmarks back in the day.

The actors don't really stand out -- their performances are workmanlike but not otherwise notable.  It doesn't help that any personal conflict is resolved quickly: Corrigan accepts Tobin after a few minutes, and though Tobin is surprised that Dr. Mahan is a woman, there is no problem with that. Jack Lord has a few lines as one of the cops.

Scene of the Crime

 

(1949)
Directed by Roy Roland
Written by Charles Schnee (screenplay), John Bartlow Martin (short story)
Starring Van Johnson, Gloria DeHaven, Arleen Dahl, John McIntire, Tom Drake, Norman Lloyd, Jerome Cowan
IMDB Entry

Back in the 30s and 40s, movie studios had personalities. Paramount concentrated on lives of the upper class, while Warner Brothers concentrated on the poor and desperate.  MGM was somewhere in between, usually with classy dramas and musicals. But in the 40s, film noir was selling and MGM decided to try working on that. The result was Scene of the Crime.

Mike Conover (Van Johnson) is a cop and when another cop is murdered, he takes over the case, and when it's found he has $1000 in cash on him, the question arises that the dead cop was dirty. Conover doesn't believe it and with two other detectives, the veteran Fred Piper (John McIntire) and the rookie C.C. Gordon (Tom Drake), he goes into the dark underside of crime.

Conover's investigation leads to Lili (Gloria DeHaven), a lounge singer who is the girlfriend of one of the suspects. His bulldog determination to solve the case does not sit well with his wife Gloria (Arlene Dahl), who gets frustrated at the way the investigation cuts into their time together.

For Van Johnson, this was a deliberate casting against type. He was usually the star of comedies and musicals and this was a more dramatic role. It doesn't work well. He just doesn't have the gravitas to make the role work. It also doesn't help that the dialog tries too hard to be Chandleresque. Only Chandler knew how to do that without sounding silly.

Gloria DeHaven also was playing a different type of role as previously. She had also played in comedies and musicals, but that is good in developing the character who seems sweet -- at first.  I also liked the subplot of Gloria's frustration with her husband always being called away, and that she understands when he tells her he's been meeting with Lili.

Several familiar faces appear among the cast.  Norman Lloyd was a busy actor, producer, and director, still doing roles after he turned 100. He's best known as Dr. Auschlander in St. Elsewhere, but was is a couple of Hitchcock classics.*  Leon Ames is best known as the father in Meet Me In St. Louis. The name Jerome Cowan probably doesn't ring a bell, but played the District Attorney in Miracle on 34th Street.

Chuck Rothman's novel, The Cadaver Princess, is available from chuckrothman.com/the-cadaver-princess

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*Hanging from the Statue of Liberty in Saboteur.

Made for Each Other

(1939)
Directed by John Cromwell
Written by Jo Swerling (screenplay), Rose Franken (story)
Starring James Stewart, Carole Lombard, Charles Coburn, Lucille Watson
IMDB Entry

It's funny, but I don't really think of James Stewart as a romantic lead. Sure, he's had parts that included romance, but I don't think I can recall many where romance came to the fore. Made for Each Other is one.

John Mason (James Stewart) is a rising young attorney in New York, working for judge Doolittle (Charles Coburn) and engaged to her daughter. But one day he meets Jane (Carole Lombard) on a business trip to Boston and returns with the two of them married. He sets up with Jane in an apartment with his mother (Lucille Watson), who is somewhat difficult and demanding. Jane stays at home while John works, but because he decided not to marry Doolittle's daughter, he is no longer the golden boy of the office. Doolittle forces him to skip his honeymoon and doesn't give him his due*. Jane and John have a baby, but Doolittle cuts his salary due to the Depression. The baby catches pneumonia and things become desperate.

It's a well written story. Jo Swerling was a busy screenwriter, with movies like Platinum Blonde, Pennies from Heaven, The Pride of the Yankees, Lifeboat, and Guys and Dolls on  his resume. The funny thing is that the inciting incident -- John and Jane marrying after only knowing each other for one day -- isn't really all that important. While it's referred to, the movie would not change much if they knew each other for months. 

The key sequence has to do with finding a serum to cure the baby's pneumonia and the difficulty of getting it to New York, leading to an ending that seems a bit too glib.

Stewart plays his usual role, and Lombard is fine as his loving wife. Charles Coburn plays his usual curmudgeonly part. Two standouts are Lucille Watson, who plays the mother like a modern-day Karen, putting a lot of pressure on the couple, and  Louise Beavers, who is excellent as Lily, Jane's cook and maid.** 

Beavers is uncredited, but charming throughout. She was a busy actress, usually play servants because that was the only roles that could be given to Black women at the time. She was one of the first Black actresses to play the lead in a sitcom.***

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*There's a lot of George Bailey in the role, where John is put-upon and doesn't get his due. 

**It is interesting that the couple, despite their money problems, can have a servant, though Lily does forego a salary for awhile.

***The  show was Beulah, about a housekeeper. Several actresses took over the title role, including Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters, and such names as Butterfly McQueen, Dooley Wilson, and Leslie Uggams in other roles.

Murder is My Beat

 (1955)
Directed by Edgar R. Ulmer
Written by Aubrey Wiseberg (screenplay & story), Martin Field (story)
Starring Paul Langdon, Barbara Payton, Robert Shayne, Tracey Roberts.
IMDB Entry

Film noir has become a catchall term for any movie from the 50s shot in black and white where a crime was central. I find that overly broad, and a movie like Murder is My Beat, though given that description is more anti-noir, though it clearly wants you to think it is.

The movie starts with Police Captain Bert Rawley (Robert Shayne) finding one of his squad, Ray Patrick (Paul Langton) holed up in a hotel room.  Langton explains how he got there, and we see a long flashback.

It starts with a murder. A man is found, his head and hands in a fire, burned beyond recognition. He's identified as Frank Deane and is the boyfriend of singer Eden Lane (Barbara Payton), who has left town. Patrick goes after her and finds her in a small mountain cabin.  She admits to killing Deane; the two spend the night* and Patrick begins to sympathize with her. After she's convicted, he takes her to prison and she spots Deane in a train station.  They jump off the train to investigate.

Flashback over, Patrick begs Rawley to help him to solve the case.  He agrees.

The story is nicely constructed. It is obvious to the modern viewer that the corpse was not Deane, but the identity is a decent twist and the killer is a surprise.

The acting is serviceable. Langton was a busy TV actor during the 60s. Shayne is known for his role of Inspector Henderson in The Adventures of Superman. 

Payton had a sadder career, with alcohol and drug problems, and a messy romantic life. This was her last credited role.

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*Chastely, of course. The Hayes Office still ruled, especially in low-budget films like this one.