"Mystery Street" is a nice little "film noire" mystery from MGM and Director John Sturges. Its a dark little film full of night scenes, dark shadows and strategic lighting....and it has not one, but two "femme fatales".
"Femme Fatale" number one is Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling) a prostitute whom we meet in a seedy Boston rooming house trying to phone a rich "boyfriend" in Hyannis, Mass. She scribbles his phone number on the wall near the phone. She then goes to a bar and tries again. Then she sees Henry Shanway (Marshall Thompson), a despondent man who's had one too many over his wife's loss of their baby and senses an easy mark when she learns he has a car.
She cons him into thinking that she is driving him home but drives to Hyannis to confront her lover. After dumping Shanway on the highway, Vivian proceeds to meet her lover. A shadowy figure steps up to the car, kills her then separately disposes of her body and the car.
Fast forward several months later when the skeletal remains of Vivian are found by a beachcomber (Walter Burke). He brings them to the gung ho Lt. Peter Morales (Ricardo Montalban) a Hispanic detective who has been assigned to the case. Morales brings the bones to Harvard forensic scientist Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) for analysis and identification.
Later Shanway's car is pulled from a lake and traced back to him. Morales suspects Shanway of the murder as all clues point to him in spite of his "I didn't do it" pleas. His wife Grace (Sally Forrest) also insists that he is innocent.
Enter "femme fatale" number two. Mrs Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), the landlady of the rooming house has secret ambitions of her own. Taking the phone number left by Vivian she contacts Vivian's lover and goes to see him. suspecting him of the murder, she tries to blackmail him but is shown the door, but not before she manages to steal the murder weapon from the murderer's desk drawer.
Meanwhile, Shanway is charged with the crime. His wife Grace is forced to move out of their apartment because she is unable to pay the rent. Mrs. Smerrling has let the killer know that she has his gun and arranges a meeting with him where..............................................
Ricardo Montalban was used by MGM mainly in musicals but occasionally would get to do excellent little "B" unit dramas such as this one. He gets to play a Hispanic character in a predominately Irish area. His zeal for the case is suddenly cut back when he learns that he may have charged the wrong man and ruined the lives of an innocent family. Jan Sterling shines as the "B" girl in a brief role. But it is the veteran character actress Elsa Lanchester that steals the film. Her fidgety, nosy, scheming old biddy is a classic.
Bruce Bennett's forensic scientist was a relatively new character in film at this time. It is interesting to see how he pieces together the clues to the identification of the skeletal remains of the murder victim.
Also in the excellent cast are Betsy Blair, Edmund Ryan, Ralph Dumke and Willard Waterman.
John Sturges would soon graduate to "A" list films and enjoy a lengthy career.
"Femme Fatale" number one is Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling) a prostitute whom we meet in a seedy Boston rooming house trying to phone a rich "boyfriend" in Hyannis, Mass. She scribbles his phone number on the wall near the phone. She then goes to a bar and tries again. Then she sees Henry Shanway (Marshall Thompson), a despondent man who's had one too many over his wife's loss of their baby and senses an easy mark when she learns he has a car.
She cons him into thinking that she is driving him home but drives to Hyannis to confront her lover. After dumping Shanway on the highway, Vivian proceeds to meet her lover. A shadowy figure steps up to the car, kills her then separately disposes of her body and the car.
Fast forward several months later when the skeletal remains of Vivian are found by a beachcomber (Walter Burke). He brings them to the gung ho Lt. Peter Morales (Ricardo Montalban) a Hispanic detective who has been assigned to the case. Morales brings the bones to Harvard forensic scientist Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett) for analysis and identification.
Later Shanway's car is pulled from a lake and traced back to him. Morales suspects Shanway of the murder as all clues point to him in spite of his "I didn't do it" pleas. His wife Grace (Sally Forrest) also insists that he is innocent.
Enter "femme fatale" number two. Mrs Smerrling (Elsa Lanchester), the landlady of the rooming house has secret ambitions of her own. Taking the phone number left by Vivian she contacts Vivian's lover and goes to see him. suspecting him of the murder, she tries to blackmail him but is shown the door, but not before she manages to steal the murder weapon from the murderer's desk drawer.
Meanwhile, Shanway is charged with the crime. His wife Grace is forced to move out of their apartment because she is unable to pay the rent. Mrs. Smerrling has let the killer know that she has his gun and arranges a meeting with him where..............................................
Ricardo Montalban was used by MGM mainly in musicals but occasionally would get to do excellent little "B" unit dramas such as this one. He gets to play a Hispanic character in a predominately Irish area. His zeal for the case is suddenly cut back when he learns that he may have charged the wrong man and ruined the lives of an innocent family. Jan Sterling shines as the "B" girl in a brief role. But it is the veteran character actress Elsa Lanchester that steals the film. Her fidgety, nosy, scheming old biddy is a classic.
Bruce Bennett's forensic scientist was a relatively new character in film at this time. It is interesting to see how he pieces together the clues to the identification of the skeletal remains of the murder victim.
Also in the excellent cast are Betsy Blair, Edmund Ryan, Ralph Dumke and Willard Waterman.
John Sturges would soon graduate to "A" list films and enjoy a lengthy career.