Le Mystère de la plage perdue

See it for the Boston locations, for an early gritty performance by Montalban before he became a Latin heartthrob joke, for the intricate plot, vivid characterizations and snappy editing, but see it most of all for the extraordinary cinematography of John Alton. What he does with composition, deep focus and lighting is amazing. That he often does it on locations where he did not have the control of a soundstage is astonishing.

A simple, clear plot that doesn't interfere with the power of the personal stories within. In its day it would've been shocking for showing the murder, and the discovery of the body. Good acting from a young Montalban.

Mystery Street (1950)

There are so many charming and sharply seen moments in this movie, and a plot that's strong and curious, you wonder why it doesn't quite pull together and zoom. Director John Sturges is neither a legend nor as slouch, one of those really competent directors who made some pretty famous films. "Mystery Street" might be revealing as to what makes a Sturges film what it is.

I mean, there's the Mexican-American lead male, Ricardo Montalban, who is far more believable than, say, Humphrey Bogart. But we prefer Bogart? Maybe because Montalban is so everyday, not a star, just wonderfully convincing as one of us. (He has a great line, probably added just for him, about being fully an American even though his family has only been in the country for less than a hundred years.) The story starts with a real bang, and with the crisp, edgy acting of Jan Sterling, and a couple of fast twists. It never gets dull, even if it levels out (it makes a potential mistake by letting us know fairly early on who the killer is, and then doesn't make this killer much of the plot until the very end). And there are other great roles, particularly the landlady, played by the incomparable Elsa Lanchester.

And check out the locale--not L.A., not even New York, but Boston area location shooting. And some great field work on Cape Cod. The whole feel of the movie is just outside the usual stuff, you know, the escape to the Mexican border or up into the California mountains, it makes it worth watching just for that. The photography is not extroverted, but it's really smart, tightly seen stuff, by John Alton, a Hollywood Veteran who later did the "Big Combo" and "Lonelyhearts."

Most of us don't watch films for all the insider stuff, or even just to salivate over the photography, as I tend to do, so we are back to the functional if not quite riveting story, held up by a handful of great performances. Better than CSI.

This is proof that Ricardo Montalban was actually a fine actor, before he was somehow transformed into a caricature of himself by television. This movie is so well done, so tightly crafted that I am surprised I have never heard of it before. It may be the very first movie-version of "CSI"! Not as graphic and detailed as the TV show, but a forensic anthropological examination of the evidence by a Harvard doctor/professor is integral to the plot, and handled very well. The characters rise above typical stereotypes in this story, which almost plays like a docudrama as opposed to something created from whole cloth. Elsa Lanchester is particularly good too as a nasty landlady with no scruples whatsoever. Truly a hidden gem, and one worth the hour-forty or so you will spend watching it.

Accurately described by many as "C.S.I. style noir", the mystery-procedural "Mystery Street" is cracking entertainment for devotees of the noir genre. It's also ahead of its time for its approach to solving a case of murder. It bears some of the trademarks of the genre, such as the extremely moody and effective black & white lighting by John Alton.

Ever charming Ricardo Montalban stars as Boston detective Pete Morales, working an interesting case. A skeleton is found buried under beach sand, and Morales must first find out who the person is. So he calls upon Harvard forensic specialist Dr. McAdoo (Bruce Bennett), who determines that the person was a woman named Vivian Heldon (Jan Sterling), who as we saw from the prologue, met a bad end while desperately trying to get in touch with a particular man.

"Mystery Street" is quotable and enjoyable, and snappily paced. It gets points for its casting of Montalban in the lead role, and he's highly watchable as our hero. It also gives fine showcases to its supporting cast: Bennett, a fun Elsa Lanchester in an amusing turn as an eccentric landlady, Marshall Thompson as an unfortunate sap who falls under suspicion due to his circumstances, Sally Forrest as the saps' agitated wife, Edmon Ryan as an upper class type, and Betsy Blair as an associate of the murder victim. Lanchester ends up walking away with the film.

John Sturges directed, and he's in fine form, working from a script by Sydney Boehm and Richard Brooks. This is the kind of story where savvy viewers pretty much figure it all out early on, and thus wait for our hero to play catch-up. At least, he's a reasonably smart guy, if somewhat stubbornly fixated on his red herring, so one doesn't much mind.

Well made and engrossing for an hour and a half.

Eight out of 10.