mark.waltz The next time you take a trek around the Central Park reservoir, you're walking along a trail traveled by many, from Woody Allen in "Hannah and Her Sisters", to Dustin Hoffman stalking an evil dentist in "Marathon Man" and years before, the man who discovers a corpse in a parked car in this obscure film noir. The good Samaritan only wanted to return a glove he found near the parked vehicle (presumably on the south side of the reservoir where parking still takes place) and finds the strangely tattooed woman who obviously doesn't need it anymore-she's dead! Clues include fingerprints on the car, strange remnants of a rare blade of grass, to the corpse's tattoo, and this leads to an attempted attack on the corpse, more clues located in the Bronx (on Gun Hill Road) to a series of strange characters. This is filled with an extremely rare obscure cast, faces you may recognize from early TV anthology series, but no names you'll know. The film's short running time encompasses tight dialog and enough intrigue to fill up several film noirs. A rare glimpse of vintage New York location footage makes this a pleasing curio, a real sleeper.

BJJManchester A relatively unknown 'B' movie second feature,THE TATTOOED STRANGER is developing something of a cult following after being shown several times on late-night UK TV in recent years (the last being merely several days ago).The murder mystery plot and script are both rather mundane,the performances weak and direction routine,yet the location work around New York is interesting and well photographed,and something you would rarely see in American films at this time.The very reason for it's cult following is the obscurity of it's cast and crew,unheralded even by normal American 'B' movie standards.The only well-known face here is Jack Lord,but at this stage of his career he was as unrenowned as virtually everybody else involved in this project,and his is a wordless,uncredited role which lasts barely a minute.The only other slightly well-known performers on board are Patricia Barry (billed here as Patricia White) and Lewis Charles (who like Lord is uncredited),and the director Edward Montagne later worked more prolifically on TV as a producer,not surprising as his direction is mostly nondescript and awkward (as is nominal lead actor John Miles) during the exchanges of flat,uninspired dialogue,though he redeems himself partially with the location work of scarcely seen side streets,tenements and backyards in New York.This certainly saves the film from total mediocrity,and although he probably didn't realise it at the time,Montagne's decision to film in such run-down neighbourhoods provide an engaging,even mildly fascinating social document of one of the World's great cities of the time shortly after the end of the Second World War.Had THE TATTOOED STRANGER been wholly studio-bound,it would have been a totally forgotten and ignored routine 'B' murder mystery (among scores of others),with insipid acting,writing and direction,but thanks to it's real outdoor New York settings,is certainly a mark up on the usual fare from this particular genre.RATING:5 and a half out of 10.

Chris Gaskin The Tattooed Stranger was another of those rare B-movies that BBC2 screened over Christmas/New Year 2005-2006. See also They Live By Night and The Brighton Strangler.In this one, a man walking his dog in Central Park comes across an abandoned car and discovers a dead woman inside. She was shot and police then try to identify her with only a tattoo as the main clue. After being identified, the murderer is discovered and is shot in the shootout at the end.Most of this movie was shot on location in and around New York, so we get to see some areas of the city we don't normally see, especially the back streets.Mostly unknowns are in the cast, with John Miles getting top billing.The Tattooed Stranger is worth seeking out. Excellent but rather obscure.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

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.