More a police procedural than a film noir (it was presented this past week on Noir Alley) from 1949. Starring a bunch of unknowns (even though I thought I saw Jack Lord in one scene), this early CSI: NY episode (it runs a little over an hour) concerns a tattooed woman found murdered in a car in a park. Using rigorous investigative techniques (tame by our standards), a pair of detectives (a newbie & an old hat in the game) track down the murderer by doing the usual; collecting evidence, interviewing suspects & formulating a theory behind the crime. Made by a documentary film crew (they'd provide news shorts which would run in front of main attractions) on actual New York locations, this film is a lesson in economy rather than novelty but seeing the seeds of what we now know as commonplace still is a treat.
Review of The Tattooed Stranger
