Verdict
Summary
A truly crushing film noir drama from filmmaker Fritz Lang, Scarlet Street really rankled the ire of the moral code system of its time with a very edgy climax that bucked the trend where characters who commit crimes are supposed to meet the justice system, but this one is different in a very radical way which should raise some eyebrows, even by today’s jaded standards.
Plot:
A lowly banker’s life drastically changes when he has a chance encounter with a prostitute, whom he falls in love with.
Review:
Middle aged, unattractive banker Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is an unhappily married sad sack of a man, whose only joy in life is painting on his spare time. His wife despises him and his hobby, but he doesn’t ask for much in life, and his painting is just about the only thing in his whole world where he feels free. One rainy night, he’s walking home from work and he sees a man beating a woman senseless on the dark street, and he intervenes and strikes the man, saving the woman, or so he believes. He is so shocked at his act of valiant heroism that he doesn’t realize the woman is a hooker and the man is her pimp, and he offers to walk the woman home. This dame is Kitty (Joan Bennett), who tags Chris right away as a mark. She allows him to return the next night to her place to treat her nice: at first, he takes her to coffee, and then pretty soon her pimp (played by Dan Duryea) is forcing her to lead him on to the point of becoming her sugar daddy, providing her with hundreds of dollars at a time, and even paying for her to stay in an apartment where he begins to store his paintings. The pimp gets the idea that maybe they can sell Chris’s paintings, and before anyone realizes it, Chris’s work gets the attention of a trendy art gallery, but the pimp and Kitty have totally swindled Chris by having Kitty sign the artwork with her signature, making her an overnight sensation in the art world. While Kitty becomes a huge success, Chris wallows in dark depression when he realizes that Kitty and her pimp have totally hoodwinked him, and he goes off the deep end after getting caught stealing cash at the bank where he works. His life is completely upended in ways he couldn’t have imagined and soon he’s committing murder, but life has a few more twists in store for Chris, whose entire existence has been reduced to shreds, no thanks to the fate he’s somehow at the mercy of.
A truly crushing film noir drama from filmmaker Fritz Lang, Scarlet Street really rankled the ire of the moral code system of its time with a very edgy climax that bucked the trend where characters who commit crimes are supposed to meet the justice system, but this one is different in a very radical way which should raise some eyebrows, even by today’s jaded standards. Robinson is really great in his role, and you really feel for this regular guy who is such a sap and has the wool pulled over his eyes. The movie might make you angry if you don’t see Robinson’s character as a complete train wreck, and the film really has a depressing point of view if you can handle it. It’s a major downer, but it’s played perfectly.
Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray reissue of Scarlet Street comes in a brand new HDR / Dolby Vision Master that really sparkles in black and white, and there are two audio commentaries included, one from a film historian, and another by an author.
