Scarlet Street (1945)

Film: Scarlet Street (1945)

Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Margaret Lindsay, Rosalind Ivan

Director: Fritz Lang

Oscar History: No nominations

Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

Throughout the month of June, in honor of the 10th Anniversary of The Many Rantings of John, we will be doing a Film Noir Movie Marathon, featuring fifteen film noir classics that I'll be seeing for the first time.  Reviews of other film noir classics are at the bottom of this article.

Robinson, Bennett, Duryea, & Lang...four names that are quintessential if you're talking about 1940's film noir, not just because they were all in the foundational work The Woman in the Window (one of the most important noirs of 1944), but also because they'd all make a number of film noirs throughout the decade (both Bennett & Duryea will be back later this month for another one of their noirs).  Despite the success of The Woman in the Window, lead actors Bennett & Robinson would only make one more picture together a year after that film's success, Scarlet Street.  You could make a legitimate argument that of all of the films that we're going to profile this month for our film noir features, this is the most famous one that I still hadn't seen.  Generally considered one of the best examples of the form, it proved that not only could Robinson & Bennett strike lightning twice, but also that the second time around, they would be able to pull off an ending worthy of the work they'd just done.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film is about Chris Cross (Robinson), a cashier for a clothing retailer who has a pretty miserable life.  His wife Adele (Ivan) hates him, wishing he was her first husband (who has died), while he works a life that's pointless-the only joy he gets out of life is his amateur painting.  Enter Kitty March (Bennett), a gorgeous brunette whom he chances upon after stopping a man (who turns out to be her boyfriend Johnny, played by Duryea) from robbing her in the streets.  Despite a one-sided attraction (Kitty only loves Johnny), they become friends, with Chris robbing from his employer to give Kitty the money that she needs.  Kitty is convinced that Chris is getting the money from his successful paintings, but it turns out that this is just a hobby, a misunderstanding that Johnny clears up...except then an art critic realizes the paintings are good, and wants to sell them.  Johnny decides to say that Kitty made the paintings, cutting Chris out of the deal, and Chris is so happy that he's being appreciated (and that it makes Kitty the money she desires), that he is fine with her taking the credit (and the money).  When Adele's first husband shows up, though, invalidating Chris's marriage, he goes to Kitty, and after she laughs at him for thinking she'd find him attractive, he murders her.  Johnny, though, takes the fall, and in a bit of a twist for 1945, is executed for the murder.  Chris doesn't get away freely, though.  He attempts later to kill himself (unsuccessfully) and to claim credit for the murder (unsuccessfully).  He ends up destitute & homeless, all the while his paintings are making a fortune under the assumption that the beautiful, dead Kitty painted them.

The film, like the best noir, is nasty & a bit vicious.  The treatment of Chris, who is a good guy if a bit of a wimp, is heartbreaking-he's stuck in a loveless marriage to a woman who idolizes a brutish other man...and is in love with a woman who is doing the same.  He is a case of a guy who picks the wrong girls, and I was intrigued that he didn't get the chair in the end because it feels much worse that he is constantly haunted by that cruelty.  Film noir is best when it lays bare the harshness of the human experience, and you get that here-Kitty doesn't get off scot-free, but she does get away with her con & spends eternity with Johnny while Chris wanders the streets alone...that's not exactly getting your comeuppance.

The film's writing and acting set it apart, as does the ravishing production design.  Robinson, one of the best actors of his era, is vulnerable & heartbreaking as Chris, the man who just wants to be loved.  Bennett is equally good as Kitty.  Gone are some of the other roles she'd be famous for, where her femme fatale was more exposed than dangerous, and she nails the part of this viper with aplomb.  Duryea, as well, is superb.  I love the way that you genuinely don't think Johnny loves Kitty...that there's a weird mirror effect where, like Chris, Kitty is in love with a man that will never love her.  I wish they'd given maybe one more scene to underscore this, but it's there in plain writing (I also would've loved one more moment with Adele, either for Chris's good or bad).  All-in-all, this is a terrific movie, and one of my favorites we'll profile this month.

Previous Films in the Series: Murder My Sweet, The Woman in the Window, The Killers, The Big Sleep, Nightmare Alley, Ride the Pink Horse, Night and the City, They Live By Night, Gun Crazy, In a Lonely Place, Sweet Smell of Success, The Big Heat, Pickup on South Street, The Killing, The Long Goodbye, Body Heat