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Scarlet Street Details

1946

70
from 759 members

Starring	Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Margaret Lindsay, Jess Barker
Director	Fritz Lang
Genres	Drama

Scarlet Street

Masterfully directed by Fritz Lang, Scarlet Street is a bleak film in which an ordinary man succumbs first to vice and then to murder. Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is a lonely man married to a nagging wife. Painting is the only thing that brings him joy. Cross meets Kitty (Joan Bennett) who, believing him to be a famous painter, begins an affair with him. Encouraged by her lover, con man Johnny Prince (Dan Duryea) Kitty persuades Cross to embezzle money from his employer in order to pay for her lavish apartment. In that apartment, happy for the first time in his life, Cross paints Kitty's picture. Johnny then pretends that Kitty painted to portrait, which has won great critical acclaim. Finally realizing he has been manipulated, Cross kills Kitty, loses his job, and because his name has been stolen by Kitty, is unable to paint. He suffers a mental breakdown as the film ends, haunted by guilt. Kitty and Johnny are two of the most amoral and casual villains in the history of film noir, both like predatory animals completely without conscience. Milton Krasner's photography is excellent in its use of stark black-and-white to convey psychological states. Fritz Lang is unparalleled in his ability to convey the desperation of hapless, naïve victims in a cruelly realistic world.~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Starring	Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Margaret Lindsay, Jess Barker, Dan Duryea
Director	Fritz Lang
Studio	ELSTREE HILL
Run time	DVD: 1 hr 41 mins LOVEFiLM Instant: 1 hr 41 mins
Certificate	DVD LOVEFiLM Instant
Genres	Drama
Language	DVD: English LOVEFiLM Instant: English
Released	Production year: 1946 To Watch Online: LOVEFiLM Instant: 01 May 2009 To Rent: DVD: 07 Mar 2005
Watch now	Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant. Subscribe.

Critic's review of Scarlet Street
View all critics' reviews (2)
- Daring but rather gloomy Hollywood melodrama, the first in which a crime went unpunished (though the culprit was shown suffering remorse). Interesting and heavily Teutonic, but as entertainment not a patch on the similar but lighter The Woman in the Wi
- 31506
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:42
Most helpful member's review of Scarlet Street
View all members' reviews (16)
- - 12
  - 0
  Quite watchable for fans of the era and genre
  
  A quirky little film of its type that just misses out on an extra half * (if you want to see a 3.5* Edward G film look at 'Woman in the Window' and you... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1038165
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  
  [Highly rated reviewer]
  - roncoach
  - 251 reviews
  - suffolk
  - 08 Sep 2011 at 00:15
Most recent members' reviews of Scarlet Street
View all members' reviews (16)
- - 0
  - 0
  Great story, full of twists
  
  Great story, full of plot twists and turns. Robinson is a pathetic character, his overbearing wife monstrous. Bennett is a terrific amoral vamp and her ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1084748
- - bobshaw5
  - 8 reviews
  - 23 Jan 2012 at 11:03
- - 12
  - 0
  Quite watchable for fans of the era and genre
  
  A quirky little film of its type that just misses out on an extra half * (if you want to see a 3.5* Edward G film look at 'Woman in the Window' and you... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1038165
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - roncoach
  - 251 reviews
  - suffolk
  - 08 Sep 2011 at 00:15
- - 0
  - 0
  Have confidence in your self or suffer this fate!
  
  Edward G at his best, a brilliant story which no-one comes out of well!
  
  A salutory tale for all of us lacking in confidence.
  
  Report this review
- 1026840
- - Rhino96
  - 8 reviews
  - 08 Aug 2011 at 18:05
View all members' reviews (16)
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759 Member ratings

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- Scarlet Street
  
  Masterfully directed by Fritz Lang, Scarlet Street is a bleak film in which an ordinary man succumbs first to vice and then to murder. Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is a lonely man married to a nagging wife. Painting is the only thing that brings him joy. Cross meets Kitty (Joan Bennett) ...