Scarlet Street
| Scarlet Street | |
|---|---|
theatrical release poster
|
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| Directed by | Fritz Lang |
| Produced by |
Walter Wanger Fritz Lang |
| Screenplay by | Dudley Nichols |
| Based on |
La Chienne 1931 novel and play by Georges de La Fouchardière (novel) André Mouézy-Éon (play) |
| Starring |
Edward G. Robinson Joan Bennett Dan Duryea |
| Music by |
Hans J. Salter Ernie Burnett ("Melancholy Baby") |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | Arthur Hilton |
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Production
company |
Walter Wanger Productions
Fritz Lang Productions Diana Production Company |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,202,007 |
| Box office | $2,948,386 |
Scarlet Street is a 1945 film noir directed by Fritz Lang. Two criminals take advantage of a middle-age painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel La Chienne ("The Bitch") by Georges de La Fouchardière, that previously had been dramatized on stage by André Mouëzy-Éon, and cinematically as La Chienne (1931) by director Jean Renoir.
The principal actors Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea had earlier appeared together in The Woman in the Window (1944) also directed by Fritz Lang. Local authorities in three cities banned Scarlet Street early in 1946 because of its dark plot and themes.
In 1934, Christopher "Chris" Cross (Edward G. Robinson), a meek amateur painter and cashier for clothing retailer, J.J. Hogarth & Company, is fêted by his employer, honoring him for twenty-five years of service since 1909. Company head Hogarth presents him with a watch and kind words, then leaves and gets into a car with a beautiful young blonde. Chris muses to an associate that he wonders what it is like "to be loved by a young girl".
Walking home through Greenwich Village, he helps Kitty (Joan Bennett), a young woman who is being attacked by a man, stunning the assailant with his umbrella. Chris, unaware that the attacker was Johnny (Dan Duryea), Kitty's boyfriend, walks with her to her apartment building. She accepts his offer for a cup of coffee at a nearby bar. From Chris's comments about art, Kitty believes him to be a wealthy painter.
Chris becomes enamored of her. He is in a loveless marriage, tormented by his shrewish wife Adele (Rosalind Ivan) who idolizes her former husband, a policeman who drowned while trying to rescue a woman. After Chris confesses that he is married, Johnny convinces Kitty to pursue a relationship in order to extort money from Chris. Kitty inveigles him to rent an apartment for her, one that can also be his art studio. To finance an apartment, Chris steals $500 ($9,000 today) in insurance bonds from his wife and later $1000 ($17,900) from his employer.
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Wikipedia