Scarlet Street is one of those noir films that slips through the cracks. A great film that I feel gets lost amongst other noir classics. Starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett, with director Fritz Lang at the helm, this film is based on a French novel by Georges de La Fouchardiere titled, "The Bitch".
Robison plays Chris who is going though a bit of a mid life crisis and has recently been honored for his 25 years of service as a cashier. He gets a gold watch, some slaps on the back, and he heads home to his wife.
On the way home he witnesses a guy knocking around a lady on the street. Being the nice guy that he is, he breaks them up and then runs for help as the damsel in distress yells at him not to.
Ouch! She might need a cold steak for that shiner but at least her outfit is protected from the rain!
When the fuzz comes to help out Kitty, played by Bennett, she plays if off and the man gets away. Chris takes her out for a drink instead, and he quickly starts to fancy Kitty. In conversation Kitty comes to think Chris is loaded which is far from the truth. The next day we learn that Kitty and her accused are actually a couple. They hatched a plan to scam Chris by having Kitty pretend she is a struggling actress.
Meanwhile we learn Chris lives with a witch of a wife who nags him and makes him cook and clean. Chris's escape? Painting. His wife and even his boss think his work is crap but Chris doesn't care.
Let's take a break here and notice the bathroom. Floral wallpaper, pedestal sink, and the cup with a daisy in it. All of this 1945 eye candy is courtesy of art director Alexander Golitzen, an 11 time Oscar nominee and 3 time winner who definitely knows his stuff.
When the wife wants his artwork out of the house, he rents a place to put it and Kitty goes with it. Little does Chris know, but Kitty's boyfriend is living there too. Chris is in love but Kitty is having a hard time acting like she likes him. The charade keeps up for a while until Chris can no longer pay Kitty's expenses.
I'll just pretend this old guy is William Holden instead...
Kitty's boyfriend, who is still slapping her around, decides to try and sell Chris's paintings for some cash. To his surprise, the art gets sold and when some rich art dealers come looking for the artist to these amazing paintings Kitty takes the credit!
Much to everyone's surprise the art is selling like hotcakes. Chris finds out and so does his wife, so he also has to play off Kitty as the artist to keep his marriage together. Money is still tight and Chris starts stealing from work. Little does he know that all Kitty's love is an act, but she is getting tired of pretending.
When Chris discovers his marriage is not going to work out, he goes to Kitty to ask for her hand in marriage and she lets him know the truth. Chris is furious and goes after her with an ice pick!
What happens next you'll have to watch and see. What happens to Kitty and her boyfriend? Will Chris learn the whole truth? What about his now famous work?
I think this portrait of Kitty looks more like Hedy Lamarr!
The artwork done for this film was by John Decker and the Museum of Modern Art in New York held an exhibit in 1946.
