Scarlet Street (Remastered Edition)
by Fritz Lang
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DVD details
Actor: Dan Duryea, Edward G. Robinson, Jess Barker, Joan Bennett, Margaret LindsayDirector: Fritz Lang
Brand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: 4202
Studio: KINO VIDEO
DVD Reviews of Scarlet Street (Remastered Edition)
DVD Review: "Listen baby, you got him right where you want him...he's on the hook and can't get off."
Summary: 5 Stars
The film Scarlet Street (1945), based on a novel by Georges de La Fouchardière, was produced and directed by Fritz Lang (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, M, The Big Heat), and stars Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar, Double Indemnity, Key Largo), Joan Bennett (The Man in the Iron Mask, The Woman in the Window), and Dan Duryea (Criss Cross, The Flight of the Phoenix). Also appearing is Margaret Lindsay (The House of the Seven Gables), Jess Barker (The Night Walker), Rosalind Ivan (Johnny Belinda), and Charles Kemper (Gallant Journey).
As the film begins we meet a character named Christopher Cross (Robinson), a timid and unassuming middle-aged man, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a cashier in a department store. After the party winds down, a tipsy Chris gets turned around somewhere in Greenwich Village and comes across a woman taking the beating from a man, and rescues her, sort of...turns out the attacker, whose face we don't get to see, was fairly drunk and easily enough chased away. Anyway, Chris is immediately taken with the woman, a wannabe actress named Katharine 'Kitty' March (Bennett), allowing her to believe he's a wealthy artist, rather than telling her the dismal truth (seems Chris fancies himself a painter, but it's more or less a hobby rather than a career option). Here's where things get complicated...unbeknownst to Kitty Chris is lowly nine to fiver, married to a shrill harpy named Adele (Ivan), theirs being a marriage of convenience, and unbeknownst to Chris Kitty is involved with a real slick huckster named Johnny Prince (Duryea), the same guy who appeared to be attacking her on the street (turns out he was just trying to get some gambling money). Anyway, Johnny, ever the schemer, believing Chris to be a man of means, convinces Kitty to schmooze him up a bit for some dough, which she does, but Chris, who's a real sap, hasn't the green, so he procures it from his skinflint wife. Eventually Chris eventually comes clean to Kitty about the fact he's married and ends up setting her up in a posh pad, which allows not only for him to visit her, but also gives him a place to pursue his painting, something his wife thinks is a waste. Through a series of circumstances involving Johnny trying to sell Chris' paintings (he and Kitty still believe Chris to be a famous artist), Chris' works actually gain some attention, resulting in Johnny talking Kitty into pretending she painted them, rather than Chris (this wasn't too difficult given Chris never signed his own works). Anyway, as Kitty becomes famous Chris discovers the ruse (only Kitty's part, not her involvement with Johnny), and goes along with it, living vicariously through Kitty given the fact his work is garnering so much attention, but things turn sour once Chris learns of Kitty's involvement with Johnny along with how they've been playing him for a world class sucker...I won't say what happens but I will tell you a sharp implement is involved...
Of most all of the films I've watched recently, which is quite a few, this one had the most intricate storyline. If you've read through the previous paragraph it may seem like I've related a lot, but in actuality I've only touched upon a small number of highlights. There's so much more going on, in terms of both characters mentioned and those that weren't...everything about this feature worked for me, including the immaculate direction, the engaging writing, and the excellent performances. One aspect I was unsure of early on was the character played by Edward G. Robinson in that it seemed so different than what I've come accustomed to with some of his other films I've seen as I'm more or less used to seeing him portray hardnosed gangster types, not spineless, easily manipulated saps. Once I got past my own preconceived typecasting, though, it went down a lot easier, helped immeasurably by the fact Edward G. Robinson is probably one of the best actors to come out of the American cinema. As far as the other performers, Joan Bennett played her part perfectly as she was able to maintain her character's pretense of decorum, at least enough for a lovesick sap to buy off on, but once her character's guard was down we saw her for what she really was, an opportunist who desperately sought the affections of another, even more opportunistic individual played by Dan Duryea, whose character was about as oily and charming (and misogynistic) as they come. Seriously, this is the type of guy who could talk you out of your skin and be long gone before you realized what happened. One of my favorite sequences from the film comes as Kitty relates to Johnny the fact Chris is married and given they way his mind works, he suggests maybe Kitty can pry some money from Chris if it were thought by him that somehow his wife might learn of his relationship (which was nonsexual, by the way) with Kitty. Kitty replies about that being blackmail, to which Johnny states,
"It's only blackmail, baby, when you're dumb enough to get caught."
As I said the direction is wonderful as there was never a time when I wasn't engrossed in the material, which flows at a steady pace. One really interesting aspect for me was near the end, when Chris finally allows himself to realize his tragic folly, and reacts in a shocking, but not unexpected manner. All in all this is probably one of the best film noir features I've seen in awhile, and I'd highly recommend it as an example of a truly unique and fascinating feature within the genre.
The fullscreen (1.33:1) picture on this Kino Video DVD release looks sharp and clean, and it is indicated on the DVD case that digital transfer was culled from the 35mm negative preserved by The Library of Congress. There are a few, minor flaws, but they're barely noticeable. The Dolby Digital audio comes across very well, matching the quality of the picture. There are a couple of extras including an audio commentary track with author David Kalat and gallery containing images of promotional materials, deleted scenes, and some script excerpts.
Cookieman108
By the way, it seems there are a few, different DVD releases of this floating about, but I can only speak towards the quality of the one released by Kino Video, which seemed the priciest of the bunch. As far as the others, well, buyer beware...
Description of Scarlet Street (Remastered Edition)
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