SCARLET STREET (DVD/B&W/1945) DVD

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 oir, 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

Cast Edward G. Robinson as Christopher Cross Joan Bennett as Kitty March Dan Duryea as Johnny Prince Margaret Lindsay as Millie Ray Rosalind Ivan as Adele Cross Jess Barker as Janeway Samuel S. Hinds as Charles Pringle Arthur Loft as Dellarowe Vladimir Sokoloff as Pop LeJon Charles Kemper as Patcheye Russell Hicks as J.J. Hogarth Anita Bolster as Mrs. Michaels Fred Essler as Marchetti Edgar Dearing as Policeman Tom Dillon as Policeman Chuck Hamilton as Chauffeur Gus Glassmire as Employee Ralph Littlefield as Employee Sherry Hall as Employee Rodney Bell as Barney

Crew Alexander Golitzen - Art Director John B. Goodman - Art Director Travis Banton - Costume Designer Melville Shyer - First Assistant Director Fritz Lang - Director Arthur D. Hilton - Editor Hans Salter - Composer (Music Score) Jack Pierce - Makeup Milton Krasner - Cinematographer Walter Wanger - Producer Fritz Lang - Producer Russell A. Gausman - Set Designer Carl Lawrence - Set Designer John P. Fulton - Special Effects Bernard B. Brown - Sound/Sound Designer Glenn E. Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer Dudley Nichols - Screenwriter André Mouezy-Eon - Book Author Georges de la Fouchardiere - Play Author

Scarlet Street
German-American master Fritz Lang produced and directed this gritty film noir for Universal Pictures, notable as the first Hollywood feature in which the real criminal goes unpunished. When a mild-mannered cashier (Edward G. Robinson) becomes enamored with an amoral woman (Joan Bennett), she ensnares him in an embezzlement scheme which leads to a murder. Her lover is fingered and executed for the murder, while Robinson's character gets off free. Lang's daring, almost assaultive imagery divided critics and audiences who might have expected less Gothic melodrama. Robinson and Bennett are chilling villains in an era when it was rare not to tack on a happy, or at least moralistic, ending. The script was adapted by Dudley Nichols from a French play filmed by Jean Renoir as La Chienne. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: New high-defiition digital transfer from the 35mm negative preserved by the Library of Congress Audio commentary by David Kalat, author of The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse Photo gallery (including imagesof deleted scenes) MPAA Rating: DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 101 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- Scarlet Street 1. Opening Titles [:09] 2. Damsel in Distress [:09] 3. The Artiste at Home [8:11] 4. In Need of Cash [8:08] 5. The New Studio [10:30] 6. Art Critics [10:21] 7. Professional Opinions [10:14] 8. Discovered! [9:05] 9. The Other Man [10:32] 10. Truth Be Known [6:51] 11. The Scales of Justice [6:51] 12. Jeepers Creepers [6:21]