Scarlet Street

Audience Reviews

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Feb 2, 2019 The best gangster movie ever made!

George W Aug 10, 2018 Eddie G., this time as a schmuck living a life of quiet desperation until he meets the girl of his dreams (Joan Bennett), only she isn't. She's in love with the man of her dreams (Dan Duryea), only he isn't. It's a movie, only it isn't, it's like real life ... or noir. Fritz Lang with a work that'll make you uncomfortably nervous as the only one who gets what they want onscreen is the least deserving. Yikes. See more

Kylo G Apr 26, 2018 Edward G. Robinson stars as the poor sap who is taken advantage of when he falls for a much younger femme fatale (Joan Bennett) after "rescuing" her from a bad man (Dan Duryea) who is beating her on the street in Greenwich Village. Despite being married (unhappily of course), Robinson's character, Chris Cross, falls for Bennett who thinks he is a famous artist rather than only a Sunday painter who has a day job as a cashier for a major company. She (and her boyfriend Duryea) play him for a sucker, asking for money to set her up in her own apartment, money which he ends up stealing from his employer and from his wife (who is hoarding an insurance settlement from the death of her first husband). So far, so noir - but it gets darker. Director Fritz Lang freely adapted Renoir's La Chienne (1931) to fit the New York setting and the conventions of noir. I'd seen both this film and the earlier one before, years ago, but had forgotten the twists and turns of the plot that see Cross's fortunes rise and fall through both serendipity and his own actions. Ultimately, the laws of the noir film (and the Hays Office) seem to follow the principle of karma, such that Robinson's moral failings have to result in his undoing, no matter how much we are on his side (even if we shouldn't really be). But truly this is a downbeat ending that grabs you and won't let go. One of the high water marks of the genre from a director who made guilt, jealousy, anger, revenge, and all of the negative emotions central to his work. See more

Albus S Aug 6, 2017 Lang is able to tell a story of a midlife/ identity crisis so aptly, it glides along and to see everything connect in the end is astonishing. Robinson is great, even if Duryea's acting needs a little help, becoming perhaps a miscast, but that in its own way only adds to his unlikable character. See more

Hagrid W May 1, 2017 A gripping noir that starts softly but builds terrific tension, the story of a cashier celebrating his 25th year with the company on the way comes across a young woman struggling from her violent boyfriend. He quickly falls in love & begins to paint (his hobby) but the girl assumes he is a rich painter & wants to exploit him. Once he finds out the film takes another direction entirely & keeps you guessing. A very stylish film from German Master Fritz Lang! See more

Theodore W Jan 26, 2014 A great romance/ film noir.

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Scarlet Street

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