A review of Scarlet Street, a film that all sugar daddies need to watch!

A quick review of Scarlet Street: a film that all sugar daddies need to watch

Director Fritz Lang's 1945 film noir Scarlet Street is based on the French novel La Chienne or the B word in translation and once you see this film you’ll know who this term applies to. Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennet, and Dan Duryea round out the film’s cast.

The film's main plot follows a shy middle aged man named Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson)  who, late one night, rescues a beautiful woman named Kitty (Joan Bennet) from a male attacker (Dan Duryea) who we find out later in the film is actually her manipulative and abusive boyfriend. Being married to an unsupportive wife, Chris becomes Kitty's sugar-daddy and sets her up in a nice cozy apartment where he can paint his pictures and feel appreciated. But little does Chris realize “what” Kitty is when he is not around. 

This is one of Fritz Lang's best noir films with the other being his 1953 film The Big Heat starring Glenn Ford. In classic film noir tradition, Scarlet Street has a deceptive dame and a fool hence Edward G. Robinson’s appropriately named character, Chris Cross. The story itself shines a cynical light on human nature and love by suggesting that there are women in the world such as Kitty who prefer abusive men to nice guys.  Other themes in this film are that you can't buy love and the importance of knowing your own worth. The film also has a homoerotic element that’s indirectly expressed between Chris Cross and an art collector who falls in love with Kitty believing she's the artist responsible  for Chris’s paintings.

This is a terrific film but make sure you get the Kino version. I have the pre Kino disc and let me tell you the picture and sound are crummy but not crummy enough to keep the greatness of this film from shining through.