Scarlet Street – Review

Late one night in New York, a man with an accordion has a monkey on a leash outside of a building. Inside? Rich men singing ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.’ Quite a good partayyyy. J.J. Hogarth (Hicks) breaks up the evening of these men’s lives to talk about his jeweled time piece which he gifts to Christopher Cross (Robinson), who just wants to jump… with joy.

Twenty-five years as a cashier and the table wants a speech. Cross hardly knows what to say, and certainly didn’t expect a watch like this! He sure is a jolly good fellow, no one can deny. Christopher shares a cigar with J.J. before the head man zips off for the night.

What’s next for Chris? Well, he and the boys spot a stellar looking dame waiting for J.J. Who was this fine blonde mystery woman? Oh well, time for a drunk walk home in the rain with coworker Charles Pringle (Hinds), just what the doctor ordered. Charles catches a bus and Cross looks for the subway and to get home to his crotchety asshole wife, Adele (Ivan).

Finally, our plot kicks in as a woman is in need of rescue from a brutish thug attacking her. Boom! Christopher attacks the man and lays him out. The girl is saved! Things start go get a bit weird right away, and this woman, Katherine ‘Kitty’ March (Bennett) leads him home, but only for a drink at the bar below her place where she lives with friend Millie Ray (Lindsay). As these women sink into Chris Cross’ life, will he stay in the light or get caught up in a dark game of deadly lies?

Edward G. Robinson is his usual leading man self in his role as Christopher Cross, boring banker good guy. There are a few strong female roles in Kitty and Millie, and Dan Duryea delivers an entertaining supporting role. With a quality and experienced director, this is a classic presentation of drama, as well as a touch of danger, deception and noir. The source material was a novel and subsequent play.

The dialogue is decent for the time and the story is interesting. It moves fast enough and flings in some light mystery elements right away. Who is really scheming what? How far are those who are unhappy willing to go for the attention of an attractive young woman?

While this is not a major murder or shoot ‘em up feature, the characters here are well realized and the core story presents some decent turns and situations where it evolves. Not everything goes as expected for most anyone, which helps it feel genuine. If you can handle classic feature pacing and dialogue, this is a fine choice.

“We’ll get you a decent apartment. Some place I’d like to come see you, not a dump like this."