Scarlet Street (1945), directed by Fritz Lang

Rather than a film from the mid '40s, the low quality transfer of Scarlet Street I saw on the Questar release, 5 Film Noir Killer Classics, made it feel more like a film from the '30s. Then again, maybe it wasn't the transfer. The film was directed by Fritz Lang, who make his mark with Metropolis in 1927 and again with M in 1931. The editing is smooth, and some of the dolly shots are great, but the film still feels a decade older than it really is.

Scarlet Street stars Edward G. Robinson, playing an innocent who cashiers during the week and who paints on Sundays. His character, Chris Cross, married his widowed landlady late in life out of mutual convenience and never felt truly loved. One night in Greenwich Village, he rescues a "working girl" (Kitty March, played by Joan Bennett) from a beating. Chris is led to believe that Kitty is an actress and she believes Chris to be a wealthy and famous artist. Kitty shows friendly affection, and Chris falls in love.
Unfortunately for Chris, his wife is a shrew, and he's fallen for a con woman. Kitty is really in love with a small time hood named Johnny Prince (Dan Duryea) who was dishing out the beating on the night Chris met Kitty. Johnny convinces Kitty to lead Chris on and soak him for cash.

One problem with the film is that the characters are simplistic, telegraphing their intent. Duryea plays the over-obvious con man, reminding me of Jon Lovitz's pathological liar character ("Yeah! That's the ticket!") Joan Bennett is shrill with Johnny and transparent with Chris. Rosalind Ivan's character Adelle Cross has not one admirable quality. Robinson's Chris is the one character with any depth. Fortunately, he plays it well and is able to earn the audience's sympathy.

The film's root problem is its premise: women ruin men's lives. In the first scene, a beautiful young woman waits in a limousine. There is a party celebrating Chris' 25th year with the bank. The boss pays the tab, but has to leave early - to join his mistress. In the final scene of the main cycle, Chris has been caught stealing from the bank. The boss doesn't press charges, asking, "was it a woman, Chris?"

In the end, we get a new premise: the guilty will be punished by their conscience. We then witness this in practice with an ending that just peters out.

The misogynist main premise and simplistic second premise do not provide any deep insights. The characters are too shallow and thick to give us a compelling plot, enough suspense or intrigue. In the end we are left with Robinson's acting, and Lang's direction, which are competent, but both past their prime.

Many reviewers rate Scarlet Street highly but I think they based their reviews more on Robinson's and Lang's reputations than the actual film. I give this film five out of ten stars. It's competent, but lacks the depth and/or plot needed to make a great film noir.