Scarlet Street (1945) Director: Fritz Lang Studio: Diana Productions / Universal Pictures (distributor) Starring: Edward G. Robinson (Christopher Cross), Joan Bennett (Katharine “Kitty” March), Dan Duryea (Johnny Prince), Margaret Lindsay, Rosalind Ivan Release Date: December 28, 1945 Runtime: 101 minutes Format: Black & White | Mono | Sound | Live Action Country: United States Language: English Genres: Film Noir | Crime | Drama | Psychological Thriller | Melodrama --- Summary: A master-class in fatal attraction and moral decay, Scarlet Street follows meek cashier and Sunday painter Christopher Cross, who rescues—and quickly falls for—streetwise femme fatale Kitty March. Manipulated by Kitty and her hustler boyfriend Johnny, Cross bankrolls their schemes with embezzled money, believing love is finally within reach. The web of deception tightens into blackmail, stolen art, and ultimately murder, exposing how lust and desperation can corrode even the gentlest soul. Fritz Lang’s claustrophobic direction, sharp dialogue, and shadow-drenched visuals make this a quintessential 1940s noir where no one escapes unscathed. --- Background: Lang adapted Scarlet Street from Georges de La Fouchardière’s novel La Chienne—the same source Renoir filmed in 1931. Working outside the studio system with producer Walter Wanger, Lang reunited stars Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea fresh off his hit The Woman in the Window (1944). The Production Code pushed the filmmakers to cloak adultery and murder in implication, yet the film was still banned in three U.S. cities and condemned by the National Legion of Decency for its bleak morality. Copyright paperwork was never renewed, placing Scarlet Street in the public domain and ensuring its ubiquitous presence in bargain-bin noir collections and online archives. Its frank examination of exploitation and guilt foreshadowed the psychological crime dramas of the 1950s. --- Trivia: Milton R. Krasner’s cinematography uses cramped interiors and wrought-iron street grids to symbolize Cross’s emotional imprisonment. Joan Bennett’s wardrobe subtly shifts from girlish frills to darker tones as Kitty’s schemes escalate. Edward G. Robinson, famed for gangster roles, considered mild-mannered Chris Cross one of his favorite characters. The “paintings by Christopher Cross” were actually created by artist John Decker in an intentionally naïve, Outsider-art style. Because it’s public domain, prints vary wildly in quality; restored editions reveal Lang’s meticulous lighting previously lost in dupey transfers. The final police-station set was reused from Universal’s Phantom Lady (1944), another Wanger-produced noir. --- Hashtags: #ScarletStreet #FilmNoir #FritzLang #EdwardGRobinson #JoanBennett #DanDuryea #ClassicCinema #1945Movies #PsychologicalThriller #CrimeDrama #PublicDomainFilm #DianaProductions #WalterWanger #MiltonKrasner #FemmeFatale #NoirMasterpiece #VintageHollywood #ShadowCinema #DarkRomance #GoldenAgeOfFilm