Scarlet Street (1945)
Reunited after the previous year’s fantastic thriller The Woman in the Window, Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea teamed up for another noir, Scarlet Street. I’m partial to their first pairing, but Scarlet Street is still very entertaining. Once again, Eddie G is blinded by Joan’s beauty and becomes obsessed with her. Who would have thought young Amy from Little Women would grow up to be a femme fatale? Or, who would have thought the old lady from Dark Shadows was once a femme fatale? Either way you look at it, Joan had an interesting journey during her career.
One cute aspect of the story ties in with Eddie G’s personal life. He was an avid art lover and collector, and in Scarlet Street he dabbles in painting – purely as a hobby. When Joan believes him to be a professional, he wants to impress her. He pretends to be a success, he pretends to be wealthy, and she pretends to love him. All the while, her ex-boyfriend (or is it current?) Dan plans to swindle Eddie G out of everything he has. Check out this thriller if you are tired of the regular Double Indemnity crowd and are in search of one of the forgotten (but just as good) noirs.
Incidentally, this movie predated the toenail-painting scene in Lolita by over fifteen years. In 1962, it was allowed without anyone blinking an eye; but in 1945, it was so scandalous that the Production Code had a fit. Several cities even banned the movie because of that scene! Who would have thought Little Caesar would participate in one of the nastiest moments in post-Code cinema?
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Joan Bennett movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!
One cute aspect of the story ties in with Eddie G’s personal life. He was an avid art lover and collector, and in Scarlet Street he dabbles in painting – purely as a hobby. When Joan believes him to be a professional, he wants to impress her. He pretends to be a success, he pretends to be wealthy, and she pretends to love him. All the while, her ex-boyfriend (or is it current?) Dan plans to swindle Eddie G out of everything he has. Check out this thriller if you are tired of the regular Double Indemnity crowd and are in search of one of the forgotten (but just as good) noirs.
Incidentally, this movie predated the toenail-painting scene in Lolita by over fifteen years. In 1962, it was allowed without anyone blinking an eye; but in 1945, it was so scandalous that the Production Code had a fit. Several cities even banned the movie because of that scene! Who would have thought Little Caesar would participate in one of the nastiest moments in post-Code cinema?
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Joan Bennett movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!