SCARLET STREET (1945) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Fritz Lang

 

Written by - Dudley Nichols (based on a novel by Georges de la Fouchardiére and André Mouézy-Éon)

 

Starring - Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett

 

 

 

"An older and quiet cashier, who is a dedicated Sunday painter, falls for a young woman whom he saves from a beating one night. Soon enough she, along with her crook boyfriend, starts exploiting the man’s emotions and paintings. A film about obsession and the illusion of love, as dark and painfully honest as they come. Lang once again examines the uncomfortable side of crime, a crime of passion that feels like a noir revenge flick too, and makes use of great atmospheric and psychological tension. It’s very interesting to notice the element of painting as the expression of hidden away inner feelings. The violent and dark ending is hard hitting, while Edward G. Robinson’s performance is masterful in its portrayal of piteous illusion."

 

 

Noir, USA