{"id":5893,"date":"2009-06-25T14:17:13","date_gmt":"2009-06-25T21:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5893"},"modified":"2021-01-31T00:32:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T07:32:48","slug":"scarlet-street-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5893","title":{"rendered":"Scarlet Street (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;How can a man be so dumb?&#8221;<\/strong> <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster-200x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster-684x1024.png 684w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster-180x270.png 180w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Scarlet-Street-Poster.png 743w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA middle-aged accountant (Edward G. Robinson) henpecked by his wife (Rosalind Ivan) falls for a beautiful prostitute (Joan Bennett) whose pimp boyfriend (Dan Duryea) convinces her to con Robinson into renting her a studio apartment. Soon Bennett is pawning Robinson&#8217;s amateur paintings as her own, with unexpected consequences.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Artists<\/li>\n<li>Con-Artists<\/li>\n<li>Dan Duryea Films<\/li>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson Films<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Lang Films<\/li>\n<li>Henpecked Husbands<\/li>\n<li>Joan Bennett Films<\/li>\n<li>Midlife Crisis<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken Identities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nFritz Lang&#8217;s American <em>noir<\/em> version of Jean Renoir&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2250\"><em>La Chienne<\/em> (1931)<\/a> is a rare remake which succeeds entirely on its own merits; indeed, Peary nominates it as one of the Best Films of the Year in his <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\"><em>Alternate Oscars<\/em><\/a> book. As in Renoir&#8217;s film, the male protagonist &#8212; in this case, a perfectly cast Edward G. Robinson &#8212; is &#8220;the weakling husband of a domineering nag&#8221; who &#8220;forces him to paint, his dearest hobby, in the bathroom&#8221;, and whose life is changed irrevocably by his chance encounter with a duplicitous <em>femme fatale<\/em>. Peary notes that &#8220;Robinson is such a pathetic man that some viewers find no enjoyment from this film&#8221;, which &#8220;delves into [Lang&#8217;s] familiar serious themes &#8212; a man falls for a femme fatale and falls into fate&#8217;s trap, everyone becomes his enemy, an innocent man is convicted of a crime, and the startling ending is unbearably cruel&#8221; &#8212; but he argues that &#8220;scriptwriter Dudley Nichols regarded the piece as a comedy, with ironic twists, witty dialogue&#8230;, and a pathetic, wimpy character who somehow turns the tables on everyone&#8221;. Indeed, Robinson&#8217;s henpecked, boring life is so dismal <em>before<\/em> he meets Bennett that it&#8217;s difficult to feel too bad about the events that eventually transpire &#8212; especially given that he finally experiences romantic pleasure (however false) for the first time, and finds his artwork (his true passion) validated by critics. Plus, as Peary notes, Robinson&#8217;s effect on everyone he knows &#8212; including Bennett, Duryea, and Ivan &#8212; involves &#8220;either ruining their lives or ending them&#8221;, so <u>nobody<\/u> emerges unscathed in this world of masochists and manipulators. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson &#8212; nominated by Peary as Best Actor of the Year in his <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\"><em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book<\/a> &#8212; as Chris Cross (what a name!)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-robinson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-robinson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5894\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joan Bennett &#8212; who Peary awards an Alternate Oscar as Best Actress of the Year &#8212; as Kitty<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-bennett.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-bennett.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5895\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Dan Duryea as Johnny<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-duryea.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-duryea.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5896\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Milton Krasner&#8217;s noir-ish cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/scarlet-street-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5897\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Lang&#8217;s minor masterpieces.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038057\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1946\/02\/15\/archives\/the-screen-dan-duryea-edward-robinson-joan-bennett-at-criterion-in.html\">NY Times Original Review (major spoilers alert &#8212; warning) <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/scarletst.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1848scar.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/scarlet-street\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How can a man be so dumb?&#8221; Synopsis: A middle-aged accountant (Edward G. Robinson) henpecked by his wife (Rosalind Ivan) falls for a beautiful prostitute (Joan Bennett) whose pimp boyfriend (Dan Duryea) convinces her to con Robinson into renting her a studio apartment. Soon Bennett is pawning Robinson&#8217;s amateur paintings as her own, with unexpected consequences. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Artists Con-Artists Dan Duryea Films Edward G. Robinson Films Femmes Fatales Fritz Lang Films Henpecked Husbands Joan Bennett Films&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5893\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67318,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5893\/revisions\/67318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}