Scarlet Street

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Scarlet Street
In Scarlet Street, Fritz Lang collaborates again with Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett. Like The Woman in The Window, Lang continues to showcase a growing genre in the American film industry, film noir. However, Scarlet Street offers a better analysis of American film noir’s generic codes. Chris Cross is an older man who has worked a single job for many years and is now considering becoming a painter. When his employer leaves with a young blonde woman after thanking him for his many years as an employee, Chris wonders what it is like to date a young woman at his age. When he encounters Kitty Marsh, a young damsel in distress, he gets his chance.
The character of Kitty in Scarlet Street is undoubtedly that of a femme fatale. From the beginning of the film, one has an idea how bad it will all end up for Chris. Furthermore, the film is classic film noir, and in this genre, a beautiful woman such as Kitty entangled with a wishful character such as Chris could only lead to one end-with the man suffering for his fatal attraction. It is clear that Lang uses Chris's paintings as codes for what may happen in the future and stress the traits of the film's characters. As the femme fatale, Kitty is bound to remai...