History Film / ScarletStreet

Based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' ("The Bitch"), which had previously been adapted into a Creator/JeanRenoir film [[Film/LaChienne under that title]] in 1931, ''Scarlet Street'' reunited Lang, Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea, [[ProductionPosse who had all worked together a year before]] on ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow.'' It debuted to mixed reviews but is now recognized as a highlight of Lang's Hollywood career.

Robinson plays [[PunnyName Chris Cross]], a mild-mannered bank clerk who has just been honored for 25 years of service, but is unhappy with his dead-end job and his shrieking harpy of a wife. The only real pleasure he finds in his life is painting, which he does as a hobby. On the way home from his 25th anniversary dinner, Chris happens to witness Kitty March (Bennett) being slapped around by a man, who unbeknownst to him is actually her slimy boyfriend Johnny (Duryea). Chris chases Johnny off and begins to see Kitty socially.

Based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' ("The Bitch"), which had previously been adapted into a Creator/JeanRenoir film [[Film/LaChienne under that title]] in 1931, ''Scarlet Street'' reunited Lang, Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea, [[ProductionPosse who had all worked together a year before]] on ''Film/TheWomanInTheWindow.'' It debuted to mixed reviews, but is now recognized as a highlight of Lang's Hollywood career.

The film is now in the PublicDomain, and can be legally viewed for free on [=YouTube=] and most other streaming services.

* AssholeVictim: Kitty is an awful person who lied to and manipulated Chris. Johnny, her scumbag pimp and partner, who is executed for her murder despite being innocent, is just as bad as her.

* DirtyCop: Higgins, Adele's first husband, is remembered as a heroic policeman who died trying to save a drowning woman. In truth, he was already under investigation for taking bribes, and really just picked the woman's pocket after she died. He also abandoned Adele, indicating that he was no happier with her than Chris is.
* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the remainder of his life tormenting himself with guilt, shame, and the thought of Kitty and Johnny together in the afterlife.

* StealingTheCredit: Yet another way Kitty and Johnny take advantage of Chris (and a particularly cruel one, given that painting was one of the few joys in Chris' life): they pass his paintings off as Kitty's and make a fortune from them.
* {{Streetwalker}}: It is very strongly implied, though never definitely stated, that Kitty is a prostitute and Johnny is her pimp, and that the confrontation Chris witnessed in the opening scene was Johnny slapping her around for not having earned enough. When Chris takes Kitty to a bar for a drink, he asks her what she does that requires her to be out so late. She tells him to guess, and hopelessly naive Chris surmises that she's an actress. She rolls with it. (In the original ''La Chienne'' novel and the Renoir film, this subtext is ''text'', with the woman explicitly portrayed as a prostitute.)

* KarmaHoudini: A source of controversy for the film on its release, since UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode of the era didn't allow crime to go unpunished, and yet a major character not only gets away with murder, but deliberately sends another man to the chair, and sees no punishment besides his own conscience. The guilt drives him literally insane, which was enough to satisfy the Hays office, but not a number of [[MoralGuardians state and city censor boards]], which banned the film.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the rest of his life tormenting himself with guilt, shame, and the thought of Kitty and Johnny together in the afterlife.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the rest of his life tormenting himself with the thought of Kitty and Johnny together in the afterlife.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the rest of his life in anguish from guilt and shame.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Are the voices tormenting Chris toward the end merely products of his SanitySlippage and guilty conscience? Or are they the actual ghosts of Kitty and Johnny?

* KarmaHoudini: A source of controversy for the film, since the production code at the time didn't allow crime to go unpunished: a major character not only gets away with murder, but deliberately sends another man to the chair, and sees no punishment besides his own conscience. The guilt drives him literally insane, which was enough to satisfy the Hays office, but not a number of state and city censor boards, which banned the film.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the rest of his life driven mad by guilt and shame.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris winds up jobless and homeless, and is seemingly doomed to spend the rest of his life tormented by guilt and shame.

* DownerEnding: Kitty is murdered by Chris. Johnny is falsely convicted and executed for the crime. Chris is doomed to spend the rest of his life tormented by guilt and shame.

* StealingTheCredit: Yet another way Kitty and Johnny take advantage of Chris (and a particularly cruel one, given that painting was one of the few joys in Chris' life): they pass his paintings off as Kitty's and make a fortune.
* {{Streetwalker}}: It is very strongly implied, though never definitely stated, that Kitty is a prostitute and Johnny is her pimp, and that the confrontation Chris witnessed in the opening scene was Johnny slapping her around for not having earned enough. In ''La Chienne'', this subtext is "text". When Chris takes Kitty to a bar for a drink, he asks her what she does that requires her to be out so late. She tells him to guess, and hopelessly naive Chris surmises that she's an actress. She rolls with it. (In the novel and the Renoir film, the woman is explicitly portrayed as a prostitute.)