The Scarlet Hour (1956)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Apart from movies another passion of mine is Popular Song - the kind that peaked in the late thirties/early forties as opposed to the graffiti linked to a beat that came in in the mid fifties and refuses to go away. Often a song would originate in a non-musical film (Again - Roadhouse; Mam'zelle - The Razor's Edge) and The Scarlet Hour was a case in point, Paramount staffers Ray Evans and Jay Livingstom (To Each His Own, Mona Lisa) came up with a doozy, Never Let Me Go, and Paramount signed Nat Cole to perform it in a stand-alone sequence in a night club. That was my sole reason for purchasing this DVD but it's not too hard to take, an interesting cast, seasoned director, albeit the plot is turning a little yellow at the edges and Elaine Stritch makes off with everything worth stealing.

This is a masterpiece with a plot that keeps developing new twists throughout the entire film directed by one of the greats, Michael Curtiz. I was drawn to the film by Curtiz' being the director but the casting and the cast are marvelous. Carol Ohmhart is beautifully sinister and Tom Tryon gullibly smitten in what starts out as a love triangle but evolves into something far more devious and complex. The supporting cast shines with E.G. Marshall and Edward Binns as the law and James Gregory as Ohmart's wealthy husband especially notable. A rare performance in film by Nat King Cole is an added treat. This was quite a find and highly recommended.

Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon are having a little rendezvous on a deserted road, when they overhear three guys plotting to knock over a house and steal $350,000 worth of jewelry. Since Ohmart is trying to ditch her husband (James Gregory), she eventually concocts a plan to rob the burglars, and suckers Tryon into it. The plan almost comes off … except that Gregory suspects the two are getting it on, and follows them. Tryon holds up the burglars, but as he makes his escape, the two burglars fire at him. Meanwhile, as Ohmart waits for Tryon in the getaway car, Gregory confronts her. Ohmart shoots him, and lets Tryon think the burglars hit him by accident. Of course, things slowly unravel from there, and there is also a neat twist involving the owner of the jewels.There is some talent involved – Michael Curtiz directed, and keeps the pace moving fairly well. The supporting cast is good, and features Elaine Stritch as Ohmart's friend, and E. G. Marshall and Edward Binns as a couple of detectives. Richard Deacon has a bit as a jeweler. David Lewis (who played Edward Quartermaine for so many years on "General Hospital") makes his film debut. As a bonus, Nat King Cole appears and sings "Never Let Me Go." Tryon is acceptable in his role, but that's about it. Ohmart, who was wonderfully treacherous as Vincent Price's wife in House on Haunted Hill, looks great, but her voice is a little too monotone to suit me.One of the screenwriters is billed as Rip Van Ronkel. Apparently he didn't want to use his real name, Rupert Stiltskin.

"The Scarlet Hour" is an outstanding surprise for noir fans : directed by Michael Curtiz in 1956, it is so rarely seen. And it deserves to be rediscovered on DVD.Carol Ohmart uses Tom Tryon to get rid of her husband. And there are so many tricks and twists growing violently crescendo all through the movie, you get stuck on your seat. That crescendo is brilliantly enlightened by Lionel Lindon ("Quicksand"), each frame being in perfect adequacy with all the events and accidents.Frank Tashlin is another great talent of this forgotten jewel. He is a specialist of comedies, "The Girl Can't Help It" and Jerry Lewis movies. "The Scarlet Hour" is his only participation to film noir. The second screenwriter is John Meredith Lucas, the foster son of Michael Curtiz, who had written Dark City in 1950."The Scarlet Hour" must be one day available on DVD.