An unhappy wife uses her powers of manipulation to draw an infatuated man into an ill-fated jewelry heist.An unhappy wife uses her powers of manipulation to draw an infatuated man into an ill-fated jewelry heist.An unhappy wife uses her powers of manipulation to draw an infatuated man into an ill-fated jewelry heist.
James Stone
- Dean Franklin
- (as James F. Stone)
Bill Anders
- Ambulance Attendant
- (uncredited)
Barry Atwater
- Crime Lab Technician
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the scene that takes place in the record store, the album "White Christmas" is prominently displayed. The director Michael Curtiz previously directed White Christmas (1954).
- Quotes
Ralph Nevins: Where have you been?
Pauline 'Paulie' Nevins: I went to a movie.
Ralph Nevins: Until two a.m.?
Pauline 'Paulie' Nevins: I liked it. I saw it again.
- ConnectionsReferenced in 12 Angry Men (1957)
- SoundtracksNever Let Me Go
by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Sung by Nat 'King' Cole
(a Capitol Recording Artist)
Arranged and Conducted by Nelson Riddle (uncredited)
Featured review
No empty horse - this is one of Director Curtiz's best!
Michael Curtiz had quite a few successes in his directorial career: Casablanca, Adventures of Robin Hood, Sea Wolf, Captain Blood, Mildred Pierce, Night and Day all are so well known that they obscure to some extent a true gem like THE SCARLET HOUR.
David Niven famously quoted Curtiz's order on the set as the title to his first autobiographical book: "Bring on the empty horses!" By which he meant the riderless horses. There is nothing empty about THE SCARLET HOUR. It opens with infidelity by a married woman, causing the couple to hear someone's plans to steal $350,000 from a house in Baja California, and it ends suitably openly.
I admire Curtiz's courage in going ahead with this project despite the unknown leads. In fact, the female lead, Carol Ohmart, debuts as Pauline in THE SCARLET HOUR. She is a dish, too (the camera lovingly films her curvaceous figure and long legs) and she certainly has no hangups about cheating on her rich hubby - accomplished performance from James Gregory - corrupting her standup lover, and seeking revenge on the secretary, Kathy, who catches lover Marsh's eye with her honesty and unambiguous love.
Marsh, played convincingly by Tom Tryon - also debuting, though that is not mentioned in the credits - is a well-meaning fellow who wants to do the right thing but is blinded by his love for the gorgeous Pauline. To complicate matters, Pauline decides that $350,000 is exactly what they need to elope and have a good life elsewhere on the planet. Unbeknown to the lovebirds, hubby Gregory suspects something and gets himself in the line of fire, whereupon police duo E. G. Marshall and Edward Binns arrives on the scene with a bang, almost stealing the show with their sharp inquisitiveness.
As Marsh puts it, Kathy is the sole clean character in this remarkably crisp and logical script, further buoyed by extremely competent cinematography from Lionel Lindon, and Curtiz's exacting and intelligent direction.
I recommend THE SCARLET HOUR to anyone interested in film noir.
David Niven famously quoted Curtiz's order on the set as the title to his first autobiographical book: "Bring on the empty horses!" By which he meant the riderless horses. There is nothing empty about THE SCARLET HOUR. It opens with infidelity by a married woman, causing the couple to hear someone's plans to steal $350,000 from a house in Baja California, and it ends suitably openly.
I admire Curtiz's courage in going ahead with this project despite the unknown leads. In fact, the female lead, Carol Ohmart, debuts as Pauline in THE SCARLET HOUR. She is a dish, too (the camera lovingly films her curvaceous figure and long legs) and she certainly has no hangups about cheating on her rich hubby - accomplished performance from James Gregory - corrupting her standup lover, and seeking revenge on the secretary, Kathy, who catches lover Marsh's eye with her honesty and unambiguous love.
Marsh, played convincingly by Tom Tryon - also debuting, though that is not mentioned in the credits - is a well-meaning fellow who wants to do the right thing but is blinded by his love for the gorgeous Pauline. To complicate matters, Pauline decides that $350,000 is exactly what they need to elope and have a good life elsewhere on the planet. Unbeknown to the lovebirds, hubby Gregory suspects something and gets himself in the line of fire, whereupon police duo E. G. Marshall and Edward Binns arrives on the scene with a bang, almost stealing the show with their sharp inquisitiveness.
As Marsh puts it, Kathy is the sole clean character in this remarkably crisp and logical script, further buoyed by extremely competent cinematography from Lionel Lindon, and Curtiz's exacting and intelligent direction.
I recommend THE SCARLET HOUR to anyone interested in film noir.
helpful•50
- adrianovasconcelos
- Apr 23, 2022
- How long is The Scarlet Hour?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Kiss-Off
- Filming locations
- Beverly Hills, California, USA(Beverly Hills Hotel's Crystal Room nightclub scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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