User Reviews

She's a tramp married to a violent older man, He's an employee of that very jealous husband who knows she's a tramp but can't prove it. They are desperate to escape her miserable existence, but she's reluctant to leave the financial support she gets behind. So while they are hiding out in lover's lane, they overhear the plot to rob a house while the owners are out of town. So she suggests that they rob the robbers and go on the run, and he becomes the total sap and agrees. But things don't always go as planned, and gunshots go off, turning their plot upside down and leaving somebody presumably dead.

Carol Ohmart is the seductive young wife with James Gregory ("The Manchurian Candidate") as her husband who is determined to help employee Tom Tryon move ahead in his real estate business, unaware that he's helped himself to Gregory's hearth and home already. The heat between the two lovers is undeniable, and Ohmart isn't without some heart. Of course, Tryon is totally suckered into her schemes, and witnessing the violence that Gregory inflicts on his wife, it's difficult not to blame Ohmart for plotting against him. Jody Lawrence displays vulnerability as Gregory's secretary, giving her all in a scene where Tryon walks into hear her taking dictation from a tape-recorder of the dead man. Later, Tryon finds out that his boss was onto him, and now he must really figure out how he's going to get out of this mess.

The wonderful Elaine Stritch is an instant scene-stealer as Ohmart's old burlesque girlfriend, singing a bit of "When I take my sugar to tea". Fresh from success on Broadway, this was Stritch's film debut, and even though her part has no bearing on the plot, she does get to provide not only an alibi to Ohmart but good insight into her fun-loving character as well. "General Hospital's" very first Edward Quartermain (David Lewis) is present as the mastermind behind the home break-in, while E.G. Marshall is the law enforcement officer put in charge of the investigation. "This is one for T.V.", Marshall comments, realizing that the case he's on (which appears to be suicide since Gregory was killed by his own gun) is more convoluted than anything on "Perry Mason" or "Dragnet".

A nice little sleeper of a film noir (late in the genre), this isn't anything we haven't seen before ("Double Indemnity", "Decoy", "Out of the Past" cover pretty much the same territory), but it is extremely well crafted. This shows how people who get involved in these types of situations crack under the pressure of not knowing what's going on in the minds of everybody else around them and how they pretty much do themselves in through just the emotion of guilt and paranoia. Director Michael Curtiz makes this speed along like a cross-country train where the only thing waiting at the end of the line is retribution and justice.

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.

THE SCARLET HOUR – 1956

It is late at night and a car is parked in a secluded hillside "lover's lane" area. A couple, Carol Ohmart and Tom Tryon are adjusting their clothing etc after an obvious bout of back seat mambo. The pair duck down when a car with a single occupant pulls up down the lane. Then a second car pulls up with two men inside arrives. A man, David Lewis, exits the first car and meets the two, Jacques Aubuchon and Scott Marlowe from the second auto.

Ohmart and Tryon are listening from behind the handy brush in front of their car. Lewis tells the pair that he has a job for them. He points up the hill to a large house. Lewis wants the men to break in and lift $350,000 in jewels from a safe. He gives the men the layout of the inside and where to find the safe. The owners will be on holiday when the job is to be pulled. They then all grab their own cars and drive off.

Tryon and Ohmart climb back into their own car. As they drive back into town, Ohmart says they could start a new life with that kind of cash. It seems that the two have been carrying on behind Ohmart's husband's back, James Gregory. A twist, here, is that Gregory is also Tryon's boss. Gregory is a big time housing contractor with several tracts of houses on the go. He is also tight with a buck, and Ohmart is sick of him. Not to mention that Gregory is a very jealous type who has threatened to kill her if she ever left him.

Ohmart suggests that they need money so they can "run away" from Gregory. "Why don't we rob the robbers?" $350 large would hit the spot cash wise. Tryon is a no go on this idea and thinks they should contact the police about the whole thing. "How do we explain what we were doing there?" ends that idea.

Over the course of the next few days, Ohmart needles Tryon about his lack of funds etc, till he finally agrees to her plan about the jewels. This of course pleases Ohmart no end. Now they just need to play it cool till the day the robbery is to happen. Unfortunately for them, husband Gregory sees the two together and quickly realizes he is being played. He comes up with a plan to kill Ohmart and Tryon the next time they have a rendezvous.

On the night of the robbery, Ohmart is going out for a few drinks with family friends, Elaine Stritch and Billy Gray. Gregory says he can't join them as he has a late meeting at the office. After a few drinks at the club, Ohmart asks pal, Stritch to cover for her. She needs to dash off for a visit with a friend. Stritch gives that knowing smile, Ohmart has a bit on the side, and agrees to cover if any questions are asked.

Ohmart grabs her car and roars over to pick up Tryon. They then speed to where the home robbery will be. They are there 30 minutes before the real robbers show. Tryon heads off to hide in some nearby bushes. Ohmart parks down the road and waits. What Ohmart and Tryon failed to notice, is that they were followed by Gregory. Gregory was not going to any business meeting. Gregory figured that the wife would duck out to visit Tryon, and he was right.

Gregory parks his car, then sneaks up on Ohmart, he pulls out a gun and jumps into Ohmarts's car. Needless to say this shocks the hell out of Ohmart. Gregory growls that he intends to kill both her and Tryon. Gregory of course has no idea about the robbery. The two struggle over the gun which discharges, killing Gregory. The frightened Ohmart then shoves Gregory out on the side of the road. She fails to notice that her very distinctive bracelet went out the door at the same time.

Back at the house, the two jewel thieves have pulled the robbery and exit the home. Tryon steps out of the dark and sticks a gun in their faces. He relieves the two, Jacques Aubuchon and Scott Marlowe of the swag, then hotfoots it down the road to Ohmart's car. The two thugs recover their senses and give chase, taking pot shots at Tryon. Tryon makes the car and leaps in, Ohmart jumps on the gas and they speed away. Aubuchon and Marlowe find Gregory's body and figure he must of caught a round that they fired at Tryon. The two give the body the once over and find the bracelet. This, they pocket before fading into the night.

Ohmart drops Tryon and the jewels off at his apartment and speeds back to the club. She has a need for a few drinks to steady her nerves. Afterwards the three, Ohmart, Stritch and Billy Gray come back to Ohmart's for a nightcap. Waiting there, are Police Detectives, E.G. Marshall and Edward Binns. Gregory's body has been found out on a hillside road. Of course Stritch and Gray give Ohmart an alibi. They all say that Gregory had gone to the office for a late meeting. The Police thank them and head off.

Tryon and Ohmart, new to this game, of course fumble the ball and things come unglued rather quickly. The bracelet is soon traced to Ohmart by the thugs. Without giving away the actual ending, suffice it to say that a few more bodies are soon joining Gregory in the morgue. There is a real unexpected twist involving the jewels.

Well worth a watch if you can find it.

The screenplay smartly blends two stories :the well -known love triangle with the husband (James Gregory ) getting in the way and a robbery in a desirable mansion( which is overheard by the lovers (Tom Tryon (debut) and Carol Ohmart ) ;nothing will work according to plan ,besides things are not what they seem to be and so are the characters ; a secondary character such as Kathy (J. Lawrence ) reveals herself pivotal in the final developments ; a suspenseful screenplay ,a good cast ,but it lacks a great director.

In The Scarlet Hour, an unhappy wife uses her powers of manipulation to draw an infatuated man into an ill-fated jewelry heist.

A rather generic film-noir story, with an unusual unfolding to it. As Marshall opts to turn himself in and give up his dubious lover. Though I mean, who could really resist the sweet secretary. Pauline's line " If I were dead, you couldn't take me to the morgue" is funny, but hardly realistic dialogue in the moment. The film's totally fine, though not the most believable and there's nothing notably impressive about it. The performances are also pretty forgettable I guess.