These old movies. The Scarlet Hour is fun in a way modern flicks simply aren’t. Basically, a rich man thinks his young wife is two-timing him. She and her lover, seeking privacy one night, drive to a secluded lookout. Three men arrive and discuss plans to rob a nearby hilltop mansion. The take? $300,000 in insured jewels. The lovers, from their hiding place, hear the plot and decide that if they rob the robbers they can get enough money to run away together. Their consciences are clear about it, because the goods will have been stolen already. But the husband, now deciding to do something about his wife’s nocturnal forays, begins following her around. On robbery night that puts him in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s a twisty set-up, handled deftly thanks to Rip Van Ronkel’s, aka Alford Van Ronkel’s clever screenplay. The complications keep coming, which means The Scarlet Hour has surprises in store all the way to the end. And as a bonus it was directed by Michael Curtiz, the man behind Casablanca, and as sure-handed a director as ever worked in Tinseltown. It also has a nice nightclub number by crooner Nat King Cole. As far as we know, there are no good digital transfers of the film available, which means a rental or download may yield a less than pristine television rip (like the one we watched). Noir City will be showing an archival print, which would make this worth the extra effort to see even if the movie weren’t great, which it is. But even if you aren’t anywhere near San Fran tonight, this is one to keep in mind for future viewing.
