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Is Scarlet Street better than Women in the window?

posted 19 years ago by frank316
11 replies | jump to latest

I haven't seen WITW For years. Why is it not available on dvd like SS?
Looking back I think WITW might be slightly better than SS.
What do you think?

[–] hbrix 19 years ago

SS is better. Sleazier, more fatalistic and Germanic. The end of SS has to be one of the most satisfyingly downbeat endings in the history of American film.

[–] Rob_Dan 18 years ago

Scarlet Street is superior to The Woman in the Window because the ending of

The Woman In the Window, is a false one a dream to keep the censors happy.

Scarlet Street has a more of a believable ending and is more sleazy,too.

[–] alan-morton 18 years ago

Overall, the plot of SS is much more preposterous than that of WITW. I understand the point about the stronger ending of SS but I've had the chance of watching both films with first-time viewers: they've really felt the increasing tension in WITW and actually been glad when the nightmare is resolved with that silly twist and final jokes.

[–] rudyjansen 18 years ago

Just see how the leads act. Bennett is a 'femme fatale' but a purely pragmatical one; she is just bad bad bad. No tricks up here sleave, but just a nasty human being. There is no twist in her character as so often is the staple for the leading lady in the film noir-genre. She just NOT NICE. And then Robinson... Well, I never saw so such a sad person depicted in film noir. You almost cheer when he decides to kill the woman!

WITW is just film-noir by the book for me.

[–] Altho73 17 years ago

They are both excellent movies, but for me The Woman in the Window is by far the better film. It is far more exciting to watch, the suspense is terrific and the movie constantly moves at breakneck speed and the surprise ending is a gem, an even more thrilling ending to a story that has already been brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

In contrast Scarlett Street was more slow (I found myself looking at my watch a few times), less thrilling and was very dark and depressing, possibly the darkest movie I have ever seen. But the main reason is that it had no good characters (with the exception of the police inspector who only appeared for a few minutes) Chris, Kitty, Johnny, Mrs Cross, Mrs Cross's first husband, Cross's boss JG were all bad people, there was no one to sympathise with.

[–] CrowbarMark 17 years ago

I believe Woman in the Window is a lot better. At first, Scarlet Street seems like a screwball comedy, then turns dark. Woman in the Window is an entirely dark film noir. I enjoyed Woman in the Window a whole lot more, although both are great films.

[–] Phillip Marlowe 16 years ago

I liked both films very much. If you deleted the last five minutes of The Woman in the Window, I would likely prefer it. However, that ending is so horrifically bad that it completely undercuts the preceding film and left this viewer feeling cheated. Solely because of the nature of the ending, I could never imagine viewing the film a second time. Scarlet Street is a bit less dark and noirish (though I understand that is is much darker than the original French film upon which it is based, which was more a comedy/drama). Scarlet Street has a much more satisfying (and hauntingly noirish) ending than The Woman in the Window.

[–] wbs5 16 years ago

Scarlet Street had a much better ending, while WINTW had a much more interesting story.

Both are equally good.

[–] Akzidenz_Grotesk 16 years ago

SS is a better movie. Edward G. Robinson's character is more developed than it was in WITW.

My vote history: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=9422378

[–] russellclo 8 years ago

This is one of my favorite film noirs, and I didn't even care that much for "Woman in the Window."

[–] 8 years ago

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