The Scarlet Hour

Revered director Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Wolf, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Casablanca) could tackle successfully just about any genre. In this late film of his (he also produced, the last of only five films where he got that credit), he brings home a typical noir plot (at least on the surface) of a love sick dupe of a man who gets dragged into a crime scheme by a manipulating femme fatale. But there is more going on than is immediately revealed. Pauline (Carol Ohmart) is unhappily married to real estate tycoon Ralph Nevins (James Gregory). She is carrying on a hot affair with her husband's top seller, "Marsh" Marshall (Tom Tryon). He is head-over-heels for her but Pauline wants a monetary cushion before leaving her husband. While necking in a car on a mountain road one night, the couple overhears some men plotting a jewel robbery at a nearby home of some rich people who are on vacation. Against Marsh's better judgment, he agrees to pull a hijack and rob the robbers. What could possibly go wrong? Well first, there is a jealous husband who is on their trail. And what about the secretary back at the office (Jody Lawrance) who seems to have a Thing for Marsh? What does she know? And who is the well-dressed gentleman who planned the robbery in the first place? Interesting script full of surprises from three credited writers including Frank Tashlin, better known as a director of comedy films. The only element I feel that could have been bettered are the lead players. This was the film debut of both Ohmart and Tyron. Ohmart attempts to put a little fire into her character even though she can't quite get there. Tryon, on the other hand, even though his career lasted into the 1970s based on his square-jawed classic leading man looks, was always a pretty dull actor. Supporting players Jody Lawrance, James Gregory, and Elaine Stritch show us how it should be done. Recommended late noir from the late output of an important classic film director.

E.V. "Marsh" Marshall (Tom Tryon) is an up-and-coming sales manager for the Ralph Nevin (James Gregory) real estate empire but little does Ralph know that his top employee is having an affair with his slinky wife "Paulie" (Carol Ohmart). Parked in a lover's lane one night, Marsh and Paulie overhear plans for a quarter million dollar jewel heist and high tail it out of there but it does plant a seed. Paulie's husband beats her and she wants out but she came from the tenements and doesn't want to go back so she begs Marsh to help her break free by ripping off the jewel robbers...

There's twists and turns galore in Michael Curtiz' suspense-filled '50s noir that for some reason remains unsung. This was no B-movie, either; it's a Paramount film in VistaVison produced and directed by an Academy Award winner with a sure hand for this sort of thing from a story by Frank Tashlin, of all people. The film "introduces" Tom Tryon, Carol Ohmart, and Jody Lawrance and although none of them went on to major stardom, Tom and Carol had respectable second tier careers. Ohmart was a very sexy lady with the kind of cruel beauty that lent itself well to femme fatale roles and handsome Tom conveys "conflicted" convincingly. Elaine Stritch (her feature film debut, as well) adds heart as Paulie's floozy friend from the old days before she married well and E.G. Marshall's on hand as the investigating police detective. Nat King Cole croons "Never Let Me Go" in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Recommended.

"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.

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.

Tom Tryon stars with Carol Ohmart, Elaine Stritch, James Gregory, Jody Lawrence, Edward Lewis, and E. G. Marshall in "The Scarlet Hour," a 1956 film directed by Michael Curtiz.

Tryon plays Marsh (E. V. Marshall even though E. G. Marshall is in the movie) a hunky employee of a real estate firm who is having an affair with the boss' wife Pauline (Ohmart). One night, while parking in a secluded spot, they overhear a man (Lewis) plotting the robbery of $320,000 worth of jewels from a nearby house.

Pauline sees this as a way to leave her husband Ralph Nevins (Gregory) - she wants Marsh to do the robbery and steal the jewels from the criminals. Then they can go away together.

Things don't go as planned. First, Marsh is totally against doing it. Then he decides he will. Meanwhile, Nevins is suspicious of both of them. Pauline has given herself an alibi as she is out with friends -- but Nevins, in a rented car, follows her from the club.

Marsh gets the jewels but the robbers shoot at him as he escapes. Pauline, meanwhile, has tangled with her husband, who winds up dead from a gunshot wound, supposedly from the robbers' crossfire. In the fight with Nevins, Pauline drops a bracelet her husband had designed for her.

It all becomes a tangled mess with suspicion for the murder falling on Marsh, Pauline, and even Nevins' secretary Kathy (Jody Lawrence). And Pauline, alone in her big house, becomes desperate.

Good movie with beautiful singing by Nat King Cole performing "Never Let Me Go," and Broadway star Elaine Stritch early in her career as a friend of Pauline's.

Three small points - Billy Gray is listed in the film, but I didn't see him; and I swear that the cops were talking about Pauline's bracelet at one point, although it was the crooks who picked it up - I could be wrong.

The third thing only a few will notice. When Marsh walks into the boss' office, Kathy is transcribing from a reel to reel tape to her typewriter. Gregory, on tape, was speaking at a normal speed. You cannot transcribe what a person says as they talk without a foot pedal to stop and catch up, the ability to slow down the tape, or if the person is speaking slower than normal. I can attest to that having spent 40 years transcribing and typing well over 100 words a minute. It's a pet peeve of mine, as is recording someone and putting the recorder on the other side of the room or in your purse.

Ohmart was "introduced" in this film. She was a sultry blonde with a beautiful figure and a sexy voice. She worked until she retired in the '70s.

The handsome Tryon had a decent career in films but wound up a highly successful author. Jody Lawrence had a spotty career. Of interest, her stepmother took in a foster child, Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe) and Lawrence and Monroe actually roomed together briefly.

Well worth seeing, not up there with the great Curtiz films but certainly very good.