Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Scarlet Hour Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 19, 2024

Michael Curtiz's "The Scarlet Hour" (1956) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include recent audio commentary recorded by film noir expert Alan K. Rode and vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is surprising that The Scarlet Hour isn’t considered one of Michael Curtiz’s best films. In an outstanding recent audio commentary, film noir expert Alan K. Rode highlights a few reasons The Scarlet Hour is difficult to describe as a masterpiece or even a very good film, but I find all of them extremely easy to dismiss. In fact, I think that what Curtiz was able to accomplish with the young leads is quite remarkable because he makes all of them look like established stars. For example, Carol Ohmart is so good as the conflicted mistress that it is impossible not to compare her performance to Barbara Stanwyck’s in Double Indemnity. If Ohmart’s performance is not as commanding in certain areas, it is not because she loses control of her character, it is because the screenplay demands that Jody Lawrence begins to alter the balance of power. In Double Indemnity, Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray remain equal partners before the camera, so she can maintain a different type of presence. It is difficult to find any flaws in Tom Tryon’s performance as well. His character undergoes a pretty dramatic transformation, and yet his entire range of emotions is terrific.

The Scarlet Hour has a flawless noirish appearance, too. Curtiz’s affection for shadow and light was notorious, and in The Scarlet Hour his management of both is rather astonishing. The opening sequence alone features numerous shots that instantly establish the stylistic identity of The Scarlet Hour and set the expectations for visual brilliance very high. VistaVision then ensures that even the most ambitious of these expectations are exceeded.

John Meredyth Lucas helped Frank Tashlin and Rip Van Ronkel convert an original story they had written into a screenplay. In his commentary, Rode seems to imply that the screenplay could have turned out quite a bit better, but except for the quick resolution, I think that it is great. At the center of it is a broken marriage that has sent the trophy wife (Ohmart) of a prominent businessman (James Gregory) into the hands of his best salesman (Tryon) who is no longer willing to share her. The lovers accidentally overhear a trio of criminals planning to rob a lavish home and decide to steal their loot so that they can afford to run away from the businessman, but a few errors lead to a murder, which forces them to doubt the sincerity of their feelings and begin improvising. The cheated criminals refuse to let them walk away with the loot as well.

While in a couple of key areas the progression of the drama is easy to predict, Curtiz remains in control of it and produces plenty of interesting surprises. However, what makes a big difference are the secondary characters, a few of which effectively reset the drama before the logical resolution without making it appear as if they were forced to embellish it for optimal results. In other words, the many loose ends of the story that is being told come together very well.

Curtiz relied on the expertise of Oscar-winning cinematographer Lionel Lindon whose understanding of mise-en-scène benefited The Scarlet Hour in numerous ways. For example, very particular framing choices single-handedly reveal more about the intentions of different characters than their lines. Also, Lindon effortlessly merges daylight and nighttime footage and gives the entire film a very sleek and chic appearance.

The great Nat “King” Cole can be seen and heard singing “Never Let Me Go” at the Crystal Room in Beverly Hills Hotel. It is a very short appearance, but according to Rode, he was paid as much as one of the important supporting actors. The original soundtrack was created by Oscar-nominated composed Leith Stevens, who scored the classic The War of the Worlds.

The Scarlet Hour Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Scarlet Hour arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

In 2022, we reviewed this Australian Blu-ray release of The Scarlet Hour from local label Imprint Films, which was one of my favorite 'imports' that year. I thought that the film was sensational and its technical presentation on Blu-ray outstanding. At the time, I speculated that the film had been fully remastered, but there was no confirmation that it was redone in 4K. Now, there is.

Earlier tonight, I revisited The Scarlet Hour and liked what I saw even more. Obviously, it does help that Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Lionel Lindon shot the film in VistaVision, but the party at Paramount that redid the film in 4K deserves a lot of credit because all visuals have a spectacular organic appearance. Delineation, clarity, depth, and fluidity are so good that often it feels like the current presentation is a native 4K presentation. (See the sequence where Carol Ohmart is joined by her friend and the two jump in the big pool). The grayscale is superb, too. While technically The Scarlet Hour could look even better -- because VistaVision films can be redone in 6K -- I honestly do not believe that a native presentation in a higher resolution will introduce a substantial upgrade in quality. The current presentation is that good. In a few spots, some tiny density fluctuations are visible, but they are irrelevant. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Scarlet Hour Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

On the Australian Blu-ray release of The Scarlet House, I noticed that in a couple of areas the audio becomes a bit thin and slightly compressed. It is not easy to tell if this is how the audio was recorded because the fluctuations are still small, or if someone attempted to remove background hiss and in the process toned down these areas. Earlier tonight, while revisiting The Scarlet Hour, I noticed them again. Clearly, they are on the current master. This isn't a serious issue for me because clarity is still very good, but I had to mention it again.

The Scarlet Hour Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this recent audio commentary was recorded by film noir expert and Film Noir Foundation board member Alan K. Rode. It is a predictably excellent commentary by one of the two true film noir experts that do this type of work. It provides plenty of great information about the production of The Scarlet Hour and its goals, Michael Curtiz's style and specifically his management of shadow and light, the tone of the film, etc. Also, Mr. Rode routinely identifies the exact locations where different parts of the film were shot, important peripheral faces, etc. This being said, I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Rode's evaluation of the film and his observations about its stars and the quality of their performances. For what it's worth, I think that the young leads are outstanding and Tom Tryon, in particular, is a perfect match for Carol Ohmart. The commentary first appeared on Australian label Imprint Films' Blu-ray release of The Scarlet Hour.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for The Scarlet Hour. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

The Scarlet Hour Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Two young lovers decide to start a new life after stealing from a couple of criminals and soon after their plan falls apart in The Scarlet Hour, a very stylish film noir directed by Michael Curtiz. It appears that The Scarlet Hour is not universally regarded as a great film noir, but I would not hesitate to place it close to Double Indemnity and compare Carol Ohmart's performance to Barbara Stanwyck's. I discovered The Scarlet Hour when Australian label Imprint Films introduced it on Blu-ray in 2002, and that year it was one of my favorite 'imports'. Now, Kino Lorber have produced a local release of it, which is included in Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema XXII, a three-disc box set. Do not miss this film, it is one of the best in the excellent noir series. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.