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If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is unusually funny for being a noir. The plot keeps developing in most surprising and sometimes hilarious new directions, as the complications pile upon each other in this (for the police) inextricable murder mystery, while not even the perpetrators themselves, not any one of them, really can understand what happened.The lead played by Carol Ohmart would have been perfect for Barbara Stanwyck, and at moments Carol actually looks like Barbara, and most strikingly so in the last scene. Tom Tryon is like a substitute for Montgomery Clift, the same kind of helpless gullible victim of a superior woman who knows her arts, and there are even some Hitchcock moments in this film, like in the bathing sequence, when you all the time are aware of a third man watching them, although he doesn't come forward until afterwards. The major comic ingredient is Elaine Stritch as the constantly slightly tipsy friend, one of several friends earnestly doing what they can to help the puppets of a grimly ironic destiny out. You expect more murders and gun shots in this drama of passion, but it's not necessary. The plot is quite enough entertaining in itself, no further exaggerations are needed, and even the end with its perfect cliffhanger question mark is satisfying as such. No further action is needed.

Emil Zola isn't a guy you normally associate with screenplays, but this 19th century writer penned a story that's often been reworked by other writers into best selling books and movies. James M. Cain's novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice" was essentially the Zola story reworked into a contemporary setting. And, "The Scarlet Hour" is essentially the same notion. All these stories are about an adulterous wife who is bored by her husband and ultimately ends up killing the husband. This is only half the story...the other half is how the killer falls apart psychologically and ultimately pays the price for their infamy.When the film begins, Pauline (Carol Ohmart) is having an affair with Marsh (Tom Tryon). Little does the husband (James Gregory) know that his most trusted employee is his wife's lover! Ultimately, the wicked wife convinces the lover to participate in a robbery in which they'll steal from the husband...and the husband is killed in the process. After, Marsh is pretty cool...but Pauline is a mess at times and definitely the weak link in the plan. This is interesting, because before SHE was the cool one...the femme fatale...yet now she's going to blow it unless she cools it and fast.So is this variation on the old story any good? Yes, though I think the story does suffer a bit in the way the wife acts throughout the film. I mentioned above how cold and dangerous she is. After all, the plan is hers. But then she gets a bad case of nerves...which, considering the first portion of the film really is not consistent nor does it make a lot of sense. This does not ruin the film...it's just a strike against it. As far as the rest of it goes, it's enough of a reworking that it still is interesting and worth your time. Well made...just not super-original.

Desperate housewife wants to run off with her lover, and to get the much-needed cash they rip off a couple of jewel thieves. The jealous husband gets wise to their scheme and tries to beat his wife into submission. In the scuffle his gun goes off, killing the wife-beater. Welcome to Noir Country. This movie starts off promisingly enough, but ultimately disappoints. The main problem are the two leads, who just aren't engaging enough to root for. Especially Tom Tryon as the hapless lover is just not up to it, being weak-willed and spineless from the get-go. Me, i would not organize a kids party with this drip, let alone a jewelry heist. Carol Ohmart is a shade better, but again fails to engage much sympathy. In fact the best performances are by Elaine Stritch and Scott Marlowe as the fun-loving friends of the estranged couple. David Lewis is also suitably menacing as the brains behind the robbery gone wrong. A lot of possible suspense is also prevented by the fact that, as in most 50's thrillers, the police is always just one step behind the culprits. So it's just a matter of time before everybody gets their rightful punishment. ( Phew, that's a relief!) If you're a noir addict like me you might give this one a once-over, but probably once will be more than enough.

"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.