For middle-aged cashier Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) being loved means "being looked at" in a certain way. When he rescues young and bewitching Kitty (Joan Bennett) from the assault of an alleged stranger (Dan Duryea), Chris believes he has found the look which will bring love into his desolate life. But this man of habit is a painter at heart, a visionary artist who experiences the world in a childlike manner, and does not see that Kitty's eyes cast the shadow of a trap. Desire, rediscovered through artistic creation, is surrendered to in a dilation of personal identity. When deceit suddenly becomes visible, obsession will prevail; a lonely wanderer in the crowded city streets, the last look Chris receives from the woman he painted is a look from the realm of the dead. Inspired by Renoir's La Chienne and featuring the extraordinary cast of The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street stands as one of Lang's most visually intense and enigmatic films.-Domietta Torlasco, Dept. of Rhetoric