MovieChat Forums > Scarlet Street (1945) Discussion > Prostitute and pimp?

Prostitute and pimp?

posted 19 years ago by trippycheez
33 replies | jump to latest

One of the reviews mentioned that Kitty was a prostitute and Johnny was her pimp. Although it's possible that Lang was hinting at that idea (but clouded ot so as not to upset the censors), I didn't get that vibe.

Sure, Kitty is portrayed as a demonic loose woman, and Johnny sarcastically remarks that she's been "kissed before," meaning she is less than pure. When Chris asks her what job could keep her out so late and she has him guess, probably every mind in the audience is thinking she's a streetwalker. And obviously Johnny exploits her for money, like a pimp would. But I think Lang is only COMPARING her to a prostitute and Johnny to a pimp.

Kitty keeps an apartment with Milly, who won't let her bring other men inside. If she were a prostitute, she'd probably have her own place. Plus Milly remarks that Kitty used to be a model, before she got too snippy and lazy and stopped paying the rent on time. So she had a regular job, which she has basically quit because she's waiting for Johnny to marry her and provide for her.

The prostitute/pimp issue is merely metaphorical. In this specific situation, the way Kitty reels Chris in is prostitute-like, and the way Johnny feeds on Kitty is pimp-like. However, they are not generally a prostitute and a pimp.

Thoughts?

[–] Bladerunner 14 years ago

Yes, Lang meant for her to be a prostitute, but wasn't allowed to say that in the film because of the Hays Code. In the Kino release (which is the first time it's been released in a decent form) the audio commentary by critic and author, David Kalat, who has written a book entitled "The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse: A Study of the 12 Films and 5 Novels" in part about Fritz Lang, Kalat tells us that

"Lang had to rely on little queues like this, because he was forbidden, by the production code to call Kitty a prostitute outright. He had to find subtle ways of singnaling that fact to the attentive viewer, without outraging the censors."

This film was a very faithful remake of the French film, La chienne, in which the Kitty character is named "Lulu" and Johnny's character is "Dede". In that film, Lulu is a streetwalker and Dede is her pimp. So, Lang most definitely meant for Kitty to be a prostitute, but was unable to say that directly in the film.

"...nothing is left of me, each time I see her..." - Catullus

[–] cdunbar-3 14 years ago

That was exactly my take on it, too.

[–] hermann-eric 11 years ago

If she's a prostitute, then why is she unwilling to sleep with Edward Robinson's character? She seems genuinely grossed out by the thought of being with him, and rejects him with a disgusted look on her face--not the behavior of someone who sleeps with men for money.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] daedalus1337 11 years ago

It might sound a bit alien to some, but I think for a lot of these women, they've perhaps become SO accustomed to being used by men solely for sexual pleasure that the idea of a man actually 'loving' them or being genuinely interested in them is so foreign as to be disgusting. Robinson is also no don juan, but you're right, prostitutes are seldom very picky.

[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 11 years ago

I'd say definitively pimp and prostitute. The film makes it as obvious as was possible for 1945.
Kitty may not have been a professional one, but I'd say she was certainly free-lance. Whenever she and Johnny needed money, she was up for it.

Her friend Milly not only talks about her modeling but calls her sardonically a "working girl". The terms model/actress were quite often used as synonyms for prostitute.

Johnny literally pushes her to go out with other men and milk them for all they're worth. He tells her not to be so fussy about it. He says "Come on, you've been kissed before" when she's hesitant.

I'd say the movie hits the audience over the head with the clues.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] Noir-It-All 10 years ago

Certainly the dynamic was there. Neither of these characters was very bright. Neither wanted to work. They lived from day to day. Johnny turns to Kitty to do these things and turn the money over to him when things didn't work out, which was often.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] shermandemetrius 10 years ago

In the original French film La Chienne (1931) translated The Bitch in English, in which Scarlet Street is an American remake of, Kitty is a prostitute and the guy her pimp.