The stars in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street are pivotal to the success of the film. Edward G. Robinson as mild-mannered cashier Christopher Cross, Joan Bennett as the beautiful Kitty March whom he falls in love with, and Dan Duryea as her scheming and abusive boyfriend Johnny Prince each bring their character across the silver screen vividly in a way that makes the story come to life. The contribution of each of these actors to the film is unique and irreplaceable.
Edward G. Robinson plays the timid henpecked husband who falls in love with the much younger Kitty in a performance that shows remarkable range. Robinson's age and lack of physical attractiveness are overcome to a certain extent by his appealing naivete and charm, and as Gelgud points out, "You almost forget that Robinson can't be sexy, and that's precisely the thing his character would like Kitty to do." Robinson's acting runs the gamut from the gentle, proper cashier to the resentful but obedient husband, to the thoroughly enamored suitor of Kitty, to her enraged murderer, and he makes all of these seemingly incompatible personas work perfectly in the film. At the end, when he is haunted by the voices of Kitty and Johnny, whom he killed directly and indirectly, respectively, he plays the pathetic hobo sleeping on a park bench. His performance in each nuance of the character is flawless.
Joan Bennett's portrayal of Kitty is characterized by her unsinkable love for the boozing, violent Johnny and her "playing" of the unsuspecting Chris at Johnny's insistence. Although initially, Bennett seems sympathetic to Chris and unwilling to use him, she quickly complies with Johnny's urging to take advantage of him and become a party to Johnny's schemes to ask Chris for money and then to sell his paintings without his knowledge. Since Chris seems to be rich, they have no idea that he is stealing in order to get Kitty the money she ask
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