The scarlet seductress. The crimson temptress. The woman in red. We take a look at this visually arresting fixture of film culture since the dawn of cinema.

The scarlet seductress. The crimson temptress. The woman in red. We’re not talking about any random dame who happens to be wearing a red frock. We’re talking about a deliberately traffic-stopping distraction-technique in female form, who, despite the difficulties of displaying her signature colour in black-and-white, has been a fixture of film culture since the dawn of cinema.