Pitfall (1948 film)
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| Pitfall | |
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| Directed by | André De Toth |
| Produced by | Samuel Bischoff |
| Written by | Jay Dratler (novel) Karl Kamb |
| Starring | Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | August 24, 1948 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 86 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Pitfall is a black-and-white 1948 film directed by André De Toth. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Jay Dratler.
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[edit] Plot
This film noir, set in Los Angeles, tells the story of a bored man working for an insurance company. The middle-class married man craves excitement in his day-to-day life. He gets his wish when he begins investigating an embezzlement case and meets model Mona Stevens (Scott). John Forbes is tasked with getting hold of some expensive gifts given to a girlfriend by an embezzler who's serving time in prison. Insurance agent Forbes ends up spending the day on a boat with the sultry blonde, appropriately named "Tempest", and a romance begins brewing. Forbes, attracted to the blonde, fudges the reports so he won't have to take the boat away from her. The couple finds themselves being stalked and threatened by a jealous, and suspicious, ex-cop (Burr). As the ex-policeman's sadistic obsession grows, and the day of the dangerous prisoners release from prison approaches, Mona fears for her safety and Johnny longs for the days before he got involved in all this trouble. Things finally go too far when he turns to murder.
[edit] Cast
- Dick Powell as John Forbes
- Lizabeth Scott as Mona Stevens
- Jane Wyatt as Sue Forbes
- Raymond Burr as MacDonald
- John Litel as District Attorney
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical reaction
Writer Eddie Muller calls the film "terrific" while Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward's book Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style writes the work "...is the key film noir detailing the fall of the errant husband from the grace of bourgeois respectability."
[edit] External links & references
- Film review
- Dark City:The Lost World of Film Noir by Eddie Muller
- Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward
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