Pitfall (USA, 1948) 86 min B&W DIR: André de Toth. PROD: Samuel Bischoff. SCR: Karl Lamb, André de Toth, William Bowers, based on Jay Dratler’s novel The Pitfall. MUSIC: Louis Forbes. DOP: Harry J. Wild. CAST: Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, Jimmy Hunt, John Litel, Ann Doran. (United Artists)
Pitfall is perhaps overvalued, as its cast (Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott and Raymond Burr) and director have done better work in the genre. Dick Powell plays married insurance agent John Forbes who recalls some of the goods that jailed thug Mack MacDonald (Raymond Burr) bought his girlfriend Mona (Lizabeth Scott) with ill-gotten insurance money. In so doing, he becomes smitten by the woman and has an affair with her. Thus, when Mack gets out of jail, there is danger ahead for Forbes and his family. The ill-fated “love triangle” melodrama is routine, but the film is commendable for its cynical examination of postwar suburbia.
In the beginning, we see Forbes’ daily routine, where his carpooling and arrival home are down to the exact minute- there is simply no humanity left in his life, even though he is married to the wholesome Jane Wyatt and has a young son (Jimmy Hunt, the kid in Invaders From Mars!). So he naturally pursues the proposition for a fling with a dangerous woman, however stupidly and carelessly. Yet, once Forbes reveals to his wife that he has been having an affair, these characters suddenly appear as real people instead of contrived movie characters. Any hope of salvaging their marriage is offered in the ambiguous phrase: “We’ll try.” This frankly adult moment understandably caused trouble with the Hays Office, as an adulterer doesn’t really face retribution. However, director de Toth appealed to two Hays Office members whom he knew had mistresses, and the production continued without any further interference. That real life story would make an interesting film noir on its own!
Updated from a review originally published in Vol. #1, Issue #13 (“Noir”).
Greg Woods
Greg Woods has been a film enthusiast since his teens, and began his writing "career" at the same time- prolific in capsule reviews of everything he had watched, first on index cards, then those hardcover dollar store black journals, then an old Mac IIsi. He founded The Eclectic Screening Room in 2001, as a portal to share his film love with the world, and find some like-minded enthusiasts along the way. In addition to having worked in the film industry for over two decades, he has been a co-programmer of films at Trash Palace, and a programmer/co-founder of the Toronto Film Noir Syndicate. He has also written for Broken Pencil, CU-Confidential, Micro-Film, and is currently working on his first novel. His secret desire is for someone to interview him for a podcast or a DVD extra.