Pitfall (1948 film)
Encyclopedia
Pitfall is a black-and-white
1948
film noir
drama directed by André De Toth
. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Jay Dratler
, and was titled Tragedia a Santa Monica for its Italian release. The drama features Dick Powell
, Lizabeth Scott
, Jane Wyatt
, and Raymond Burr
.
, tells the story of John Forbes (Powell), 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).
Forbes is tasked with getting hold of some expensive gifts given to Stevens, the girlfriend of an embezzler who's serving time in prison. Insurance agent Forbes ends up spending the day with the sultry blond on her speedboat, appropriately named "Tempest," and a romance begins brewing.
Forbes, attracted to the blond, fudges the reports so he won't have to take the boat away from her. But the couple find themselves being stalked and threatened by a jealous, and suspicious, ex-cop (Burr). As the ex-police officer's sadistic obsession grows, and the day of her jailbird boyfriend's release from prison approaches, Mona fears for her safety and John longs for the days before he got involved in all this trouble. Things finally go too far when he turns to murder.
Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote of the film, "Powell is the archetypal average American man living out the American Dream
in the suburbs, where his type is viewed as the backbone of the country. This film does a good job of poking holes at that dream, showing underneath the surface all is not well. The wayward husband has fallen from his perch of bourgeois respectability in the eyes of his wife, and the materialism needed to maintain such a middle-class lifestyle is shown to be just as superfluous in attaining love as the gifts Smiley tried to bribe his girlfriend with to get her to love him. There was also one scene where Tommy had a nightmare and Powell glibly explains this away because he read a comic book with an alien story before going to sleep. But the nightmare indicates more than that, as it indicates there is something troubling even the youngsters brought up in this so-called ideal materialistic environment."
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
1948
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
drama directed by André De Toth
André De Toth
André de Toth was a Hungarian-American filmmaker, born and raised in Makó, Csongrád, Kingdom of Hungary Austro-Hungarian Empire. He directed the 3-D film House of Wax, despite being unable to see in 3-D himself, having lost an eye at an early age. He is known for his gritty B movies in the western...
. The film was based on a novel of the same name by Jay Dratler
Jay Dratler
Jay Dratler was born in 1911 in New York City. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the late 1920s, he transferred to a college in France where he became fluent in French and German....
, and was titled Tragedia a Santa Monica for its Italian release. The drama features Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
, Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
, Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt
Jane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
, and Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
.
Plot
This noir, set in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, tells the story of John Forbes (Powell), 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
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
case and meets model Mona Stevens (Scott).
Forbes is tasked with getting hold of some expensive gifts given to Stevens, the girlfriend of an embezzler who's serving time in prison. Insurance agent Forbes ends up spending the day with the sultry blond on her speedboat, appropriately named "Tempest," and a romance begins brewing.
Forbes, attracted to the blond, fudges the reports so he won't have to take the boat away from her. But the couple find themselves being stalked and threatened by a jealous, and suspicious, ex-cop (Burr). As the ex-police officer's sadistic obsession grows, and the day of her jailbird boyfriend's release from prison approaches, Mona fears for her safety and John longs for the days before he got involved in all this trouble. Things finally go too far when he turns to murder.
Cast
- Dick PowellDick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
as John Forbes - Lizabeth ScottLizabeth ScottLizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
as Mona Stevens - Jane WyattJane WyattJane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
as Sue Forbes - Raymond BurrRaymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...
as MacDonald - John LitelJohn LitelJohn Litel was an American film actor. During World War I, Litel enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery....
as District Attorney - Byron BarrByron BarrByron Barr sometimes billed as Byron S. Barr, was an American actor born in Corning, Iowa.Barr was in 17 films in his career. He is perhaps best known for his role as Nino Zachetti in Double Indemnity, his first appearance...
as Bill Smiley - Jimmy HuntJimmy HuntJimmy Hunt is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as David in Invaders from Mars . In the 1986 remake of the same film he plays the police chief.-Filmography:*The Mating of Millie...
as Tommy Forbes - Ann DoranAnn DoranAnn Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
as Maggie - Selmer Jackson as Ed Brawley
- Margaret Wells as Terry
- Dick Wessel as Desk Sergeant
Critical reaction
Film critic Fernando F. Croce wrote about the screenplay and direction, "The title's abyss, pitilessly moral, sprawls horizontally rather than vertically, a lateral track following disheveled Dick Powell bottoming out, wandering the streets after confessing murder and adultery to wife Jane Wyatt. Fate may be at play, yet André de Toth's grip is less determinist than humanist, airtight but wounded, each pawn in the grid allowed trenchant space to deepen the fallout of their own actions."Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote of the film, "Powell is the archetypal average American man living out the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
in the suburbs, where his type is viewed as the backbone of the country. This film does a good job of poking holes at that dream, showing underneath the surface all is not well. The wayward husband has fallen from his perch of bourgeois respectability in the eyes of his wife, and the materialism needed to maintain such a middle-class lifestyle is shown to be just as superfluous in attaining love as the gifts Smiley tried to bribe his girlfriend with to get her to love him. There was also one scene where Tommy had a nightmare and Powell glibly explains this away because he read a comic book with an alien story before going to sleep. But the nightmare indicates more than that, as it indicates there is something troubling even the youngsters brought up in this so-called ideal materialistic environment."