Pitfall (1948 film)
| Pitfall | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Andre DeToth |
| Produced by | Samuel Bischoff |
| Screenplay by | Karl Kamb Andre DeToth (uncredited) William Bowers (uncredited) |
| Based on | The novel The Pitfall by Jay Dratler |
| Starring |
Dick Powell Lizabeth Scott Raymond Burr Jane Wyatt |
| Music by | Louis Forbes (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | Harry J. Wild |
| Edited by | Walter Thompson |
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Production
company |
Regal Films
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | nearly $1 million |
Pitfall is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Andre DeToth. The film is based on the novel The Pitfall by Jay Dratler and features Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, and Raymond Burr.
John "Johnny" Forbes (Powell) is a middle-class husband and father who is tired of his boring routine, working for the Olympic Mutual Insurance Company in downtown Los Angeles. Private investigator and former policeman J. B. "Mac" MacDonald (Burr) reports that Bill Smiley (Barr), an embezzler who had been bonded by Olympic Mutual, caught and sent to prison, had given several expensive presents - including a speedboat named "Tempest" - to Smiley's girlfriend, model Mona Stevens (Scott) in Santa Monica.
Mac wants to stay on the case, admitting he is attracted to Mona, but Forbes decides to try to retrieve the gifts himself. He ends up spending the day with the sultry blond on her speedboat, and a physical romance begins. His wife Sue (Wyatt) has no idea what is going on; Mac, however, does. The next night, he beats Johnny up and tells him to stay away from Mona. When Mona hears that Johnny has called in "sick", she goes to visit him at home and learns at the last moment that he is married with a young son. She calls off the affair, unwilling to break up Johnny's family.
Mac keeps stalking her, both at the May Company department store where she works and at her home in Santa Monica, so Mona finally tells him bluntly that she does not like him. He goes to see Smiley in prison and informs him what is going on. Mona finds out Smiley's release date the day before he is to be released. When Smiley gives her a hostile reception, she turns to Johnny. Johnny pays back Mac for the beating he received earlier with one of his own for Mac.
When Smiley is freed, Mona tracks him down and discovers that he has been drinking, and that Mac has given him a gun. When Smiley rejects her plea to move to another city and start a new life together, she phones Johnny to warn him. Smiley goes to Johnny's house that night. Johnny drives him away at gunpoint, but when Smiley returns and breaks in, Johnny shoots him dead, letting the police think Smiley was just a burglar.
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