Dans la souricière

The Trap grafts a dysfunctional-family drama onto a glorified road-chase movie; it also grafts the shoot-from-the-hip conventions and sun-parched look of the Western onto a late-fifties crime drama. These various components, all vying for our attention, give birth to a hybrid that lacks any individuality.

Prodigal son Richard Widmark turns up in his hometown of Tula, out in the California desert, after a decade's absence. The old homestead, seething with tensions, houses his father (Carl Benton Reid), the town sheriff; his drunken wastrel of a brother (Earl Holliman); and the brother's wife (Tina Louise), an old flame of Widmark's. It seems that Widmark works for the mob as a mouthpiece, come home to persuade his law-and-order dad to call off the police guarding an airfield where crime kingpin Lee J. Cobb will make a break for Mexico. In the ensuing chaos, after his dad gets killed, Widmark decides to bring Cobb to justice himself. Unfortunately, he needs the help of his resentful brother, who in turn needs the cash Cobb offers him....

The trek through the desert to the nearest big town proves a fiendish obstacle course: What with snipers and double-dealings and radiators gone dry, it's just one damn thing after another. The relentless heat and blazing sun suck out much of the movie's juices, too; watching it becomes an endurance contest like being stranded in the desert. Widmark and Cobb walk through their roles with expected professionalism, but do nothing unexpected, either. Holliman telegraphs his vacillating weakness loud and clear, while Tina Louise doesn't bring much to the party (but then again, director Norman Panama didn't ask her to bring much). Once it's over, The Trap just sort of dries up and blows away.

"The Trap" isn't the type of movie I usually review, but I started watching and couldn't stop! Many things about this film are incredibly great, notably the excellent cast, the original and suspenseful plot, the unpredictable action sequences, and - perhaps most of all - the setting & atmosphere which combine the best trademarks of both the western and the film-noir/gangster movie genres.

Intelligent lawyer Ralph Anderson found the perfect solution for his client, wanted mafia boss Victor Massonetti, to leave the country. In Anderson's hometown, the incredibly remoted village in the Californian desert named Tula, there's a small airstrip from where Massonetti can take a plane and escape to Mexico. But in Tula, there's also Ralph's stern father who's the Sheriff, his jealous and alcoholic brother who's the deputy, and the love of his life Linda who's now unhappily married to his brother. Needless to say, nothing will go as planned.

Top actors Richard Widmark and J. Lee Cobb both give stellar performances, and the script of "The Trap" has many surprise twists and strong thriller moments in store. It's very violent for a late 50s movie, and the many chases and shootouts on the remote and dusty desert roads are sublime. Admittedly, it's often too talkative and the melodrama occasionally takes the upper hand when it shouldn't, but this is nevertheless a very good film!

Prodigal son (Widmark) must get top gangster (Cobb) across desert to justice despite opposition from gang and family rivalries.

Pretty good suspenser if you can get past that over-long, over-done early scene where Widmark and Louise make moon-calf eyes at each other. After that the narrative settles into a decent contest of wits. One thing for sure—they didn't have to build many sets. There's a huge swath of desolate California desert the cars get to roll across, while I'm thirsty just watching this.

There're maybe more family convolutions than the story needs. I expect much of that is to build up Tina Louise's part. And what a dish she is, several years before Gilligan's Island. I will say they wisely de-glamorized her for the rustic part here. It's a good cast, though the 46-year old Widmark is a little long-in-the-tooth for his role; plus, the great Lee J. Cobb has less to do than I would expect.

Nonetheless, the premise plays out nicely in the abandoned diner and in that final twist that I didn't see coming. There's nothing special here, just an entertaining 90-minutes with a good cast and a big part of California that sure ain't Hollywood.

'The Trap (1959)' is a rather obscure crime thriller, but nevertheless has some star-power behind it. Richard Widmark is Ralph Anderson, a prodigal son returning to his hometown in the middle of the California desert. Lee J. Cobb is Victor Massonetti, a fugitive mob-boss intent on boarding a private plane to Mexico. When Ralph and his alcoholic brother Tippy (who is unhappily married to Ralph's ex-flame, Linda) capture Massonetti, the gangster's Mafia affiliates go into overdrive. With just a single dirt road leading out of town to civilisation, getting Massonetti into the hands of the authorities isn't going to be pleasant or easy. Just like John Sturges' wonderful 'Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)', this film has all the trademarks of a Western, but is set in modern times. As the escort winds its way across the lonely, parched landscape, you can cut the tension with a knife. Cobb is a formidable villain, his silent glowers and snide threats from the backseat proving both entertaining and unsettling. Tina Louise is certainly alluring as the love interest torn between two brothers, and Carl Benton Reid is impressive as Ralph and Tippy's overbearing sheriff father. And just to prove that Bruce Willis has nothing on his forebears, Widmark takes out a plane with a car!

A romance, a crime drama, and a family feud all rolled into one - and starring Richard Widmark. Yes, please! Dick has been estranged from his family for years, and his dad Carl Benton Reid is ashamed of his career: working as a lawyer who represents mob boss Lee J. Cobb. The unreliable brother, Earl Holliman, has taken his place in his dad's heart. Carl is the sheriff in town, and Earl is the deputy, despite his drunkenness and incompetence.

Earl has also taken his place in another way: he married Dick's old girlfriend Tina Louise. There's still a smoldering chemistry between them, though, so when he comes back to town the sparks really fly. Dick has a reason for coming back: to ask his dad to break the law and allow Lee to cross the border before his trial date. Do you think his favor will be granted?

The Trap is pretty entertaining, even though parts of it are predictable. I'll watch anything with cutie-pie Richard Widmark in it, and I always like seeing him as a romantic lead since he so often played villains. Lee. J. Cobb isn't given anything to do besides be a mafioso, so if you're looking for a range of acting in this movie, you probably won't find it. You will find a tense small town meets big mafia drama with the time ticking away at every moment.