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Le piège

Original title: Pitfall
  • 1948
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
5K
YOUR RATING
Raymond Burr, Dick Powell, and Lizabeth Scott in Le piège (1948)
Married insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.
Play trailer1:47
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38 Photos
Film NoirCrimeDramaThriller

Married insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.Married insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.Married insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.

  • Director
    • André De Toth
  • Writers
    • Jay Dratler
    • Karl Kamb
    • William Bowers
  • Stars
    • Dick Powell
    • Lizabeth Scott
    • Jane Wyatt
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • André De Toth
    • Writers
      • Jay Dratler
      • Karl Kamb
      • William Bowers
    • Stars
      • Dick Powell
      • Lizabeth Scott
      • Jane Wyatt
    • 86User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:47
    Trailer

    Photos38

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    Top cast20

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    Dick Powell
    Dick Powell
    • John Forbes
    Lizabeth Scott
    Lizabeth Scott
    • Mona Stevens
    Jane Wyatt
    Jane Wyatt
    • Sue Forbes
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • MacDonald
    John Litel
    John Litel
    • District Attorney
    Byron Barr
    Byron Barr
    • Bill Smiley
    Jimmy Hunt
    Jimmy Hunt
    • Tommy Forbes
    Ann Doran
    Ann Doran
    • Maggie
    Selmer Jackson
    Selmer Jackson
    • Ed Brawley
    Margaret Wells
    • Terry
    Dick Wessel
    Dick Wessel
    • Desk Sergeant
    • (as Dick Wassel)
    Eddie Borden
    Eddie Borden
    • Prison Visitor
    • (uncredited)
    Helen Dickson
    Helen Dickson
    • Fashion Show Attendee
    • (uncredited)
    Ben Erway
    Ben Erway
    • Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    Don Haggerty
    Don Haggerty
    • District Attorney's Man
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Harris
    Sam Harris
    • Man in Diner
    • (uncredited)
    Thomas Martin
    • Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    David McMahon
    David McMahon
    • Police Lieutenant
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • André De Toth
    • Writers
      • Jay Dratler
      • Karl Kamb
      • William Bowers
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews86

    7.14.9K
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    Featured reviews

    7ArtVandelayImporterExporter

    Lizabeth Scott steals the film

    Dick Powell is the insurance investigator. Raymond Burr is the private eye who does contract work for the insurance company. Lizabeth Scott is the girlfriend of the guy who stole a bunch of loot.

    Naturally, every guy falls in love with Scott. Director Andre De Toth draws out a believably warm, human quality in her performance. Powell's character is so bored stiff at home with super-sweet wife Jane Wyatt that he chases the first dame who bats an eyelash at him. His wry delivery of some very clever lines seems fresh to this day. Burr's character is a nasty creep who probably murders h00kers in his spare time so his stalking Scott is completely believable. Once they mix in the old boyfriend, who gets sprung from jail in time for the Third Act, things get murder-y.

    To be honest, I expected a different character to die. Or at least get arrested. In any event, the wrong character got the comeuppance. It may have had something to do with the Hayes Office. Would be fun to see a remake.
    7planktonrules

    The best thing about this film is Raymond Burr's creepy performance.

    a bit like cape fear problem with the film--the answer to the problem ISN'T that difficult

    Dick Powell plays an insurance investigator named John Forbes. His life is very routine and he makes a point (perhaps too much of a point) of beginning the film complaining about how routine his life is. Soon, he meets a woman on a case, Mona Stevens (Lizabeth Scott) and they begin seeing each other--which is a problem since Forbes is married. However, before it goes very far, she breaks it off with him when she learns he's married.

    This is not the end to it, though. An insane private investigator (Raymond Burr) is infatuated with Mona and MUST have her. And, when he follows her and sees her with Forbes, this maniac decides to threaten to expose Forbes unless she agrees to be his girl. When this doesn't work, he beats Forbes senseless. And, when that doesn't seem to work, he goes to Mona's old boyfriend and gets the man worked up--so worked up that the old boyfriend comes gunning for Forbes. What's next? See this dark little film to see.

    So is this film worth seeing? Yes, though it's far from perfect. As far as the good goes, Raymond Burr is wonderful and is really in his element playing this creepy and sociopathic jerk. He was great in this sort of role and played it in several other films, such as "The Blue Gardenia". Also, the basic story idea is good. However, the film is flawed--seriously flawed. This is because the entire film is based on characters who repeatedly make stupid choices. Any semi-sane man would have told their wife about what had happened or at least they would have gone to the police after they were assaulted and threatened. Many times he COULD have stopped the threats, attacks and eventual catastrophe that occurs at the end--a weakness in an otherwise enjoyable little noir movie. On balance, the good does outweigh the bad.
    9ccthemovieman-1

    Where Oh Where Is The DVD?

    It's sad it is now 60 years after this film was released and we still don't have this available on DVD. You even have to pay big bucks to find a used VHS copy. It's "sad" because it is a fine film noir and would make an excellent addition to anyone's noir collection. So many film noirs are now on disc, where is this one??!!

    I found you can't go wrong with Dick Powell in a film noir, and Lisabeth Scott certainly ranks among the all-time femme fatales in the genre's history. Add an unlikely pair of actors like Jane Wyatt and Raymond Burr, and Director Andre de Toth and you really have an interesting "old" crime story. "Crime Wave" and "Ramrod," two other fairly unknown-but-excellent hard-bitten noirs were also done by de Toth.

    I am always amazed how Powell made such a tremendous career switch from Busby Berkely crooner and romantic to the hard-boiled detective or whatever (a restless insurance agent in here, believe it or not) while Scott seems to have always owned those "loser dame" roles. Between those two and the menacing Burr, who always was that until his Perry Mason TV days, I really enjoying watching this trio.

    The film also featured Harry Wild's fine noir photography. Wild was the cinematographer on at least a half dozen film noirs, beginning with "Murder My Sweet" in the beginning of the period, so he knew what he was doing.
    7cherold

    Decent little noir about bad men and unfortunate women

    There are a number of ways you can look at this movie, but for me it's a film about a nice girl who can't catch a break with guys. The underrated Lizabeth Scott is effective as a nice girl who's too sexy for her own good; she made me think of the famous Jessica Rabbit line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."

    Unfortunately, the men in Lizabeth's life are a psycho stalker, beautifully played with understated menace by Raymond Burr, a cheater having a mid-life crisis, and a jailbird. And my impression is every one of them would blame Lizabeth for their own failings.

    Taken with the film's other major female character, who has man problems of her own, this movie thinks little of men (unless they are very young or very old), and pretty highly of women.

    For me the standout performances were Burr and Scott, but the funny thing about this movie is that, outside of Burr, no one here at IMDb seems to agree much about who's good and who isn't.

    While noir films are associated with the detective genre, what makes something noir is its exploration of the darkness within its characters souls and the awful things people are capable of, and this movie takes that on very effectively. It's not a great movie, but it keeps you interested.
    7mklmjdrake

    Enjoyable noir

    It's still funny to think that Powell was originally a song and dance man. He does the hard boiled noir character fairly well. Straight laced, stiff but a sucker for a femme fatale. Burr is sufficiently creepy - not perhaps to the extreme of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal but sufficient nonetheless. It's often interesting to see what kind of careers many actors played before they became famous or landed their most well known roles. This is one of those roles for him. I don't find Lizabeth Scott very believable as a model. She has a funny speech pattern and looks like a heavy smoker. Of course, smoking was considered glamorous in those days. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy her acting in the right roles. But a seductress she is not.

    The story works as a basic noir plot. When I read that Jay Dratler was the author I understood why I liked it. He is the author of the original story of Call Northside 777 and Laura which are both well written.

    It feels Jane Wyatt is still trying to play Margaret Anderson. Maybe that's what the director wanted but her acting seems out of place. She does well as the faithful, sweet wife. But it just doesn't fit.

    Unfortunately the film quality of the version I watched was not too good. It was either washed out or overexposed. That\s not the fault of the film makers but it did effect my further enjoyment of the film. It would be worth restoring.

    All film reviews are opinions and you know what they say about opinions...

    Overall I liked the film and I'm glad I discovered it. Thank you again TCM!

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was independently produced by Regal Films and released through United Artists. For decades, the film was rarely seen. It can be seen today through the preservation efforts of the UCLA Film and Television Archives.
    • Goofs
      The public elevator indicator in the Los Angeles Hall of Justice building shows floors 1 to 19. However, in reality, the building is only 14 stories tall.
    • Quotes

      Tommy Forbes: Dad was a boxer in college!

      Doctor: I think he was wise to go into insurance.

      Doctor: [handing a prescription to Sue Forbes] Take this up to the drug store.

      Sue Forbes: What is it?

      Doctor: A course in boxing.

    • Connections
      Featured in Noir Alley: Pitfall (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together
      (uncredited)

      Music by Henry Manners

      Lyrics by Robert Sour

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Pitfall?Powered by Alexa
    • What was the make and model of the lead actress's boat that she and the actor Dick Powell drove around before they went for drinks?

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 7, 1949 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Sanglante aventure
    • Filming locations
      • 5424 Bradna Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA(Forbes Family Home)
    • Production company
      • Regal Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    Raymond Burr, Dick Powell, and Lizabeth Scott in Le piège (1948)
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