Dans la souricière

A twisted family plot about one son who leaves his small California desert town and becomes a lawyer for the mob, and the other, who remains and follows in his father's footsteps to become a sheriff's deputy in the same town, and who meet again when brother number one returns with a fleeing mob boss and his bodyguards, who are attempting to help him escape into Mexico via a desert airstrip. Between them (the two brothers) aside from being on opposite sides of the law, is a woman who is now married to the deputy but who was with the other brother before he left town. And the father, the town sheriff, is a by-the-book character who resents the one son for leaving and the other for his personal weaknesses, especially his drinking. Along comes the mob boss and his boys into the desert town, and all hell breaks loose, leading to the film's finale, a scenic cat and mouse chase through the desert. Widmark's character turns out to be not bad at all, as he's shown to be really a good guy at heart, and contrasts with the corrupted mob figures whom he ultimately battles. Earl Holliman, as the other brother, plays the tragic part, a marriage (Tina Louise as his wife) that turns out to be a farce, and a job that's his only due to the influence of his father (sheriff Carl Benton Reid), a man who has zero respect for him.

"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!

Richard Widmark stars with Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, and Earl Holliman in 1959's "The Trap," produced by Widmark's company.

Widmark plays a mob attorney, Ralph Anderson who returns to his home town, despite being estranged from his sheriff father and deputy brother (Holliman). He needs his father to look the other way while a mobster, Vincent Massonetti (Cobb) takes a plane from there to Mexico. He explains that if his father doesn't do it, lots of blood will be shed.

Unfortunately, Massonetti is spotted and all hell breaks loose. Anderson decides to drive Massonetti to the authorities - and there's one road out of the desert town. Accompanying him are his brother and his brother's wife (Louise), a former girlfriend of Anderson. Lots of complications as they attempt to get past the people who want to free Massonetti.

Tense thriller with good performances all around. Louise was probably 20 at the time and very beautiful. I had the extreme displeasure of interviewing her some years ago, so I hesitated to watch this.

Small but effective film that has the feel of a western, though it isn't one.

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.

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.