The always great Joseph Cotton plays a bank employee who steals a lot of cash but begins to have second thoughts. You find yourself rooting for Cotton's character hoping that he will not be caught. Theresa Wright, Jonathan Hale and Walter Sande round out a fine cast. I first saw this film in 1952, the year it was released and, even as a 12 year old boy, the movie has stuck in my mind all this years. How many Hollywood efforts can you say that about?
34 Reviews
It keeps you hooked to the end
AlsExGal3 June 2017
This is a medium budgeted, tight little drama starring Joseph Cotten in one of the favorite roles of film noir culture, that of a respectable member of society who is discontented and bored, which leads to trouble. It is also one of those rare films with featured elements which are implausible if not impossible yet still holds one's interest to the end without one saying, "Yeah, right." and changing the channel. In this case Cotton plays a long time employee of a bank who day dreams of how easy it would be to embezzle one million dollars from his bank over a weekend.
Cotten has a likable everyman quality about him, so as he decides one day to make his day dream become a reality it's easy for the audience to identify with him. Yes, he's breaking the law and by all the moral codes of society he is wrong to do so. Yet we can't help but root for him because of the intelligence and audacity that his character displays.
This film is quite suspenseful at times and tightly paced by director Andrew Stone. It's a short little 85 minute feature and doesn't waste any time in telling it's simple but involving tale, with all the unexpected complications that arise threatening to scuttle Cotten and his plans for a new life with all that loot.
Since The Steel Trap was made in the '50s when the Hollywood production code dictated that no film character can attempt such a plan without paying a price for it, I was pleasantly surprised at the film's resolution, which I found to be both unexpected and satisfying.
One more thing for film noir buffs. Visually The Steel Trap has none of the chiaroscuro lighting effects that we so love about '40s noirs. In fact, the visuals of this film are the least of its virtues. The emphasis is upon plot development and, increasingly as the film progresses, its pacing. The film also reunites Cotten with his Shadow of a Doubt co-star, Teresa Wright. Wright gives a lovely performance (the moral conscience of the film) as Cotten's wife who initially hasn't got a clue as to her husband's plans. Her character eventually turns out to play an important role in the flow of the narrative.
Joseph Cotten was a fine actor, capable of playing a smooth talking charming psychopath (Shadow of a Doubt) as well as personifying an everyman, as an earnest, slightly awkward leading man (The Third Man). He also gets my nomination as the actor who possibly appeared in more outstanding Hollywood productions during the 1940s than any other.
While The Steel Trap hardly rates among Cotten's best films, it does have something in common with the actor, that of being good, largely neglected and underrated.
Cotten has a likable everyman quality about him, so as he decides one day to make his day dream become a reality it's easy for the audience to identify with him. Yes, he's breaking the law and by all the moral codes of society he is wrong to do so. Yet we can't help but root for him because of the intelligence and audacity that his character displays.
This film is quite suspenseful at times and tightly paced by director Andrew Stone. It's a short little 85 minute feature and doesn't waste any time in telling it's simple but involving tale, with all the unexpected complications that arise threatening to scuttle Cotten and his plans for a new life with all that loot.
Since The Steel Trap was made in the '50s when the Hollywood production code dictated that no film character can attempt such a plan without paying a price for it, I was pleasantly surprised at the film's resolution, which I found to be both unexpected and satisfying.
One more thing for film noir buffs. Visually The Steel Trap has none of the chiaroscuro lighting effects that we so love about '40s noirs. In fact, the visuals of this film are the least of its virtues. The emphasis is upon plot development and, increasingly as the film progresses, its pacing. The film also reunites Cotten with his Shadow of a Doubt co-star, Teresa Wright. Wright gives a lovely performance (the moral conscience of the film) as Cotten's wife who initially hasn't got a clue as to her husband's plans. Her character eventually turns out to play an important role in the flow of the narrative.
Joseph Cotten was a fine actor, capable of playing a smooth talking charming psychopath (Shadow of a Doubt) as well as personifying an everyman, as an earnest, slightly awkward leading man (The Third Man). He also gets my nomination as the actor who possibly appeared in more outstanding Hollywood productions during the 1940s than any other.
While The Steel Trap hardly rates among Cotten's best films, it does have something in common with the actor, that of being good, largely neglected and underrated.
The Lost Weekend
sol12187 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS**Little known and even less seen gem of a crime caper involving an assistant bank manager who takes it upon himself to steal his banks weekly deposits and take off to Brazil to live, with his wife and six year old daughter, happily ever after.
This thought just came into assistant bank manager Jim Osborne's, Joseph Cotten, head and it just ate him up until he finally took the a first step to do it: rob his bank and take off for Brazil over the weekend. Knowing that there's no expedition treaty with Brazil Osborne planned to go there with the stolen money but what he didn't know was that his wife Laurie, Teresa Wright, was totally against his actions and Osborne was to find that out very late, when he finally told her, in the movie.
You can't really say that everything went perfect for Osborne since he was almost caught a half dozen times before he even made it out of L.A with the suitcase, weighing 115 pounds, full of stolen cash amounting to some one million dollars. Taking Laurie along with him Osborne tells her that his bank is opening up a branch in Rio de Janeiro with him as the banks new manager.
Osborne screws up at every turn but somehow seems to be immune from being apprehended by the police and airport security. There's one scene in the movie when his suitcase is opened by the airport police where it's discovered that he's got one million dollars in it and he's let go! Osborne explained to airport security, as well as the custom agents, that he's taking the cash to the bank in Brazil to deposit from his bank back in L.A! Even more surprising airport security and US customs believe him and let Osborne board his flight with the stolen cash! This without even properly checking on Osborne bank, the manager was out playing golf at the time,to see if he's telling the truth!
With all his foul ups the one thing that Osborne did that ended up saving his neck was his not closing shut the bank vault at his bank from where he stole the million. It was that action that in the end****SPOILERS****made it possible for him to put the money back so it wouldn't be found missing when the bank opened that next Monday morning with him being the prime suspect in stealing it.
Osborne just about pulled off the perfect crime and was on the road to freedom, and safe from the police and FBI, as he waited for his flight in New Orleans to take him out of the country when he told Laurie what his real plans were. Laurie shocked that her husband was not only a crook but a not all there in the head walked out on him leaving Osborne to live and spend the million all by himself. Thinking it over while he went sightseeing in old New Orleans Osborne realized that what he did was truly an act of insanity and there and then decided to return the stolen money to it's proper owner; the bank that he ripped it off from.
Nail biting, if a bit far fetched, ending with Osborne racing back to the bank with the money that he took before it was discovered missing and stuffing it back into the vault before the bank manager and tellers found out that it was gone. With his conscience now cleared Osborne goes back home, he was given the day off by his boss, to get back to his wife Laurie and daughter Susan, Stephan King, and a life that he almost threw away.
This thought just came into assistant bank manager Jim Osborne's, Joseph Cotten, head and it just ate him up until he finally took the a first step to do it: rob his bank and take off for Brazil over the weekend. Knowing that there's no expedition treaty with Brazil Osborne planned to go there with the stolen money but what he didn't know was that his wife Laurie, Teresa Wright, was totally against his actions and Osborne was to find that out very late, when he finally told her, in the movie.
You can't really say that everything went perfect for Osborne since he was almost caught a half dozen times before he even made it out of L.A with the suitcase, weighing 115 pounds, full of stolen cash amounting to some one million dollars. Taking Laurie along with him Osborne tells her that his bank is opening up a branch in Rio de Janeiro with him as the banks new manager.
Osborne screws up at every turn but somehow seems to be immune from being apprehended by the police and airport security. There's one scene in the movie when his suitcase is opened by the airport police where it's discovered that he's got one million dollars in it and he's let go! Osborne explained to airport security, as well as the custom agents, that he's taking the cash to the bank in Brazil to deposit from his bank back in L.A! Even more surprising airport security and US customs believe him and let Osborne board his flight with the stolen cash! This without even properly checking on Osborne bank, the manager was out playing golf at the time,to see if he's telling the truth!
With all his foul ups the one thing that Osborne did that ended up saving his neck was his not closing shut the bank vault at his bank from where he stole the million. It was that action that in the end****SPOILERS****made it possible for him to put the money back so it wouldn't be found missing when the bank opened that next Monday morning with him being the prime suspect in stealing it.
Osborne just about pulled off the perfect crime and was on the road to freedom, and safe from the police and FBI, as he waited for his flight in New Orleans to take him out of the country when he told Laurie what his real plans were. Laurie shocked that her husband was not only a crook but a not all there in the head walked out on him leaving Osborne to live and spend the million all by himself. Thinking it over while he went sightseeing in old New Orleans Osborne realized that what he did was truly an act of insanity and there and then decided to return the stolen money to it's proper owner; the bank that he ripped it off from.
Nail biting, if a bit far fetched, ending with Osborne racing back to the bank with the money that he took before it was discovered missing and stuffing it back into the vault before the bank manager and tellers found out that it was gone. With his conscience now cleared Osborne goes back home, he was given the day off by his boss, to get back to his wife Laurie and daughter Susan, Stephan King, and a life that he almost threw away.
Low budget but top quality
johngammon564 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very good film noir - low budget but after a few minutes scene setting relentlessly tense until the end. It deserves to be better known, as it's superior to several highly rated inexpensive noirs such as D.O.A. The plot is a simple one: a worn down bank clerk dreams of escaping the monotony of his life. An idle daydream to rob his bank becomes an obsession, but as he puts his plan into practice - in true film noir fashion - obstacle after obstacle appear in his way. This is without doubt one of Joseph Cotten's best movies. He was an actor who perhaps didn't have the ambition of some of the people he worked with over the years, and some of the films he was in, such as Citizen Kane, somewhat overshadowed him, being notable for other reasons. But he was a reliable actor and comfortable in various genres including noir - in Niagara or Shadow of a Doubt for instance.
As it seems to have passed into the public domain, The Steel Trap can be viewed for free on Veoh, where I watched it this week.
As it seems to have passed into the public domain, The Steel Trap can be viewed for free on Veoh, where I watched it this week.
Robberies best left to the professionals
bkoganbing3 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
If life and caper movies have taught us anything it is that even the most meticulously planned robberies can have a thousand chance things go wrong and usually do. That is most gloriously shown in a much lighter film than The Steel Trap, The Lavender Hill Mob.
Joseph Cotten who toils for wages at a bank dreams of taking a ton of money and going to a place with no extradition. A little research shows him that Brazil is such a place so he plans a robbery made somewhat easier in that he's a Vice President of the branch. He surprises wife Teresa Wright by saying they're going on a surprise trip to Rio DeJaneiro where Cotten is allegedly going on bank business. Well that's not quite a lie.
Alec Guinness's Henry Holland could have sympathized with Cotten as everything goes wrong for him. And the more they go wrong the more attention this guy brings to himself. The idea is to do the crime on Friday and be safe out of the country in Brazil by the time the bank opens on Monday. Couldn't Cotten have at least waited for a three day weekend, four day in some places with Thanksgiving.
Cotten and Wright do fine in the roles and Wright is particularly good after she figures just what is up and why her husband is going through such changes.
What is the outcome of it all? Well the only lesson you can draw from The Steel Trap is that capers are left best to professionals.
Joseph Cotten who toils for wages at a bank dreams of taking a ton of money and going to a place with no extradition. A little research shows him that Brazil is such a place so he plans a robbery made somewhat easier in that he's a Vice President of the branch. He surprises wife Teresa Wright by saying they're going on a surprise trip to Rio DeJaneiro where Cotten is allegedly going on bank business. Well that's not quite a lie.
Alec Guinness's Henry Holland could have sympathized with Cotten as everything goes wrong for him. And the more they go wrong the more attention this guy brings to himself. The idea is to do the crime on Friday and be safe out of the country in Brazil by the time the bank opens on Monday. Couldn't Cotten have at least waited for a three day weekend, four day in some places with Thanksgiving.
Cotten and Wright do fine in the roles and Wright is particularly good after she figures just what is up and why her husband is going through such changes.
What is the outcome of it all? Well the only lesson you can draw from The Steel Trap is that capers are left best to professionals.
Joseph Cotten is up to no good once again!
moonspinner5512 October 2014
The assistant manager at a Los Angeles bank steals nearly $1M from the vault and tries to get himself and his wife out of the country before the missing money is discovered. Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone, a compact filmmaker who parlayed suspense on the cheap, does his usual quick, efficient work, and Joseph Cotten is perfectly cast as the 'everyman' plotting nefarious business. With his anxious, pinched face, darting eyes and steely, monotone voice, Cotten nearly rivals his work in 1942's "Shadow of a Doubt", in which he co-starred with Teresa Wright (who plays his unsuspecting wife here). Cotten's grave voice-over isn't really effective (it's a filmmaker's short-cut, and a clichéd one), but there's plenty of tension to be had in the scenario. **1/2 from ****
Suspenseful film has you rooting for a felon!
vincentlynch-moonoi15 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Often I go through the TCM listings and hit DVR record for films which might interest me later. This was one of those films, although I didn't expect much, and sort of assumed it might be one of those films that I'd delete after the first few minutes. It just didn't sound like my kind of film.
But, to my surprise, this is a good and very suspenseful film! Joseph Cotten plays a bank officer who suddenly gets the idea to rob his own bank and flee to Brazil because he learns there is no extradition treaty. He decides to take his wife (Teresa Wright). Can he get out of the bank with the boxes of cash? Can he get the passports in time? Can he make the air connections? When will his wife catch on that this is not a business trip? And then...well, I don't want to spoil the ending, so I'll stop there.
I noticed another of our reviewers claim that Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright were merely character actors. That's not correct. No, they weren't Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, but for a time, they were extremely popular and appeared in a number of impressive movies. And, I wouldn't say this was a B picture. Much of it was filmed on location, including New Orleans. Interestingly, Cotten and Write had appeared together 9 years earlier as uncle and niece in Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow Of A Doubt". Here, they are instead husband and wife.
My guess is that you'll like this film. It's different and it's suspenseful. Recommended.
But, to my surprise, this is a good and very suspenseful film! Joseph Cotten plays a bank officer who suddenly gets the idea to rob his own bank and flee to Brazil because he learns there is no extradition treaty. He decides to take his wife (Teresa Wright). Can he get out of the bank with the boxes of cash? Can he get the passports in time? Can he make the air connections? When will his wife catch on that this is not a business trip? And then...well, I don't want to spoil the ending, so I'll stop there.
I noticed another of our reviewers claim that Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright were merely character actors. That's not correct. No, they weren't Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, but for a time, they were extremely popular and appeared in a number of impressive movies. And, I wouldn't say this was a B picture. Much of it was filmed on location, including New Orleans. Interestingly, Cotten and Write had appeared together 9 years earlier as uncle and niece in Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow Of A Doubt". Here, they are instead husband and wife.
My guess is that you'll like this film. It's different and it's suspenseful. Recommended.
Want to see it again!
mrgeorgegaines5 January 2007
Like the previous commentator, it has been many years since viewing this film. In fact, I first saw this film while visiting Denver, Colorado in November of 1971--wow!--that's 35 years ago! I had just arrived in a downtown Denver hotel and was getting ready to take an afternoon nap after the long flight from New Orleans. I decided to turn on the TV and "The Steel Trap" was playing. After watching the action for only a few minutes, I found myself totally engrossed in the plot.
The film made a lasting impression on me, especially the New Orleans setting, as I was living there at the time. The scenes were all familiar places and very nostalgic, bringing to mind the New Orleans I remembered from my childhood of the early 1950's. All of the New Orleans characters and extras spoke in an authentic New Orleanean manner and had the "look" and style of locals.
The dramatic tension in the film was almost unbearable, with Joseph Cotton performing a masterful ex post facto narration. This added to the suspense of the film. It certainly prevented me from taking my planned nap. After the film ended, there was no chance of going to sleep--I was totally awake and mentally back in "the big easy."
I've never been able to locate the film for viewing again, but hope that Netflix or Blockbuster will one day have it available. Apparently, TCM doesn't have it in their portfolio. If you ever get a chance to watch this film, don't miss it--a real noir thriller!
The film made a lasting impression on me, especially the New Orleans setting, as I was living there at the time. The scenes were all familiar places and very nostalgic, bringing to mind the New Orleans I remembered from my childhood of the early 1950's. All of the New Orleans characters and extras spoke in an authentic New Orleanean manner and had the "look" and style of locals.
The dramatic tension in the film was almost unbearable, with Joseph Cotton performing a masterful ex post facto narration. This added to the suspense of the film. It certainly prevented me from taking my planned nap. After the film ended, there was no chance of going to sleep--I was totally awake and mentally back in "the big easy."
I've never been able to locate the film for viewing again, but hope that Netflix or Blockbuster will one day have it available. Apparently, TCM doesn't have it in their portfolio. If you ever get a chance to watch this film, don't miss it--a real noir thriller!
Tight and Tense
LeonLouisRicci16 May 2013
In the Film-Noir Canon this is there because of the Everyman abandoning the safe confines of Conservative Capitalism, that for the little guy is an oh so slow Corporate climb, and the unrelenting tension it embodies, more than the style or unfolding of implicit irony.
It has a rather pale look with mostly unremarkable Camera set-ups, although there are a couple that are noteworthy, and it all takes place in bright lights illuminating the plight of the Anti-Hero's inability to hide from the deed done and the escape route he has set in motion.
It is extremely suspenseful and the screws are forever tightening as one scene to the next lays out never ending barricades and pitfalls. The Movie can be at times quite breathtaking and never fails to pull the Viewer along with unsuspecting twist and turns.
The ending is up for debate, for it can be quite surprising and at the same time some might say a cop out. It does manage to separate this one from quintessential Noir and land it somewhere in the Film-Noir netherworld, just not at the forefront.
It has a rather pale look with mostly unremarkable Camera set-ups, although there are a couple that are noteworthy, and it all takes place in bright lights illuminating the plight of the Anti-Hero's inability to hide from the deed done and the escape route he has set in motion.
It is extremely suspenseful and the screws are forever tightening as one scene to the next lays out never ending barricades and pitfalls. The Movie can be at times quite breathtaking and never fails to pull the Viewer along with unsuspecting twist and turns.
The ending is up for debate, for it can be quite surprising and at the same time some might say a cop out. It does manage to separate this one from quintessential Noir and land it somewhere in the Film-Noir netherworld, just not at the forefront.
The best laid plans are never good enough
kburditt3 November 2010
The Steel Trap is a tense nail biter of a movie. A simple story and a great cast make you hope the good man gone wrong gets away with his crime. But this is film noir and nothing goes the way it should. Just saw this gem at the AFI/Silver during the DC Noir festival. The Film Noir Foundation showed the only known copy of this lost film - a homemade DVD. This film deserves finding and/or restoring. The locations are great, a large old bank, various airports, a constellation aircraft, and vintage New Orleans. The cast, Joseph Cotten and Theresa Wright bring to life what could have been dull takes. The home scenes drop down a bit but some of the best shots are in the bank vault. Like most crimes - what seems like a sure thing is anything but. Taking the cash is the easy part. What you do next is the hard part. By the end of this film you will be clenching your hands and trying to remember to breathe. A simple story, a great cast, and a film noir lost gem. I hope the Film Noir Foundation can find a print or gets enough donations to restore the homemade DVD. This is worth the effort.
Joseph Cotten: Bad Boy.
rmax3048232 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Cotten is a happily married assistant bank manager in Los Angeles. Every day he follows the same unexciting routine. And one day he decides to vary that routine by filling a suitcase with a million bucks stolen from his bank and absconding with his unwitting wife, Teresa Wright, to Rio de Jeneiro. He swipes it on a Friday afternoon, figuring that he'll be able to reach Brazil before Monday, when the bank will discover the loss.
He must catch a flight to Amarillo, then another to New Orleans, then another to Rio. Like Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in "The Out of Towners," if something can go wrong, it does. Cotten is interrupted or delayed at every important juncture. He must smash some glass to get the money, so he's behind schedule. The LA streets are choked with traffic, which puts him farther behind. A flight is delayed by an electrical storm. New Orleans customs gets suspicious because his suitcase weighs 115 pounds. They open the case, find the cash, and delay him further by querying him and trying to reach the bank manager. I didn't think a million dollars could weight 115 pounds but according to my calculator, 115 pounds of bills of any denomination is equal to 52,210 bills.
All this time, Cotten is growing more querulous and his wife more curious about what's going on. Cotten is chewing everybody out and paying exorbitantly for privileges that will advance his schedule. Imagine paying $4.50 for a room at the Hotel St. Charles. If you reserved a room at the Royal St. Charles today, you'd pay $150.
All of that is beside the point. You and I know very well that Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright aren't going to wind up living happily ever after in Rio de Janeiro. The code wouldn't let them. The usual scenario would have Cotten caught at the last minute by the authorities. Maybe his suitcase would fall to the airport tarmac and ejaculate 52,210 bills of various denominations, which might then be caught up in erratic whirlwinds by the propeller wash, just like poor Sterling Hayden's in "The Killing." But that won't quite do either. Joseph Cotten is clearly a likable guy who is suffering from a momentary lapse in his categorical imperatives. It would be a brave move to cast him as a serial killer ("Shadow of a Doubt") or murderer ("Niagara") and this isn't a brave movie. Joseph Cotten is you and I, and we don't want to wind up dead or in jail.
So how does the writer/director get him out of his conundrum? Simple. His wife discovers what's up, leaves him in New Orleans, and goes home to her kids. Cotten broods over his circumstances, wanders around for a while, accompanied by one of Dmitri Tiompkins' less notable scores that still adds some juice to the story. See, the problem for the viewer is that it's easy to see where the plot is taking us. The delays and frustrations build up, one on top of another, until the viewer is as irritable as Cotten himself. Let the horse have the touch of the spur.
Cotten is his usual reliable self, although he's not too convincing when he's bawling out innocent airline stewardesses. Teresa Wright is equally forthcoming as the puzzled wife, although she's blond here and somehow it detracts from the enormous appeal she had in "The Best Years of Our Lives." Could she ever be anything but innocent? Can you picture her as a gangster's moll? As a reckless young lady wearing a skimpy bathing suit and getting happily smashed on pina coladas at the swimming pool of some ritzy hotel in Rio? I can't. I can't get farther than the skimpy swim suit.
It's not a bad movie. There is no relief from the suspense. The ending, in which Cotten simply changes his mind and returns the money, is unbelievable. And I kept thinking, with all that potential, what a director like Hitchcock would have done with the story.
He must catch a flight to Amarillo, then another to New Orleans, then another to Rio. Like Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in "The Out of Towners," if something can go wrong, it does. Cotten is interrupted or delayed at every important juncture. He must smash some glass to get the money, so he's behind schedule. The LA streets are choked with traffic, which puts him farther behind. A flight is delayed by an electrical storm. New Orleans customs gets suspicious because his suitcase weighs 115 pounds. They open the case, find the cash, and delay him further by querying him and trying to reach the bank manager. I didn't think a million dollars could weight 115 pounds but according to my calculator, 115 pounds of bills of any denomination is equal to 52,210 bills.
All this time, Cotten is growing more querulous and his wife more curious about what's going on. Cotten is chewing everybody out and paying exorbitantly for privileges that will advance his schedule. Imagine paying $4.50 for a room at the Hotel St. Charles. If you reserved a room at the Royal St. Charles today, you'd pay $150.
All of that is beside the point. You and I know very well that Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright aren't going to wind up living happily ever after in Rio de Janeiro. The code wouldn't let them. The usual scenario would have Cotten caught at the last minute by the authorities. Maybe his suitcase would fall to the airport tarmac and ejaculate 52,210 bills of various denominations, which might then be caught up in erratic whirlwinds by the propeller wash, just like poor Sterling Hayden's in "The Killing." But that won't quite do either. Joseph Cotten is clearly a likable guy who is suffering from a momentary lapse in his categorical imperatives. It would be a brave move to cast him as a serial killer ("Shadow of a Doubt") or murderer ("Niagara") and this isn't a brave movie. Joseph Cotten is you and I, and we don't want to wind up dead or in jail.
So how does the writer/director get him out of his conundrum? Simple. His wife discovers what's up, leaves him in New Orleans, and goes home to her kids. Cotten broods over his circumstances, wanders around for a while, accompanied by one of Dmitri Tiompkins' less notable scores that still adds some juice to the story. See, the problem for the viewer is that it's easy to see where the plot is taking us. The delays and frustrations build up, one on top of another, until the viewer is as irritable as Cotten himself. Let the horse have the touch of the spur.
Cotten is his usual reliable self, although he's not too convincing when he's bawling out innocent airline stewardesses. Teresa Wright is equally forthcoming as the puzzled wife, although she's blond here and somehow it detracts from the enormous appeal she had in "The Best Years of Our Lives." Could she ever be anything but innocent? Can you picture her as a gangster's moll? As a reckless young lady wearing a skimpy bathing suit and getting happily smashed on pina coladas at the swimming pool of some ritzy hotel in Rio? I can't. I can't get farther than the skimpy swim suit.
It's not a bad movie. There is no relief from the suspense. The ending, in which Cotten simply changes his mind and returns the money, is unbelievable. And I kept thinking, with all that potential, what a director like Hitchcock would have done with the story.
An exciting, unfortunately forgotten movie.
jharris-624 December 2003
I wish this movie was on VHS or DVD so I could enjoy it again. It is a nail-biting thriller, that doesn't resort to mindless violence to generate suspense. The acting is great, the plot unique and the action practically non-stop.
Very conventional story
Reinhard-212 April 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Even considered that the movie is made in 1952 the plot is very conventional: A bank accountant steels money and decides to bring it back because he thinks a life in dishonour and without his family was too bad.
If you like Joseph Cotten don't miss it: He gives a wonderful performance.
If you like Joseph Cotten don't miss it: He gives a wonderful performance.
An 85-minute shaggy dog story
bmacv25 July 2003
Warning: Spoilers
In voice-over, Joseph Cotten asks us `Did you ever have one of those nightmares where you wanted to run but your legs wouldn't move?' He must have been talking about the movie he's stranded in, Andrew Stone's The Steel Trap.
As an assistant bank manager, Cotten, suddenly sick of his daily rut, decides to pep up his life by stealing $1-million and flying down to Rio. He feeds his improbably unsuspicious wife (Teresa Wright) a cock-and-bull story about a big business deal in order to drag her along; they leave their young daughter behind, however (he thinks he can send for her later).
Cotten can't have a superstitious bone in his body, because everything that could possibly go wrong does so it's like nine lives worth of black cats crossing his path. But he ignores all the bad omens and sticks to his plan, which involves getting rush passports, making last-minute connecting flights and dozens of other details, and to his timetable, since he has to grab the money at closing time Friday and get to Brazil before it's found missing. (Why he didn't wait until the following weekend to think things through is one of the many questions the script leaves conveniently unposed.)
During a stopover in New Orleans, when an alert customs inspector discovers all the loot but waves Cotten through anyway, a dim bulb begins to flicker above Wright's head: Could her husband be a thief? Answering in the affirmative, she flies back to home and daughter in Los Angeles. And Cotten, wandering the French Quarter, starts to have second thoughts himself. What if he got the money back before the bank reopened on Monday morning?
All the obstacles Cotten encounters, one after another, generate a jittery kind of cheap suspense that's like being sprinkled with itching powder. The movie looks cheap, too, flat and ill-composed, like early-50s television. The only thing that could redeem the movie is the payoff, but that never comes, either. The Steel Trap is an 85-minute shaggy dog story.
As an assistant bank manager, Cotten, suddenly sick of his daily rut, decides to pep up his life by stealing $1-million and flying down to Rio. He feeds his improbably unsuspicious wife (Teresa Wright) a cock-and-bull story about a big business deal in order to drag her along; they leave their young daughter behind, however (he thinks he can send for her later).
Cotten can't have a superstitious bone in his body, because everything that could possibly go wrong does so it's like nine lives worth of black cats crossing his path. But he ignores all the bad omens and sticks to his plan, which involves getting rush passports, making last-minute connecting flights and dozens of other details, and to his timetable, since he has to grab the money at closing time Friday and get to Brazil before it's found missing. (Why he didn't wait until the following weekend to think things through is one of the many questions the script leaves conveniently unposed.)
During a stopover in New Orleans, when an alert customs inspector discovers all the loot but waves Cotten through anyway, a dim bulb begins to flicker above Wright's head: Could her husband be a thief? Answering in the affirmative, she flies back to home and daughter in Los Angeles. And Cotten, wandering the French Quarter, starts to have second thoughts himself. What if he got the money back before the bank reopened on Monday morning?
All the obstacles Cotten encounters, one after another, generate a jittery kind of cheap suspense that's like being sprinkled with itching powder. The movie looks cheap, too, flat and ill-composed, like early-50s television. The only thing that could redeem the movie is the payoff, but that never comes, either. The Steel Trap is an 85-minute shaggy dog story.
great suspense; almost comical , at times
jolter415 October 2001
the steel trap, with joe cotten & teresa wright, that great duo from hitchcock's shadow of a doubt, is a never to be forgotten suspense film. cotten plays a bank officer who becomes obsessed with the notion of absconding with a million dollars and taking refuge in brazil (no extradition treaty). miss wright is perfect as his all too understanding wife who goes along with his preposterous explanations of what he is up to. everything goes wrong on get away day and the riveting climax leaves one sitting on the edge of his/her seat. i wish this film were available on video; i've seen it a few times, in '52 as a teen and once or twice on tv. at any rate, bravo, joe and teresa!!!
A minor thriller keeps the suspense up despite an improbable plot...
Doylenf4 January 2012
THE STEEL TRAP is a reminder of how even the best laid plans can go completely awry if the plan involves a getaway on an airplane to a foreign country. That's what our hero discovers after stealing a million dollars from the bank that employs him, and why his wife is so suspicious about the amount of hysteria he undergoes while dealing with one obstacle after another at the airport.
Although suspenseful, there's never a buildup of Cotten's character to indicate why he would risk stealing a million bucks and put his own life (including a wife and child) in such jeopardy. It's a by-the-numbers sort of thriller--throw in enough obstacles and keep the audience guessing as to how it will all pan out.
Teresa Wright, with blonde hair, is attractive and appealing enough as the wife but it's really a thankless role in a film where all the attention is on Joseph Cotten's character. His acting is fine, but not good enough to save the film from being a minor thriller rather than a first-rate one.
Andrew Stone's direction is taut, but the film has a low-budget look and the flat lighting is no help, resembling the sort seen in the average '50s teleplays.
A couple of the bank scenes during the heist are well-staged, but not enough to raise this above the level of a routine suspense film.
Although suspenseful, there's never a buildup of Cotten's character to indicate why he would risk stealing a million bucks and put his own life (including a wife and child) in such jeopardy. It's a by-the-numbers sort of thriller--throw in enough obstacles and keep the audience guessing as to how it will all pan out.
Teresa Wright, with blonde hair, is attractive and appealing enough as the wife but it's really a thankless role in a film where all the attention is on Joseph Cotten's character. His acting is fine, but not good enough to save the film from being a minor thriller rather than a first-rate one.
Andrew Stone's direction is taut, but the film has a low-budget look and the flat lighting is no help, resembling the sort seen in the average '50s teleplays.
A couple of the bank scenes during the heist are well-staged, but not enough to raise this above the level of a routine suspense film.
Going nuts over flights to Brazil
kalbimassey19 January 2023
Exemplary citizen, respected assistant bank manager and stickler for precision, Joseph Cotten is the consummate professional......until he discovers just how easy it would be....to rob his own bank. What begins as a ticklish, playful notion, quickly escalates into an excruciating brain itch, an all consuming obsession. Finally evolving into a deft, meticulously planned heist.
Where the movie falters, is the preposterous premise of Cotten having to fly to Rio de Janeiro at ultra short notice, at his own expense, to strike a vital deal, which isn't even HIS department. More and more glitches arise as Cotten goes through the gears from deceitful, to desperate, to demented: Paying taxi drivers astronomical tips (probably more than the value of the car!) in return for lightning quick trips to the airport, breaking into the Brazilian consulate's office to retrieve his passport, attempting to coerce a commercial pilot to fly through adverse weather and finally screaming "SHUT UP!" at two cheery, chirpy flight attendants.
It seems like an eternity before devoted wife, Teresa Wright figures out that something is wrong. Similarly, airline staff are sluggish in responding to Cotten's extreme, erratic, queue jumping behaviour, including the conspicuous absence of hand luggage - just one abnormally heavy case. Despite his increasing histrionics, he fails to generate any real on screen presence.
The above, however is largely compensated for by the brisk pace at which the movie ticks along and the frequently fortuitous manner in which the couple contrive to overcome every setback, just stopping short of legging it across the tarmac in pursuit of an already taxiing jet.
The neat symmetry of the plot notwithstanding, 'The Steel Trap', might easily be dismissed as a fantastically absurd shemozzle. Maybe so.....but as fantastically absurd shemozzles go, it remains an undeniably entertaining, surprisingly satisfying achievement. Far superior to the U. K.'s dismal partial remake, 'The Big Chance' (1957). Well done Bert Friedlob Productions for a film, which despite its flaws, exhibits some real mettle.
Where the movie falters, is the preposterous premise of Cotten having to fly to Rio de Janeiro at ultra short notice, at his own expense, to strike a vital deal, which isn't even HIS department. More and more glitches arise as Cotten goes through the gears from deceitful, to desperate, to demented: Paying taxi drivers astronomical tips (probably more than the value of the car!) in return for lightning quick trips to the airport, breaking into the Brazilian consulate's office to retrieve his passport, attempting to coerce a commercial pilot to fly through adverse weather and finally screaming "SHUT UP!" at two cheery, chirpy flight attendants.
It seems like an eternity before devoted wife, Teresa Wright figures out that something is wrong. Similarly, airline staff are sluggish in responding to Cotten's extreme, erratic, queue jumping behaviour, including the conspicuous absence of hand luggage - just one abnormally heavy case. Despite his increasing histrionics, he fails to generate any real on screen presence.
The above, however is largely compensated for by the brisk pace at which the movie ticks along and the frequently fortuitous manner in which the couple contrive to overcome every setback, just stopping short of legging it across the tarmac in pursuit of an already taxiing jet.
The neat symmetry of the plot notwithstanding, 'The Steel Trap', might easily be dismissed as a fantastically absurd shemozzle. Maybe so.....but as fantastically absurd shemozzles go, it remains an undeniably entertaining, surprisingly satisfying achievement. Far superior to the U. K.'s dismal partial remake, 'The Big Chance' (1957). Well done Bert Friedlob Productions for a film, which despite its flaws, exhibits some real mettle.
Cotten as a Strong Man!
JohnHowardReid19 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Despite the fact that a circus strong man would have trouble lifting the dough, thin-framed Joseph Cotten makes it all seem so easy, that I expected the plot to turn on the fact that some clever thief had actually robbed good old Joe of his ill-gotten loot and that his thick- sculled character was too stupid to notice. But this typical Andrew L. Stone thriller doesn't pan out that way at all. I will admit that in all other respects (bar one), Andrew L. Stone has done a reasonably good job, using actual locations and some very capable players (even in minor roles) to give the movie an air of verisimilitude. The script packs a fair amount of tension and suspense, although Cotten, as said, is not an ideal pivot. In fact, Cotten could be regarded as the hero you have when you're not having a hero or when all the big names in the business have turned you down. The script is also undercut by some tedious domestic scenes with Teresa Wright. Miss Wright is a very capable actress, but she is all wrong for this particular role.
Tense steel
TheLittleSongbird23 August 2020
Had absolutely no doubt that 1952's 'The Steel Trap' would be an at least good film. Absolutely loved the concept, the type that is quite up my street when it comes to films and when done well the result is great. Have liked both Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright in other films and knew from Alfred Hitchcock's classic 'Shadow of a Doubt' that they worked very well together and that Cotten could play the sort of role he plays here with no problem.
'The Steel Trap' didn't disappoint at all. Completely agree with all of the users that have written of the film favourably and don't have an awful lot to add to their very well expressed reasoning. It may not quite be a classic and it is not quite on the same level as, briefly comparing, 'Shadow of a Doubt', but 'Steel Trap' is a fine example of a very good film with many brilliant elements. One of the better films seen for the first time this week on the whole in a mixed bunch quality-wise.
By all means the film isn't perfect. To me, it was too dimly lit in spots.
While unexpected the ending was a bit too abrupt and didn't quite gel with the rest of the film. It is true that there are some ridiculous spots, but to me it was not near as improbable as has been made out by some.
Any of those not so convincing spots are more than compensated and outweighed the literally non-stop high level of suspense, with the heisting being especially well staged and suitably panic inducing. The story is a very clever one and never felt too obvious or too convoluted with plenty of diverting and surprising turns. The script is tautly structured and has plenty of intriguing and entertaining lines. The direction is always efficient and stops the film from becoming dull or routine.
Despite the lighting being on the dim side, the photography is suitably stylish and has atmosphere. Dmitri Tiomkin's score is a mix of cheerful (in spots) and ominous with typically lush orchestration. Both Cotten and Wright are excellent. Especially Cotten, who balances fraught intensity and easy going likeability adeptly, one oddly roots for him but is freaked out by him at the same time. Wright's role is less interesting but she is appealing in it, the two scintillate together. The supporting cast are all fine but not quite on par with the leads.
Concluding, very good. 8/10
'The Steel Trap' didn't disappoint at all. Completely agree with all of the users that have written of the film favourably and don't have an awful lot to add to their very well expressed reasoning. It may not quite be a classic and it is not quite on the same level as, briefly comparing, 'Shadow of a Doubt', but 'Steel Trap' is a fine example of a very good film with many brilliant elements. One of the better films seen for the first time this week on the whole in a mixed bunch quality-wise.
By all means the film isn't perfect. To me, it was too dimly lit in spots.
While unexpected the ending was a bit too abrupt and didn't quite gel with the rest of the film. It is true that there are some ridiculous spots, but to me it was not near as improbable as has been made out by some.
Any of those not so convincing spots are more than compensated and outweighed the literally non-stop high level of suspense, with the heisting being especially well staged and suitably panic inducing. The story is a very clever one and never felt too obvious or too convoluted with plenty of diverting and surprising turns. The script is tautly structured and has plenty of intriguing and entertaining lines. The direction is always efficient and stops the film from becoming dull or routine.
Despite the lighting being on the dim side, the photography is suitably stylish and has atmosphere. Dmitri Tiomkin's score is a mix of cheerful (in spots) and ominous with typically lush orchestration. Both Cotten and Wright are excellent. Especially Cotten, who balances fraught intensity and easy going likeability adeptly, one oddly roots for him but is freaked out by him at the same time. Wright's role is less interesting but she is appealing in it, the two scintillate together. The supporting cast are all fine but not quite on par with the leads.
Concluding, very good. 8/10
"Shadow Of A Doubt" star duo is reunited in neat caper film
gridoon20242 January 2024
"The Steel Trap" is an unusual caper film in that the caper itself is over and done with very quickly; it's the escaping the country that proves far trickier than expected. Writer-director Andrew Stone has fun with many Hitchcockian details which place the film somewhere between a thriller and a black comedy, as things go alternately very right and (more often) very wrong for our "hero". Speaking of Hitchcock, the film reunites the two leads of his 1943 "Shadow Of A Doubt", but it is really mostly Joseph Cotten's show; Teresa Wright has little to do except follow her husband around and look worried at his increasingly frantic antics, but she does give a fine performance. Dimitri Tiomkin goes a little overboard with the music score sometimes, but the film is gripping, entertaining, and breathlessly paced. *** out of 4.
A thriller and a mirror of a grey era
jeromec-22 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
You have to have lived through the 50's to understand why this film is a reflection of that decade.
Not everyone agrees, but the 50's is so well represented by the Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. The Steel Trap begins the same grey way. A man -- a J. Alfred Prufrock kind of a man -- gets up in the morning, eats, gets into his car, drives to the train station, dodges traffic, opens the bank outside door where he works, puts in his time, goes home and repeats the same thing the next day.
It's Groundhog Day without any chance of reprieve, any chance of self improvement, and certainly no Andie McDowell to win over. With that as background, is there any doubt about why he contemplates, plans and actually does rob the bank he works for?
Teresa Wright plays a woman that reminds everyone of the young married mother. Her biggest problem seems to be one domestic crisis after another, one that could spell disaster for Joseph Cotton if she delays too long. There is one piece of cinematography that is astonishing. While waiting for the tellers to balance their books, the camera focuses on a closeup of Cotton. His normally bland good looks are transformed into something very reptilian and cold blooded just before he takes the cash. What a remarkable transformation that disappears as he goes into action and he becomes -- Joseph Cotton, the man we all remember from the Third Man.
So the plot goes. Scene after scene, each as problematic for Cotton as the one preceding it, is met with the same almost military precision, not a surprising event in 1950, just 5 years after the American involvement in the Second World War. People were ready for any movie the highlighted American ingenuity and quick thinking. Also. suspense didn't hurt.
I didn't get an exact count, but I think there were 15 scenes between the beginning and when Wright leaves to come back home. All were filled with complication and suspense.
The climax comes when she decides to leave him. Her reasons for going home are very indicative of the times: she loves her child, her home, her country and her standard American life.
The suspense continues, because now the cat is out of the bag: others now know what has happened. So what will Cotton do? Will he go back to his wife and child, or will he go on to Brazil and enjoy the money he has stolen? Is he a man of the 50's or is this a film much ahead of its time? Even with a spoiler, I cannot say much more. Watch it and sit on your hands because if you don't, you'll bite your nails off.
Not everyone agrees, but the 50's is so well represented by the Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. The Steel Trap begins the same grey way. A man -- a J. Alfred Prufrock kind of a man -- gets up in the morning, eats, gets into his car, drives to the train station, dodges traffic, opens the bank outside door where he works, puts in his time, goes home and repeats the same thing the next day.
It's Groundhog Day without any chance of reprieve, any chance of self improvement, and certainly no Andie McDowell to win over. With that as background, is there any doubt about why he contemplates, plans and actually does rob the bank he works for?
Teresa Wright plays a woman that reminds everyone of the young married mother. Her biggest problem seems to be one domestic crisis after another, one that could spell disaster for Joseph Cotton if she delays too long. There is one piece of cinematography that is astonishing. While waiting for the tellers to balance their books, the camera focuses on a closeup of Cotton. His normally bland good looks are transformed into something very reptilian and cold blooded just before he takes the cash. What a remarkable transformation that disappears as he goes into action and he becomes -- Joseph Cotton, the man we all remember from the Third Man.
So the plot goes. Scene after scene, each as problematic for Cotton as the one preceding it, is met with the same almost military precision, not a surprising event in 1950, just 5 years after the American involvement in the Second World War. People were ready for any movie the highlighted American ingenuity and quick thinking. Also. suspense didn't hurt.
I didn't get an exact count, but I think there were 15 scenes between the beginning and when Wright leaves to come back home. All were filled with complication and suspense.
The climax comes when she decides to leave him. Her reasons for going home are very indicative of the times: she loves her child, her home, her country and her standard American life.
The suspense continues, because now the cat is out of the bag: others now know what has happened. So what will Cotton do? Will he go back to his wife and child, or will he go on to Brazil and enjoy the money he has stolen? Is he a man of the 50's or is this a film much ahead of its time? Even with a spoiler, I cannot say much more. Watch it and sit on your hands because if you don't, you'll bite your nails off.
Far more exciting than I thought
HotToastyRag30 June 2023
I was excited to see Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright reunited after Shadow of a Doubt, although some folks might find it awkward to see them playing husband and wife instead of uncle and niece. There's even a love scene with Teresa in a towel lying down on the bed!
That's not the point of the story, though. Joe plays a banker and a family man, but one day he snaps and decides to rob the vault. He plans it all out and orders expedited passports to Brazil so he, his wife, and daughter can escape and never get caught. Everything goes perfectly, and the movie is over in ten minutes - just kidding! Naturally, nothing goes right, and Joe narrates his story to the audience as we all cringe and hope for the best. If you find yourself talking back to the screen and telling Joe not to make so many mistakes, you won't be the only one. This is a very suspenseful, exciting movie! It was far better than I thought it was going to be; in fact, I don't know why it isn't one of the old movies that has been remembered through the years. Yes, it is a bit generic and any number of actors could have played the parts (Dana Andrews, June Allyson, etc.), but Joe still captures your attention. If you don't normally like him, rent this movie to change your mind. It's very good.
That's not the point of the story, though. Joe plays a banker and a family man, but one day he snaps and decides to rob the vault. He plans it all out and orders expedited passports to Brazil so he, his wife, and daughter can escape and never get caught. Everything goes perfectly, and the movie is over in ten minutes - just kidding! Naturally, nothing goes right, and Joe narrates his story to the audience as we all cringe and hope for the best. If you find yourself talking back to the screen and telling Joe not to make so many mistakes, you won't be the only one. This is a very suspenseful, exciting movie! It was far better than I thought it was going to be; in fact, I don't know why it isn't one of the old movies that has been remembered through the years. Yes, it is a bit generic and any number of actors could have played the parts (Dana Andrews, June Allyson, etc.), but Joe still captures your attention. If you don't normally like him, rent this movie to change your mind. It's very good.
Rupert Murdoch, are you out there?
redryan6430 March 2003
I saw this movie once, only once. I was in Junior High School, some 45 years or so ago. For the longest time, I could not remember the title, but found it in the IMDb listings. As far as myself or my other movie buff friends know, this has not been aired since that era.
Yet, it still brings forth vivid memories of a great story, a strong cast giving a fine performance in a truly tense and thrilling crime nail biter. So why is it absent from the television/video scene?
In the credits, it is listed as a 20th Century-Fox film. That means that it is now property of News Corporation, Ruppert Murdoch's conglomerate. It is just sitting in a vault collecting dust and going undiscovered by a whole new generation of film devotees.
Mr. Rupert Murdoch, are you reading this? Come on, get with it man!! Get this gem out of hiding and on TV, VHS and DVD. C'mon, Rup! Share the Wealth, already! already!!
UPDATE: Dateline, Chicago, January 3, 2012. After at least 50 years, we just viewed the picture on Turner Classic Movies. It was not as good as we remembered it as a 12 year old in the 7th grade; it is even better. Probably just a case of understanding "adult situations" much better.
Incidentally, we owe Mr. Rupert Murdoch an apology; for while it was originally a 20th Century-Fox release (since then having become part of Murdoch's News Corporation conglomerate), it was an independent production; now being distributed to television by Warner Brothers.
Yet, it still brings forth vivid memories of a great story, a strong cast giving a fine performance in a truly tense and thrilling crime nail biter. So why is it absent from the television/video scene?
In the credits, it is listed as a 20th Century-Fox film. That means that it is now property of News Corporation, Ruppert Murdoch's conglomerate. It is just sitting in a vault collecting dust and going undiscovered by a whole new generation of film devotees.
Mr. Rupert Murdoch, are you reading this? Come on, get with it man!! Get this gem out of hiding and on TV, VHS and DVD. C'mon, Rup! Share the Wealth, already! already!!
UPDATE: Dateline, Chicago, January 3, 2012. After at least 50 years, we just viewed the picture on Turner Classic Movies. It was not as good as we remembered it as a 12 year old in the 7th grade; it is even better. Probably just a case of understanding "adult situations" much better.
Incidentally, we owe Mr. Rupert Murdoch an apology; for while it was originally a 20th Century-Fox release (since then having become part of Murdoch's News Corporation conglomerate), it was an independent production; now being distributed to television by Warner Brothers.
Unsympathetic Joseph Cotten in a film about "The American Dream"
costellorp27 March 2024
I was surprised to see how many other reviewers rooted for Joseph Cotten's character to "get away with it" in this film. We found him completely unsympathetic, possibly because while a bank assistant manager's job at a large bank in Los Angeles (pre-climate-disaster-ridden and crime-ridden Southern California!) in 1952 may not be glamorous and may even be dull, it was a stable, middle class career with a secure future for someone who describes himself in the movie as a man who started as an assistant teller and who could ultimately look forward to eventually becoming the bank manager.
Add to that a glowingly gorgeous middle-aged Teresa Wright as his happy, stay-at-home wife, throw in a chipper and sweet young daughter, and my husband and I were thinking,"What in the world does he have to be unsatisfied with here?" George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" sacrificed for his family and community through many years before he became fed up with his life. I saw no evidence that Cotten's character ever broke a sweat to help another person.
The other problem is that, if you are planning a big score, you take some time to PLAN IT, which this knucklehead failed to do.
I'll grant you that the last 20 minutes were much more interesting than we had any reason to expect. So, go ahead and watch the film, and even cheer for him if you must.
Add to that a glowingly gorgeous middle-aged Teresa Wright as his happy, stay-at-home wife, throw in a chipper and sweet young daughter, and my husband and I were thinking,"What in the world does he have to be unsatisfied with here?" George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" sacrificed for his family and community through many years before he became fed up with his life. I saw no evidence that Cotten's character ever broke a sweat to help another person.
The other problem is that, if you are planning a big score, you take some time to PLAN IT, which this knucklehead failed to do.
I'll grant you that the last 20 minutes were much more interesting than we had any reason to expect. So, go ahead and watch the film, and even cheer for him if you must.
agonizing
blanche-23 January 2012
I have no idea what happened to Joseph Cotten's career once the '50s hit, but he seemed to descend into B movies fairly rapidly. 1952's "The Steel Trap" is one, and co-stars his niece from "Shadow of a Doubt," Teresa Wright, now blond, as his wife.
In this ridiculous film, the main character, Jim Osbourne (Cotten), a man with a wife, child, home, and 11-year career with a bank, decides to steal money from the bank vault and move with his family to a country with no extradition. He researches this and decides on Brazil. He also decides to steal the money on a weekend so he can skip the country before the bank opens on Monday. Then begins the frantic preparations: trying to get passports, arranging for a sitter, and getting on a plane.
Through it all, Osbourne acts frantic bordering on hysteria, drawing attention to himself everywhere he goes. When he misses the Brazilian consulate and can't get his passport and his wife's, he smashes the glass in the door to gain entry. Then he starts bribing people so he can get on a plane that will ultimately take him to Brazil via New Orleans. And gee, he didn't think a suitcase weighing 115 pounds would raise a few eyebrows?
Well, here's what I want to know. After 11 years, what was the rush? Okay, they were going to start opening the bank on Saturdays. Surely there would have been a Saturday due to a holiday, perhaps, where the bank would not have been open. He could have leisurely obtained passports, plane tickets, etc. Or, if he'd realized the change weeks earlier - I make this point because the writer still could have built in a tremendous amount of suspense and things going wrong, but it would have been based on a stronger premise that made the character look less foolish.
Both Cotten and Wright were much better than this.
While the parents are out of town, a coworker and his wife visit the house, where Osbourne's mother-in-law is babysitting (he planned to send for her once he and his wife were in Brazil). They bring cherries, explaining that they had been given too many, and they wanted to give some of them away lest they spoil. They hand the mother-in-law a basket that would have taken a normal family of three or four six months to get through and made that poor little girl sick to her stomach - chronically. Fortunately, the film ended before I suffered the same fate.
In this ridiculous film, the main character, Jim Osbourne (Cotten), a man with a wife, child, home, and 11-year career with a bank, decides to steal money from the bank vault and move with his family to a country with no extradition. He researches this and decides on Brazil. He also decides to steal the money on a weekend so he can skip the country before the bank opens on Monday. Then begins the frantic preparations: trying to get passports, arranging for a sitter, and getting on a plane.
Through it all, Osbourne acts frantic bordering on hysteria, drawing attention to himself everywhere he goes. When he misses the Brazilian consulate and can't get his passport and his wife's, he smashes the glass in the door to gain entry. Then he starts bribing people so he can get on a plane that will ultimately take him to Brazil via New Orleans. And gee, he didn't think a suitcase weighing 115 pounds would raise a few eyebrows?
Well, here's what I want to know. After 11 years, what was the rush? Okay, they were going to start opening the bank on Saturdays. Surely there would have been a Saturday due to a holiday, perhaps, where the bank would not have been open. He could have leisurely obtained passports, plane tickets, etc. Or, if he'd realized the change weeks earlier - I make this point because the writer still could have built in a tremendous amount of suspense and things going wrong, but it would have been based on a stronger premise that made the character look less foolish.
Both Cotten and Wright were much better than this.
While the parents are out of town, a coworker and his wife visit the house, where Osbourne's mother-in-law is babysitting (he planned to send for her once he and his wife were in Brazil). They bring cherries, explaining that they had been given too many, and they wanted to give some of them away lest they spoil. They hand the mother-in-law a basket that would have taken a normal family of three or four six months to get through and made that poor little girl sick to her stomach - chronically. Fortunately, the film ended before I suffered the same fate.
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