mcmason-72160 This is a moderately successful noir film that has some snappy dialog and good performances by Dick Powel, Raymond Burr and Jane Wyatt. But Elizabeth Scott is atrocious. She is given one of the most meaty roles of her career and she gives one of the most wooden and passionless performances I have ever seen by a female actor. There were so many female actors of the time who could have been selected for this role and given much better performances. The standout in the film is Raymond Burr. He is brilliant and manages to act rings around Scott when they are in any scenes together. IT is a well made film and well directed. But Scott is not up to the job. It would be nice if it was remade with a better actor in the starring role.

Claudio Carvalho In Los Angeles, the insurance executive John Forbes (Dick Powell) is a family man bored with his routine suburban life with his wife Sue (Jane Wyatt) and their son Tommy (Jimmy Hunt). When a man called Bill Smiley (Byron Barr) is arrested for embezzlement, Forbes hires the private investigator J.B. MacDonald (Raymond Burr) to find where the money is. MacDonald discovers that Smiley spent part of the money giving gifts to his girlfriend Mona Stevens (Lizabeth Scott) and becomes obsessed with her. Forbes goes to Mona's apartment to collect the gifts and he does not tell that he is married. Soon they have a brief love affair until Mona learns that his married with child. Meanwhile MacDonald unsuccessfully tries to seduce Mona that becomes friend of Forbes. When Smiley is near to be released, MacDonald poisons him against Forbes and on the day that Smiley is discharge, he gives a gun to him. What will happen to Forbes and Smiley?"Pitfall" is a magnificent film-noir with a realistic story and well- developed characters. The direction and performances are top-notch and the cast gives credibility to the plot with excellent lines. Dick Powell and Jane Wyatt perform a mature couple that expects to supersede their problem. The gorgeous and sexy Lizabeth Scott is perfect in the role of a seductive femme-fatale. But Raymond Burr steals the show in the role of a despicable and Machiavellian villain. The open end is another plus in this great film. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Caminho da Tentação" ("Way to Temptation")

jarrodmcdonald-1 When PITFALL ends, the audience is left with a few loose ends. But since we have come to understand the characters and what they symbolize, I think we can figure out what happens to them after the final fade out. First, I think it's implied the marriage between Powell & Wyatt will survive. She is not exactly giving him the cold shoulder at the end. Plus, it conforms with the societal belief at the time that a dutiful wife should forgive the philandering husband and remain by her man's side no matter what. Also, putting Dick Powell in this part is significant, because the way the cheating husband is cast, it is with an actor that seems like someone a wife (and the audience) can forgive. He doesn't seem as evil as Raymond Burr does.Furthermore, if Wyatt's character does not forgive Powell's, then doesn't she run the risk of seeming as bad as Scott, whose character is morally compromised in the story...? No matter what, Scott is still the 'other woman.' Anyway, we have two types of female characters (as archetypes). One can break up a family; and the other can keep it together. And after this movie ends, I think we get the idea that the family stays together, and the marriage survives.

Maddyclassicfilms Pitfall is directed by Andre De Toth, has a screenplay by Karl Kamb, is based on the novel by Jay Dratler and stars Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt and Raymond Burr.John Forbes (Dick Powell)works for an insurance company. Forbes is sent to retrieve some items that were stolen from a store that his company insures. The items were stolen by Bill Smiley(Byron Barr)for his girlfriend Mona Stevens(Lizabeth Scott).Forbes meets Mona and finds himself falling in love with her, he is a married man though and loves his wife Sue(Jane Wyatt). Private Detective J.B Macdonald (Raymond Burr)tracks Mona down and becomes obsessed with her.In many Noir films we don't often get too much of a sense of what the characters will have to live with once the film has finished, in this we do and Powell conveys that to us with his haunted expressions. The film does a wonderful job of showing us a marriage going through tough times but not giving up at the first rough patch. Powell and Wyatt are wonderful together and you get a real sense of the emotional stress Forbes and his wife are under.Dick Powell proves yet again what a superb dramatic actor he could be and how well suited he is to Noir films. It's a shame that he wasn't given more roles like this. Raymond Burr is creepy as a private detective who becomes obsessed with Mona, although he was always a fine actor when he played villains he was even better. Lizabeth Scott is wonderful as the tough talking Mona and Jane Wyatt is marvellous as Mrs Forbes.