Wizard-8 I stumbled upon this movie at my local library, and I decided to take a chance on it with no previous knowledge about it. On the whole, I found the movie to be fairly satisfying. At just eighty four minutes in length, the whole package runs smoothly and with no dead spots, and there is some genuine excitement and tension here and there. The cast also does a pretty good job in their roles. Most interesting, even though the movie's ending is to a degree predictable (this was made during the Production Code era, after all), I was surprised that to a larger degree the movie ended on quite a sad note; you could sense that the Widmark character had some deep guilt in his bringing trouble to his former home town.The movie is good, but could have been better. There are some unanswered questions and things that don't make some sense. For example: Wouldn't the Widmark character know what the area around the town he grew up in would be like? After killing the first deputy, why didn't the bad guys then kill Widmark and the others when they stumbled upon the deputy's body? And how did the bad guys know to grab and hold hostage the Tina Louise character? These and other nagging questions do hurt the movie to a degree. It's probably best to hold off watching the movie until you are in a forgiving mood.

samdivin15 If I could describe the trap as a regular 50s film I would say it is a very good film of its kind it may not have been the Rebel without a cause or The African Queen but my personal believe is that it sais something for B movies, my other thought is that you don't have to have Burt Lancaster or Rock Hudson or even a big budget for it to be a great film. Take this for example this was Tina Louise's second or third film but she did an outstanding job. Also the actors did outstanding job Richard Widmark, Earl Holliman, Lee J. Cobb, Carl Benton Ried and Lorne Greene did a super job. The camera was great, the producing and directing was great and the film itself was excellent I am looking forword to seeing it again.

ackstasis '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!

bkoganbing The Trap is an independent film produced by star Richard Widmark which sad to say doesn't get broadcast often enough.Widmark plays a mob attorney who goes to his former hole in the wall one horse town where his stern father Carl Benton Reid and jealous younger brother Earl Holliman are sheriff and deputy. Widmark is hoping to get his family to help big time mobster Lee J. Cobb escape to Mexico.Dad doesn't prove amenable to helping a son he despises for whom he works for. He even likes the weak and vacillating Earl Holliman more than Widmark.When the plan blows up and Widmark realizes it's brought about the destruction of his family he resolves to bring Cobb in. But it proves to be a daunting task.Cobb essentially repeats the roles he had as mobsters in On the Waterfront and Party Girl. He doesn't break any new ground, but he's always fascinating to watch.Holliman has the best role in The Trap. He's married to Tina Louise who Widmark abandoned when he left their town. Holliman always has known he was less than a second choice husband and his resentment crackles throughout his performance.I wish that The Trap was broadcast more often. Maybe it will be seen on a Richard Widmark retrospective if that man ever gets his long deserved lifetime achievement award.