Pitfall

Tagline : A man can be as strong as steel...but somewhere there's a woman who'll break him!

Runtime : 86 mins

Genre : Drama Crime

Vote Rating : 6.9/10


Reviews for this movie are available below.

Plot : An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.

Cast Members

Disclaimer - This is a news site. All the information listed here is to be found on the web elsewhere. We do not host, upload or link to any video, films, media file, live streams etc. Kodiapps is not responsible for the accuracy, compliance, copyright, legality, decency, or any other aspect of the content streamed to/from your device. We are not connected to or in any other way affiliated with Kodi, Team Kodi, or the XBMC Foundation. We provide no support for third party add-ons installed on your devices, as they do not belong to us. It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with all your regional legalities and personal access rights regarding any streams to be found on the web. If in doubt, do not use.
DMCA Policy
- Privacy Policy
Kodiapps app v7.0 - Available for Android. You can now add latest scene releases to your collection with Add to Trakt. More features and updates coming to this app real soon.
Tip : Add https://kodiapps.com/rss to your RSS Ticker in System/Appearance/Skin settings to get the very latest Movie & TV Show release info delivered direct to your Kodi Home Screen. Builders are free to use it for their builds too.
You can get all the very release news and updates direct from our Telegram group.
Our Twitter and Facebook pages are no longer supported.

Reviews

In a rut and it's six feet deep. Pitfall is directed by Andre De Toth and adapted to screenplay by Karl Kamb and William Bowers from the novel written by Jay Dratler. It stars Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt and Raymond Burr. Music is by Louis Forbes and cinematography by Harry Wild. Married insurance adjuster John Forbes (Powell) falls for femme fatale model Mona Stevens (Scott) while her boyfriend (Byron Barr) is in jail. And with Private Investigator J.B. MacDonald (Burr) fiercely attracted to Mona the consequences for everyone could well be critical. The reluctant fatales! Not for the fist time I wandered into a film directed by Andre De Toth and came out feeling invigorated by the under valued director. Pitfall falls under the film noir banner but actually subverts what we know as film noir conventions. Mona Stevens is a femme fatale of sorts, but not maliciously so, the key fatale role falls to John Forbes, who is bored with his comfortable life and becomes our homme fatale. But again, this is not malicious or scheming, though since this is noirville it has knock on effects of dire consequence. What makes a dream? - The mind is a camera. As our two central adulterers go about their confused passion filled way, the characters it affects become prominent in the story's ultimate resolutions. MacDonald is a brute (Burr in his element), and an unrealistically stupid lech into the bargain but his constant menace throws us a classic noir characterisation. Out there in prison is Mona's boyfriend, who is being made aware of his loved one's indiscretion and counting down the hours till his release. While back at the Forbes home is John's adoring wife (Wyatt enjoying a feisty role) and son (Jimmy Hunt), the innocents who we wonder will suffer from the actions of others? Dialogue is often sharp, witty and rapid-fire, you instantly know that Bowers (Criss Cross/Split Second) had pen in hand and it was red hot. There's some nice photography on show, with Wild (Cornered/They Won't Believe Me) treating us to shadows and light tactics. However, I lament that there wasn't someone like Krasker or Musuraca on photographic duties, for this cries out for some chiaroscuro wonders. Elsewhere It's sad to report that Byron Barr as the outraged convict is simply not menacing enough, one has to hanker for a McGraw, Brand or Brodie in the role. As for the finale? Well the makers have their cake and eat it. Having baited the Hays Code with crafty glee, pic leaves things open ended - baiting us the viewers in the process, and it works. Smartly performed by the principal players, waspishly written by Bowers and astutely steered by De Toth, this may not be in hidden gem territory, but it definitely has to be recommended to lovers of the noir form. 7.5/10

So, first there’s insurance man “Forbes” (Dick Powell) who occasionally hires private investigator “Mac” (Raymond Burr) when he needs some prying done. It’s this latter fellow who discovers that “Mona” (Lizabeth Scott) has received a load of gifts from her now incarcerated boyfriend “Bill” (Byron Barr) and so he sets off to reclaim their property. When he arrives, though, he takes quite a shine to “Mona” and despite being happily, if maybe a bit stagnantly, married to “Sue” (Jane Wyatt) they begin to have a bit of a dalliance. This is all to the chagrin of the envious PI, who is also a bit keen on her and, of course, to the locked up boyfriend who is a bit narked that he did all of this for a woman who will jump ship quite so readily whilst he is behind bars. Next thing, relationships become strained and tempers flare to the point that it’s only going to be a matter of time before there’s a body! But when and whose will it be? This is quite a well crafted crime thriller that manages to keep the story interesting for ninety minutes of crossing and double crossing all whilst presented with a bunch of characters that it’s really quite easy not to like! Scott always makes me think of Lauren Bacall, only without the glint - but she acquits herself quite well here as her character has plenty of meat on it’s bones for a change. Burr also delivers quite well as the odious snoop and there’s enough intricacy in the plot to sustain it, almost, until the end. There, well I felt the wheels came off a little as that was maybe just a little too damp a squib. Still, it’s very much at the better end of the genre and might make you think twice before you file that harmless insurance claim!

Similar Movies

The Kills

A belligerent hitwoman navigates a world of cutthroat killers as she attempts to get the money together in order to escape to Mexico and open a bar.

An Eye for Beauty

An architect and his wife see their relationship challenged.

American History X

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

Blade Runner

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

Beverly Hills Cop

Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.

Beverly Hills Cop II

Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.

Open Hearts

Cecilie and Joachim are about to get married when a freak car accident leaves Joachim disabled, throwing their lives into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her.

The Big Lebowski

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

City of Angels

When a guardian angel – who invisibly watches over the citizens of Los Angeles – becomes captivated by a strong-willed heart surgeon, he ponders trading in his pure, otherworldly existence for a mortal life with his beloved. The couple embarks on a tender but forbidden romance spanning heaven and Earth.

Annaluise & Anton

Luise, called Pünktchen, and Anton are closest of friends. Being the daughter of a wealthy surgeon, young Pünktchen lives in a great house. Her mother, who always travels through the world more for public relation reasons than for the social tasks she pretends to fulfill, is never available to her as a mother. Anton, son of a single and sick mother in financial trouble, does his best to help her out of it by working late. Pünktchen decides to help her only friend (as nobody else would anyway) and starts singing in public places. Trouble arises when Anton can't resist stealing a golden lighter and Pünktchen's secret life is discovered by her parents. Two troubled families finally can see the need for actions to be taken.

Chinatown

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.