The Trap

The Trap (AKA: The Baited Trap) is directed by Norman Panama who also co-writes the screenplay with Richard Alan Simmons. It stars Richard Widmark, Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, Earl Holliman and Lorne Greene. Music is by Irvin Talbot and cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp.

Tula Torments.

Tula, California and Ralph Anderson (Widmark) has returned home under a cloud. He's been a lawyer for mob boss Victor Massonetti (Cobb) and needs to fulfil a favour to get Massonetti out of the country. Unfortunately the law in Tula comprises of his father and brother, the former still angry at Ralph for a youthful misdemeanour, the latter an alcoholic married to Ralph's childhood sweetheart. It's a recipe for disaster...

A Technicolor action/thriller that has somehow found its way into some film noir reference books, The Trap should just be viewed as belonging to the former genre titles. Which is fine, especially since it's grand entertainment. Essentially it's a play on the good narrative device of a good man who has done something he's not proud of, but is now desperately trying to make amends. Surrounding him is a fractured family dynamic, a romantic attachment that hurts his very being, and the small matter of some very bad dudes after the quarry in his charge - and thus also his blood!

The story throws up a number of surprises to further beef up the psychological broth, emotions are pulled all over the place, while death is a constant threat to keep things on the high heat. There's plenty of sweat and steam, boozing and brooding, neuroticism and nastiness, there's nary a dull moment in the whole play. All of which leads to a genuinely surprising and moving finale. The cast all turn in effective character portrayals, feeding off of one and other to make the picture achieve all it can. The sound stage aspects of the shoot are irksome, with the main painted backdrop particularly looking fake, which is a shame as the genuine exterior photography by Fapp is gorgeous.

Small irks aside, this is a meaty hybrid piece out of Paramount and highly recommended to fans of the stars and such genre fare. 8/10

This is well acted and directed. The mood is set right from the beginning, and Tula is no town for the faint of heart. Widmark and Cobb are terrific, and the supporting cast matches them every step of the way. Toward the end, some plot holes become apparent under close examination, but the ride is worth taking.

"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 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.