The Trap

--- mild spoilers ---

this British adventure film tells a heart-wrenching love story by combining a classic erotic fantasy with a realistic depiction of the hard life in the 19th century Canadian wilderness. The show-piece of the film is the wolf attack. It is brilliantly filmed, with the camera moving on and on through the dark snow-covered wood, while the starving beasts relentlessly try to snap at the wounded trapper. Actually, these are no wolfs but German shepherds, but the whole thing was so damn frightening that I completely forgot that this film is forty years old. Oliver Reed and Rita Tushingham are two great actors and make a wonderful couple in this film. I loved the last line delivered by Reed to Tushingham.

Only one thing I have to criticize: the two roguish native Americans are played by western actors with wigs. Looks very cheap by modern standards.

"The Trap" seems to be a lost classic. I had never heard or read of it until it aired on German television last week under the title "Wie ein Schrei I'm Wind". Then I found out that both of my parents had seen it decades ago and were so impressed by it that they never forgot it.

Interesting Western based on a story and screenplay by David Osborn . A fur trapper nicknamed La Bete or The beast (Oliver Reed) arrives in a Canadian village after three winters in the snow ; having missing annual auction , he takes a mute girl (Rita Tusingham who does not utter a single word in the entire film) as his unwilling wife to live with him in his remote cabin in the woods . The picture narrates the odyssey of an adventurer that dreary of civilization lives in nature becoming into mountain man , a young who is part of the wildlife of the landscape , he is an expert hunter who shoots efficiently his preys and turning into a feared new myth named ¨La Bete¨ . Meanwhile , the girl early develops his senses from his first feeble and failed attempts at survival to become a skillful trapper .

Solid frontier western with exciting events , violent fights , emotions , thrills and spectacular outdoors . From the initiation until the final are proceeded continuous battles against nature and a survival fighting versus wintry wilderness , savage Indians , wildlife such as wolves and bear , among others . The story is a crossover of various films , the battle against nature of ¨Adventures of Jeremiah Johnson¨ and ¨Man of a wilderness land¨ along with ¨Taming of the shrew¨ theme , as well as the obstinacy and stubbornness of a misfit couple who discusses and contends with no rest . The magnificent cast is starred by an excellent Oliver Reed , a simple , brute man with violent tendencies and Rita Tushingam who plays a perfect role as an agreeable and sensitive mute young girl . Splendid cinematography in Panavision and glimmer color by Robert Krasker (expert cameraman on super-productions as The Cid , Fall of Roman Empire , Heroes of Telemark and The third man) as is reflected on spectacular outdoors filmed in sighting , rousing natural parks and filmed on location in Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada (village) , Hollyburn Film Studios, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Pinewood Studios, England . However , being necessary a right remastering because of the film-copy is washed-out . Special mention to a lively and evocative musical score by Ron Goodwin , the piece of music used as Oliver Reed canoes down river is now used by UK broadcaster The BBC for its coverage of The London Marathon.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Sidney Hayers . He entered cinema world in the early 1940s and began his directing career with ¨Violent Moment¨ in 1958 and carried out second-unit directing labors on epic films like ¨A night to remember¨ (1958) and ¨A bridge too far¨(1977). The journeyman director's roster of credits also includes episodic TV on both sides of the Atlantic , a multitude of TV movies and episodes such as A team , Baywatch , Knight Rider , T.J. Hooker , Hunter , Remington Steele , Magnum P.I . Furthermore , he directed acceptable films such as ¨Night of eagle¨, ¨Circus of horrors¨, ¨Assault¨ , ¨Finders keepers¨, ¨The Southern star¨ and of course ¨The trappers¨ .

Having been lucky enough to find this movie in a box of thrown away tapes (actually among about 30 thrown out at a dump sight I work at, and they are in excellent condition!!!) I have just watched it (twice) over the weekend. I am like most people who have reported on "The Trap", I loved it and remembered it from probably 35 years ago, and always wanted to see it again. I was so glad to be able to watch it again and will definitely keep the movie.

The thing that no one else has mentioned but I think I saw in the movie was how much Jean cared for his mother as he mentioned her several times, often sang the song that she taught him and even from the start respected Eve as a woman. Here was a lonely Quebecois trapper, with no social skills, who had not been with a woman in years, paid $1000 (I would imagine like $500,000 today) for what he expected a wife would give him. He was much bigger that Eve in height and weight and could have easily over-powered her, even when she held a hatchet or knife ... but he still respected her fears.

I wish this movie could have continued for another half an hour so we could have seen what being together as a couple could have brought them. As far as visual effects, etc. for a film made in 1966 I think it was done exceptionally well. Someone mentioned that the "bad natives" were portrayed by white actors and the good by real native people ... I am sure a sign of the times. I am sure I saw a cameo of Chief Dan George at the start ... I must look into this.

This is the first review of a movie I have ever made ... hope it was okay.

I remembered this film from my youth - I only saw it once in the cinema, and when A & E carried it on their movie line-up a couple of years ago it brought back all those feelings that I had for this particular film. What a story. I love the characters, especially Oliver Reed - who really fills almost every frame with his menacing presence. It was refreshing to watch a film that was made before encroaching "political correctness", and it dealt with some terrific social and personal issues all with the glorious backdrop of British Columbian wilderness.

I saw this movie on TV when I was probably about 11 years old (35 years ago!)--and I still remember it very well. There was a local station which, for one solid week, aired it every day--and I watched it every single day! Unfortunately, I haven't seen it since and I don't think it's available on VHS but I remember it being visually beautiful and plot-wise, simply spellbinding, full of action, poignancy and suspense. Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed are amazing in this. It's such a shame that no one aside from real film buffs have ever heard of this movie. It's a little lost gem that seems to have gotten buried somewhere in the Canadian snow--but if you ever get a chance to see it, please do!! It'll be time well spent.